This memorandum, by McCandlish Lillard attorney Douglas J. Sanderson, addresses the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on spousal support guidelines in Virginia, which has yet to officially address changes brought by the Act. It then presents recommendations for going forward in Virginia. If a payor were to agree to pay the same amount of spousal support as he/she would have paid under the prior tax laws affecting spousal support, the payor would suffer a significant increase in the real cost of the payments, while the payee would enjoy a potential windfall due to that amount not being taxable as income. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a brief overview of the changes caused by the Act along with an overview of how several states have responded by amending their spousal support maintenance guidelines to adjust fairly for the new tax law.
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