Harvey Cook, 45, is a recently divorced father of two children, ages 10 and 7. He currently earns $95,000 a year as an operations manager for a utility company. The divorce settlement requires him to pay $1,500 a month in child support and $400 a month in alimony to his ex-wife. Harvey is now renting an apartment, and the divorce settlement left him with about $100,000 in savings and retirement benefits. His employer provides a $75,000 life insurance policy. Harvey’s ex-wife is currently the beneficiary listed on the policy.
What advice would you give to Harvey?
What factors should he consider in deciding whether to buy additional life insurance at this point in his life? If he does need additional life insurance, what type of policy or policies should he buy? Use Worksheet 8.1 to help answer these questions for Harvey.
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- John Benson, age 40, is single. His Social Security number is 111-11-1111, and he resides at 150 Highway 51, Tangipahoa, LA 70465. John has a 5-year-old child, Kendra, who lives with her mother, Katy. As a result of his divorce in 2016, John pays alimony of 6,000 per year to Katy and child support of 12,000. The 12,000 of child support covers 65% of Katys costs of rearing Kendra. Kendras Social Security number is 123-45-6789, and Katys is 123-45-6788. Johns mother, Sally, lived with him until her death in early September 2019. He incurred and paid medical expenses for her of 15,588 and other support payments of 11,000. Sallys only sources of income were 5,500 of interest income on certificates of deposit and 5,600 of Social Security benefits, which she spent on her medical expenses and on maintenance of Johns household. Sallys Social Security number was 123-45-6787. John is employed by the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana in an executive position. His salary is 95,000. The appropriate amounts of Social Security tax and Medicare tax were withheld. In addition, 9,500 was withheld for Federal income taxes and 4,000 was withheld for state income taxes. In addition to his salary, Johns employer provides him with the following fringe benefits. Group term life insurance with a maturity value of 95,000; the cost of the premiums for the employer was 295. Group health insurance plan; Johns employer paid premiums of 5,800 for his coverage. The plan paid 2,600 for Johns medical expenses during the year. Upon the death of his aunt Josie in December 2018, John, her only recognized heir, inherited the following assets. Three months prior to her death, Josie gave John a mountain cabin. Her adjusted basis for the mountain cabin was 120,000, and the fair market value was 195,000. No gift taxes were paid. During the year, John reported the following transactions. On February 1, 2019, he sold for 45,000 Microsoft stock that he inherited from his father four years ago. His fathers adjusted basis was 49,000, and the fair market value at the date of the fathers death was 41,000. The car John inherited from Josie was destroyed in a wreck on October 1, 2019. He had loaned the car to Katy to use for a two-week period while the engine in her car was being replaced. Fortunately, neither Katy nor Kendra was injured. John received insurance proceeds of 16,000, the fair market value of the car on October 1, 2019. On December 28, 2019, John sold the 300 acres of land to his brother, James, for its fair market value of 160,000. James planned on using the land for his dairy farm. Other sources of income for John are: Potential itemized deductions for John, in addition to items already mentioned, are: Part 1Tax Computation Compute Johns net tax payable or refund due for 2019. Part 2Tax Planning Assume that rather than selling the land to James, John is considering leasing it to him for 12,000 annually with the lease beginning on October 1, 2019. James would prepay the lease payments through December 31, 2019. Thereafter, he would make monthly lease payments at the beginning of each month. What effect would this have on Johns 2019 tax liability? What potential problem might John encounter? Write a letter to John in which you advise him of the tax consequences of leasing versus selling. Also prepare a memo addressing these issues for the tax files.arrow_forwardFred, a self-employed taxpayer, travels from Denver to Miami primarily on business. He spends five days conducting business and two days sightseeing. His expenses are 400 (airfare), 150 per day (meals), and 300 per night (lodging). What are Freds deductible expenses?arrow_forwardLeroy and Amanda are married and have three dependent children. During the current year, they have the following income and expenses: Salaries 120,000 Interest income 45,000 Royalty income 27,000 Deductions for AGI 3,000 Deductions from AGI 9,000 a. What is Leroy and Amandas current year taxable income and income tax liability? b. Leroy and Amanda would like to lower their income tax. How much income tax will they save if they validly transfer 5,000 of the interest income to each of their children? Assume that the children have no other income and that they are entitled to a 1,050 standard deduction.arrow_forward
- Paul Barrone is a graduate student at State University. His 10-year-old son, Jamie, lives with him, and Paul is Jamies sole support. Pauls wife died in 2018, and Paul has not remarried. Paul received 320,000 of life insurance proceeds (related to his wifes death) in early 2019 and immediately invested the entire amount as shown below. Paul had 42,000 of taxable graduate assistant earnings from State University and received a 10,000 scholarship. He used 8,000 of the scholarship to pay his tuition and fees for the year and 2,000 for Jamies day care. Jamie attended Little Kids Daycare Center, a state-certified child care facility. Paul received a statement related to the Green bonds saying that there was 45 of original issue discount amortization during 2019. Paul maintains the receipts for the sales taxes he paid of 735. Paul lives at 1610 Cherry Lane, Bradenton, FL 34212, and his Social Security number is 111-11-1111. Jamies Social Security number is 123-45-6789. The university withheld 2,000 of Federal income tax from Pauls salary. Paul is not itemizing his deductions. Part 1Tax Computation Compute Pauls lowest tax liability for 2019. Part 2Tax Planning Paul is concerned because the Green bonds were worth only 18,000 at the end of 2019, 5,000 less than he paid for them. He is an inexperienced investor and wants to know if this 5,000 is deductible. The bonds had original issue discount of 2,000 when he purchased them, and he is curious about how that affects his investment in the bonds. The bonds had 20 years left to maturity when he purchased them. Draft a brief letter to Paul explaining how to handle these items. Also prepare a memo for Pauls tax file.arrow_forwardMalin is a married taxpayer and has three dependent children. Malin's employer offers health insurance for employees and Malin takes advantage of the benefit for her entire family (her spouse's employer also offers health insurance but they opt out). During the year, Malin paid $ 1,200 toward her family's health insurance premiums through payroll deductions while the employer paid the remaining $ 9,200. Malin's family visited health care professionals numerous times during the year and made total copayments toward medical services of $280. Malin's daughter had knee surgery due to a soccer injury and the insurance company paid the hospital $ 6,700$ directly and reimbursed Malin $400 for her out-of-pocket health care expenses related to the surgery. How much gross income should Malin recognize related to her health insurance? $0 $ 9,200 14,020(9,200+6,7001,200280400) 8,000(9,2001,200) None of the abovearrow_forwardWade paid 7,000 for an automobile that needed substantial repairs. He worked nights and weekends to restore the car and spent 2,400 on parts for it. He knows that he can sell the car for 13,000, but he is very wealthy and does not need the money. On the other hand, his daughter, who has very little income, needs money to make the down payment on a house. a. Would it matter, after taxes, whether Wade sells the car and gives the money to his daughter or whether he gives the car to his daughter and she sells it for 13,000? Explain. b. Assume that Wade gave the car to his daughter after he had arranged for another person to buy it from his daughter. The daughter then transferred the car to the buyer and received 13,000. Who is taxed on the gain?arrow_forward