Consider a pension plan as something that can be traded during the settlement. I'll take the house and you keep your pension plan. Just be careful of tax issues. Your main strategy is to get the most tax-free money out of the divorce. Alimony is taxable income to the person who receives it and tax-deductible by the one making the payments.
Child support is neither taxable income nor tax deductible.
So, tilt the settlement toward alimony if you are paying and toward child support if you are receiving. When weighing alimony vs. child support, make sure the court order spells out the allocation between the two. If you get a support order that combines alimony and child support and it is not allocated, the IRS will consider it all alimony that is taxable to the recipient and tax deductible. He is president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers a national organization of leading family lawyers, and president-elect of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in London. Netfolio Insights features the opinions of many different experts.