Don’t Rush Into A December Divorce
For Tax Reasons
Nobody likes to rush in a divorce, but frequently things happen that may make a couple want to get it done more quickly than usual.
This year, the reason may be taxes for some couples. Since 1942, the person paying alimony got to take payments off of their income and the person receiving it had to declare alimony as income. This all will change with any divorce finalized on or after Jan. 1, 2019. After this date, neither party’s income will be adjusted for paying or receiving alimony.
Lawyers are expecting December to be a busy month for divorces due to the change. Any case settled before the end of the year will continue to follow the old rule.
But that is not as important as taking your time to make sure everything about the divorce is properly handled.
“The few dollars somebody may or may not save on their tax bill is not a reason to rush a divorce proceeding,” says Pegotty Cooper, co-founder of Divorce Coaching Inc., (www.certifieddivorcecoach.com), which both provides divorce coaching and trains divorce coaches. “Frequently, in complicated divorces, issues surface halfway through the proceeding that will take time to investigate.”
Cooper, a co-author of Taking the High Road in Divorce – Simple Strategies for Creating a Healthy Divorce, said it is in the best interest of both parties to focus on the divorce and make sure everything is done properly instead of trying to meet artificially induced deadlines.
Cooper offers the following tips for those about to enter divorce proceedings:
Don’t forget who the decision makers are. The decision maker in the proceeding is not the judge or your attorney – it is you. More than 90 percent of cases never make it to trial, so don’t think the judge necessarily will set all the issues straight.
“My way or the highway” is the wrong attitude. Taking this attitude will be more costly, emotionally draining and time-consuming than you realize. The only one that will benefit is your attorney, who will rack up legal bills fighting tooth and nail for everything instead of negotiating.
Don’t throw in the towel. You may want to quit early in the divorce proceedings just to get it over with. This may result in forgetting about important things that you wanted to be resolved.
Don’t bet the farm on another relationship. Don’t give up on negotiating just because you have met somebody new and you want to end the divorce as quickly as possible. Your focus should be on ironing out the details of an equitable agreement with your spouse, no matter how long it takes.
“While it may be uncomfortable and even distressing to go through a divorce,” Cooper says, “it is rarely a good idea to try to speed up the process.”
About Pegotty Cooper
Pegotty Cooper (www.certifieddivorcecoach.com) is co-founder with her husband, Randall R. Cooper, of Divorce Coaching Inc., a firm that trains and certifies individuals to become personal divorce coaches. She is also a co-author of the recently released best-selling book Taking the High Road in Divorce – Simple Strategies for Creating a Healthy Divorce and of Divorce: Overcome the Overwhelm and Avoid the Six Biggest Mistakes. Cooper started her own coaching practice in 2003, after 25 years working in executive positions in large organizations. She has an MBA from Rutgers University and a BA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
===================================================
Beyond Brushing And Flossing, 5 Ways
To Stay Out Of The Dental Chair
For good dental health, regular checkups are a necessity. But let’s face it. Regardless of whether your teeth are in good shape or bad, going to the dentist, even just for a cleaning, doesn’t make everyone’s list of top things they like to do.
And when there’s extra work to be done – such as filling cavities – it can be even more troubling. Most people know they should brush and floss. But beyond that, what are some of the things you should do to stay out of the dental chair?
“Reducing the amount of sugar in your diet is a great place to start,” says Dr. Anita Myers, a dentist and author of the book Stunning Smiles: A Dental Guide To Improve the Way You Eat, Smile & Live (www.dranitamyers.com). “Many people when they get up in the morning get a croissant, muffin or doughnut, and a coffee with sugar. To protect their teeth, it would be much better to substitute whole grain cereal and then sweeten it with fruit.”
While Dr. Myers says most people worry about the impact of sugar on their weight, the damage done to teeth is just as bad if not worse. “If you change your lifestyle you can lose extra weight. But if you lose your teeth because of too much sugar, you can’t get them back.”
Dr. Myers offers the following advice for those who want to do a better job of caring for their teeth and gums:
Make good diet choices. Stay away from processed foods, which often contain sugar even when you don’t realize it. Sugar, of course, leads to tooth decay that causes cavities. Here’s how: The mouth has both good and bad bacteria in it. The harmful bacteria feed off the sugar, and as they do so they produce acid that breaks down your teeth layer by layer. Some processed foods that people may not realize have significant amounts of sugar include low-fat yogurt, condiments such as ketchup and barbeque sauce, pasta sauce and salad dressings.
Don’t abuse over-the-counter medications. Prescription drugs can create dental issues. For example, a side effect of many medications is dry mouth, which leads to a variety of oral-health problems. And watch out for the sugar in most cough drops and antacids, as some people tend to rely on these on a regular basis.
Stop smoking and using tobacco. In addition to being bad for teeth and gums, they increase the odds of oral cancer. Chewing tobacco bathes the teeth and gums in toxins.
Drink plenty of water. Water cleanses the mouth of toxins.
