When two partners in a household both work and have no children, it is called "dual income, no kids."

"Dual income, no kids" (DINK) is a slang phrase for a household in which there are two incomes and no children. There are several main categories of dual-income couples with no kids, including new couples, empty nesters, gay married couples, and other childless couples. So, gay married men have even more disposable income than other dual income couples with no kids. By staying in the dual income, no kids demographic, these couples continue to enjoy the benefits of higher disposable income. On the other hand, DINKs have more disposable income than couples that are married with children because they don't have to share with kids.

Dual Income, No Kids (DINK)

Equitable distribution is a legal theory guiding how property acquired in a marriage should be distributed between the two parties in a divorce.

2019 New Jersey Revised Statutes Title 2A — Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice Section 2A:34-23.1 — Equitable Distribution Criteria.

What Is Marital Misconduct in a Florida Divorce?

2019 South Carolina Code of Laws Title 20 — Domestic Relations Chapter 3 — Divorce Section 20-3-620. Apportionment Factors.

Obtaining a Full Stepped-Up Basis Under Alaska’s New Community Property System

Publication 555 (03/2020), Community Property

Legal Requirements for Prenuptial Agreements in New York

Sex, Lies, and Dissipation: The Discourse of Fault in a No-Fault Era

Equitable distribution is a legal theory guiding how property acquired during a marriage should be distributed between a divorcing couple. Only Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin are community property states, while Alaska, South Dakota, and Tennessee allow the couple to decide whether they want their property to be community property. Community property theory holds that property should be divided equally because both parties are considered to have joint ownership of all property (both assets and debts). The other nine utilize the concept of community property, with three of the 41 allowing couples to choose between community property and common law property. The 41 common law property U.S. states allow separate property to be excluded from equitable distribution unless it was specifically put in both spouses’ names during the marriage.

Equitable Distribution

Form 8857: Request for Innocent Spouse Relief is a tax form for requesting relief from a tax liability involving a spouse or former spouse.

Form 8857: Request for Innocent Spouse Relief is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form used by taxpayers to request relief from a tax liability involving a spouse or former spouse. Depending on whether there is a balance due or a refund being requested, a spouse or former spouse generally has 10 years or three years to file Form 8857, respectively
The taxpayer seeking relief should file Form 8857: Request for Innocent Spouse Relief as soon as they become aware of a tax obligation for which the other spouse or ex-spouse should be solely responsible. Form 8857: Request for Innocent Spouse Relief is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form used by taxpayers to request relief from a tax liability involving a spouse or former spouse. According to the IRS, if there is a balance due, a spouse or ex-spouse generally must file Form 8857 within the time period the IRS has to collect the tax. Taxpayers can request relief from a tax liability involving a spouse or former spouse.

Form 8857: Request for Innocent Spouse Relief

Carat, cut, clarity, and color are the four Cs that determine a diamond's value. The fifth C, "conflict-free," is important to many buyers today.

Diamond Color Chart: The Official GIA Color Scale

The four Cs are the four characteristics traditionally used to determine the quality and value of a diamond: carat, cut, clarity, and color. Other popular cuts include the rectangular emerald (44 facets), the square princess (50 or 58 facets), the oval (56 facets), the slender marquise (58 facets), and the hybrid pear (58 facets).
Clarity measures the purity of the diamond and the presence (or absence) of tiny flaws. The four Cs are the four characteristics traditionally used to determine the quality and value of a diamond: carat, cut, clarity, and color. The four Cs are the carat, cut, clarity, and color of a diamond and are used to determine its value. The characteristics of a diamond are graded and categorized by the diamond industry to establish its retail value.

The Four Cs of Buying Diamonds:

Gift splitting allows a married couple to gift twice as much without being subject to a gift tax.

Gift splitting allows married couples to split the value of a gift between them to double their allowed annual gift tax exclusion amount. To qualify for gift splitting in the eyes of the IRS, both spouses must agree to the gift and specify the situation in which the gift was given when filing their taxes. Gift splitting allows married couples to split the value of a gift between them to double their allowed annual gift tax exclusion amount. Gift splitting allows a married couple to gift twice as much as an individual without being subject to a gift tax. The gift giver is responsible for paying any tax and filing a gift tax return.

Gift Splitting

Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts is an organization committed to educating financial professionals about specific issues relating to divorce. 

The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) is an organization committed to educating financial professionals about specific issues relating to divorce. The course work includes fundamentals of divorce, financial issues of divorce, tax issues of divorce, and a case studies module. The IDFA trains certified divorce financial analysts, or CDFAs, who help support the divorce process. They help clients collect financial and expense data, identify their future financial goals, make a budget, set retirement objectives, determine how much risk they are willing to take with their investments, and help identify what kind of lifestyle they want. People going through a divorce can contact the IDFA, which will help them find a suitable agent to help them through the divorce proceedings.

Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA)

The innocent spouse rule is a tax provision which allows a taxpayer to apply for relief from a filing error by their current or former spouse.

The innocent spouse rule is a provision of U.S. tax law, revised most recently in 1998, which allows a spouse to seek relief from penalties resulting from underpayment of tax by a spouse. The innocent spouse rule is a provision of U.S. tax law, revised most recently in 1998, which allows a spouse to seek relief from penalties resulting from underpayment of tax by a spouse. The innocent spouse ruling presupposes that a spouse was not aware of the filing error made by their spouse, and so are not held liable for the tax implications and penalties. The innocent spouse rule allows a taxpayer to avoid a tax obligation arising from errors made by a spouse on a joint return. While most tax disputes place the burden of proof of non-compliance on the IRS, the lack of knowledge portion of the rule essentially forces the taxpayer to prove that they did not know of the error.

Innocent-Spouse Rule

Joint property is any property held in the name of two or more parties. 

Joint owned property is any property held in the name of two or more parties. A joint owned property can be manifest in legal forms, such as joint tenancy, meaning two or more property holders each have equal rights and obligations to the property until their death. Joint owned property may be held in one of several legal forms, including joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, community property, or in a trust. Joint owned property is any property held in the name of two or more parties, like husband and wife, or business partners, friends, or family members. The risks of joint owned property are the potential for financial issues with partial ownership of a property, like one party wanting to sell their share.

Joint Owned Property

A marital trust is a legal entity established to pass assets to a surviving spouse or children/grandchildren.

A marital trust is a fiduciary relationship between a trustor and trustee for the benefit of a surviving spouse and the married couple's heirs. Another option is to create a bare trust, a type of trust in which the beneficiary has an absolute right to the capital and assets within the trust, as well as any income generated. A marital trust allows the couple's heirs to avoid probate and take less of a hit from estate taxes by taking full advantage of the unlimited marital deduction—a provision that enables spouses to pass assets to each other without tax consequences. Assets are moved into the trust upon death and the income that these assets generate go to the surviving spouse—under some arrangements, the surviving spouse can also receive principal payments. There are three types of marital trusts: a general power of appointment, a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust, and an estate trust.

Marital Trust

Property acquired by either spouse during a marriage is considered marital property. But different states' laws determine how it can be divvied up in a divorce.

The Definition and Division of Marital Property in California: Towards Parity and Simplicity

Marital property is a U.S. state-level legal term that refers to property acquired during the course of a marriage. Marital property includes real estate and other property a couple buys together during their marriage, such as a home or investment property, cars, boats, furniture, or artwork, when not acquired by either as separate property.﻿﻿ Bank accounts, pensions, securities, and retirement accounts are also included; even an Individual Retirement Account, which is individually owned by law, is marital property if earned income is contributed to it during the course of a marriage. In community property states, there are some exceptions to the equal division rule, including where a spouse misappropriates marital property before or during a divorce**.**
Of course, the couple can enter into a prenuptial agreement before the marriage, explaining how to distribute the marital property upon divorce. A couple's permanent legal residence—in either a common law property state or a community property state—determines which laws govern their marital property and how it can be divided if their marriage ends in divorce. In common law property states, property that is acquired by one spouse is considered their sole property unless the title or deed carries both spouses' names.

Marital Property

The marriage penalty refers to the increased tax burden for married couples compared to filing separate tax returns as singles.

Understanding the Marriage Penalty and Marriage Bonus

IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2021

IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2020

IRS Provides Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2020

Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax

Questions and Answers on the Net Investment Income Tax

Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

For Better or Worse: Marriage and the Federal Income Tax

While the contemplation of marriage is largely a matter of the heart, there are often unavoidable federal and state tax implications for those who tie the knot. Although the 37% federal income tax rate kicks in for income over $518,400 for singles, it kicks in for income over $622,050 for married couples filing jointly.﻿﻿ Simply put: A larger portion of a high-earning couple’s income is shoved into the 37% tax bracket if they marry, while more of it stays in the 35% tax bracket if they don’t. Long-term capital gains on investments held longer than a year is another area where the 2020 tax year married filing jointly bracket ($496,600) is not double the single bracket ($441,450).﻿﻿ Thus, high-earning taxpayers with capital gains will experience a marriage penalty compelling them to pay a higher capital gains tax rate of 20%, rather than 15%, when their combined income is between $496,600 and $882,900. According to the Tax Foundation, spouses who file jointly can enjoy a 20% bonus on their combined marital income if they have children, while they may enjoy a 7% bonus if they are childless.﻿﻿ This bonus commonly kicks in when one partner’s income is substantially higher than the other’s.
As a married couple filing jointly, the lower-earning spouse’s income doesn’t push the couple into a higher tax bracket. According to the Tax Foundation, the following 15 states instituted a marriage penalty as of July 1, 2020, because their income tax brackets for married couples filing jointly are not twice as large as the brackets for single filers:
1.  California
2.  Georgia
3.  Maryland
4.  Minnesota
5.  New Mexico
6.  New Jersey
7.  New York
8.  North Dakota
10.  Oklahoma
11.  Rhode Island
12.  South Carolina
13.  Vermont
14.  Virginia
15.  Wisconsin
Not every married couple suffers penalties.

