Your Tax Question - 034

Dear John, I paid a Lawyer to assemble my will. I have been told that these charges are deductible on my taxes - is this true? Sincerely, Wilma
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Hi Wilma,

The IRS accepts legal fees deductible only as those services pertain to the production of income. For instance, if you hired a lawyer to write a lease for you to use in your rental property then those fees would be deductible. Or in the case of divorce, attorney fees attributable to collecting alimony is deductible as well.

I am sorry but the fees paid to a lawyer to have your will completed is not deductible.

Thanks for the question,
John

PS. Time is running short, email me if you would like one of the remaining slots on my client list.

Your Tax Question - 005

(The following is only a partial portion of the whole question)

Dear John, I am separated from my husband but we plan to still file a joint return this next year... ...what are some of the ramifications of this? Thanks in advance, Emma.
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Dear Emma,

Sorry about the separation, I really pray that you can reconcile. Your question leaves a lot of the details out but basically married couples filing jointly get the largest standard tax deductions – that is until you have a separate address from your spouse. Apparently, too many people were getting legally married in order to benefit from the tax breaks of the Joint status. However, the IRS got wise and now it requires that married couples have the same permanent address. Be sure that you AND your spouse discuss the particulars with a tax professional in order to best maneuver this one.

Yours, John

PS. My services are available and they not that pricey. Email Me