Stop illegal drug use. Cocaine and methamphetamine cause a reduction in saliva flow that results in decay and affects the entire mouth.
“Too many people think brushing and flossing are the only aspects of good dental care,” says Dr. Myers. “While those activities are important, there are many other things patients can do to maintain a great smile.”
About Dr. Anita Myers
Dr. Anita Myers, a dentist and author of the book Stunning Smiles: A Dental Guide To Improve the Way You Eat, Smile & Live (www.dranitamyers.com), is a graduate of the University of Texas Dental Branch and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M University. She is an alumnus and visiting faculty member of the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education. She is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Voted one of “America’s Top Dentists” 2010-2018 by the Consumer’s Research Council, she is also a member of several local, state and national dental associations.
==============================
The holidays are here. And one thing they’re known for is encouraging indulgence, such as overeating and overspending, which can lead to unfortunate economic consequences. Americans are the fattest people in the world and every year sustain nearly $325 billion in losses as a result. Plus, Americans began 2018 with over $1 trillion in credit card debt.
In light of this dark pattern perpetuated every holiday season, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Most Sinful Cities as well as accompanying videos. To determine the most wicked places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on seven sinful behaviors: anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness.
Here are some highlights from the report:
Most Sinful Cities
Least Sinful Cities
1
Las Vegas, NV
173
Fremont, CA
2
Los Angeles, CA
174
Virginia Beach, VA
3
New York, NY
175
Bridgeport, CT
4
Houston, TX
176
Cedar Rapids, IA
5
St. Louis, MO
177
Portland, ME
6
Atlanta, GA
178
Chesapeake, VA
7
Miami, FL
179
Burlington, VT
8
Philadelphia, PA
180
Columbia, MD
9
Chicago, IL
181
Pearl City, HI
10
Orlando, FL
182
South Burlington, VT
Most vs. Least Sinful
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-sinful-cities-in-america/29846/
=====================
Take a break from shopping online and help CER shine a spotlight on 'Cyber Education' on our #CyberEdMonday takeover!
Donate to CER today, November 26 to support personalized learning, as well as new policies that provide more direct, immediate access for Americans to increase their education and workforce skills to align with the modern needs of U.S. business and industry!
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
===============================
Corner Canyon High School students
kick off next round of fundraising efforts
benefitting the Tyler Robinson Foundation
with schoolwide assembly
WHAT:
Corner Canyon High School will hold a schoolwide assembly to celebrate the more than $50,000 raised by students for the Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF) and to launch a new round of fundraising efforts. The students have been dedicated to raising pediatric cancer awareness by completing “odd jobs” in the community including door-to-door asks, silent auctions, sporting events, student activities and restaurant nights. The next round of fundraising efforts will begin immediately following the assembly and run for three weeks.
WHO:
IMore than 2,000 students will come together to celebrate and honor Tyler by watching his story.
WHEN:
Tuesday, Nov. 27
First Assembly: 8:05 a.m. – 8:55 a.m.
Second Assembly: 9:15 a.m. – 10:05 a.m.
WHERE:
Corner Canyon High School
12943 700 E.
Draper, Utah 84020
ABOUT:
The Tyler Robinson Foundation
The Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF) helps strengthen families financially and emotionally as they cope with the tragedy of a pediatric cancer diagnosis by providing grants specifically to offset out-of-pocket life expenses. TRF is the nonprofit organization of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling band Imagine Dragons. TRF meets a critical need in communities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Each year, one in 285 children are diagnosed with cancer. While many pediatric cancer organizations focus on growing awareness and support for families with the physical and emotional toll of a diagnosis, the huge financial hardship cancer treatment places on families is rarely discussed. More than 85-percent of every dollar TRF raises goes right to families in need. For more information visit TRF.org.
Imagine Dragons
Formed in 2009, Imagine Dragons first revealed their limitless passion and genre-bending sensibilities with a series of independently released EPs that quickly earned a grassroots following. After hitmaking producer Alex Da Kid signed them to KIDinaKORNER/Interscope, the band made their major-label debut with Continued Silence, a 2012 EP featuring the double-platinum breakthrough single “It's Time.” With their full-length debut Night Visions arriving later that year, Imagine Dragons found themselves on a skyward trajectory that saw the album debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling more than five million copies worldwide. In addition, Night Visions’ diamond-selling single “Radioactive” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Rock chart and won Best Rock Performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards. From there, Imagine Dragons went on to see their 2015 sophomore album Smoke + Mirrors debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Released in June 2017, their third album EVOLVE was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned three No. 1 Alternative radio hits: “Believer,” which topped the Alternative radio chart for 12 weeks and also climbed to No. 3 at Top 40 radio; “Thunder,” which hit No. 1 at Top 40 and scored a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy nomination; and “Whatever It Takes,” which was Top 5 at Top 40 radio. The band recently released their fourth album, ORIGINS. The album includes the #1 single "Natural," which spent nine weeks at No. 1 at alternative radio.