Marriage Penalty

Married filing separately is a tax status for couples who choose to record their incomes, exemptions, and deductions on separate tax returns.

American Rescue Plan Act Passes With Many Tax Components

Due to the tax law changes that went into effect in 2018, the only time when a couple would gain any advantage from filing separately is if one spouse has significant miscellaneous deductions or medical expenses.
Married filing separately is a tax status used by married couples who choose to record their incomes, exemptions, and deductions on separate tax returns.
In some circumstances, filing separately puts a couple in a lower tax bracket.
Although some couples might benefit from filing separately, they may not be able to take advantage of certain tax benefits.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gives taxpayers five tax filing status options when they submit their annual tax returns: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, or qualifying widow(er).
Anyone who files as married in either category—filing separately or filing jointly—must be married as of the last day of the tax year. Married filing separately is a tax status for married couples who choose to record their respective incomes, exemptions, and deductions on separate tax returns. There is a potential tax advantage to filing separately when one spouse has significant medical expenses or miscellaneous itemized deductions, or when both spouses have about the same amount of income. Combining incomes and filing jointly might push them into a higher tax bracket and thus increase their tax bill.

Married Filing Separately

A postnuptial agreement is created by spouses after entering into marriage that outlines the ownership of financial assets in the event of a divorce.

A postnuptial agreement is a contract created by spouses after entering into a marriage that outlines the ownership of financial assets in the event of a divorce. A postnuptial agreement is a contract created by spouses after entering into a marriage that outlines the ownership of financial assets in the event of a divorce. A postnuptial agreement spells out how a married couple will divide their assets in the event of divorce, signed _after_ the wedding—sometimes years afterward. Similar to a prenuptial agreement, postnuptial agreements allow a couple to alleviate tension caused by financial concerns. Even in some non-community property states like Pennsylvania, any increase in the value of the inheritance is considered marital property.

Postnuptial Agreement

Prenuptial Agreement is a type of contract created by two people before entering into marriage. 

A Prenuptial Agreement is a type of contract created by two people before entering into marriage. A prenup generally contains a listing of each partner's individual assets, some indication of which individual assets will remain the property of each spouse in the event of a divorce, guidelines on how property acquired during the marriage will be divided in a divorce, language on responsibility for debts acquired before and during the marriage, and some outline of spousal support such as alimony should the marriage end. More commonly, prenuptial agreements outline terms and conditions associated with dividing up financial assets and responsibilities if the marriage dissolves. Media portrayals of prenuptial agreements show them as devices that celebrities and other similar high net worth individuals use in order to cap the amount of wealth that an ex-spouse can claim. Reasons for entering into these agreements vary, though wealthier spouses typically initiate prenuptial agreements to protect property.

Prenuptial Agreement

The Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act allows parties to a prenup to choose the financial terms of their marriage.

Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act

Part 25. Special Topics. Chapter 18. 8 Community Property. Section 1. Basic Principles of Community Property Law

Adopted by 26 states, the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act_—_drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1983_—_helped bring consistency to contracts signed by two parties entering a marriage. The main advantage of choosing to have a prenuptial agreement fall under the jurisdiction of a state that has passed the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act is that many of these states have comprehensive provisions and statutes to resolve the issues associated with prenuptial agreements, such as estate planning, division of property, alimony, financial assets and custody. Prenups are usually requested by the party that stands to lose the most money or property in the case of divorce, especially in states that follow the Community Property law﻿﻿﻿—each spouse is entitled to half of everything acquired during the marriage.
A couple can choose any state in which one of the parties lives or plans to live or the state in which the couple will be married to have a prenup enforced. Because this act has not been passed in all states, parties to a prenuptial contract are also limited to choosing only the states that have passed the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act. Adopted by 26 states, the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act_—_drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1983_—_helped bring consistency to contracts signed by two parties entering a marriage.

Marriage and Union

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