Tony Wimperis: The Tax Side of a High-Conflict Divorce

One spouse handles the money and the taxes, the other signs where indicated. It is an ordinary arrangement in a marriage and a liability in a divorce, because the signature on a joint return makes both people answerable for everything on it.

Tony Wimperis is a certified public accountant and certified valuation analyst whose practice covers individual and business tax compliance and planning, along with business valuation work. At the time of this conversation he was a tax director at a full-service firm in Ridgefield, Connecticut; he has since been named a partner at Adelson & Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He is careful throughout to point people back to their own attorney, which is the right instinct for this material.

The conversation starts where a lot of these stories start: the shared family accountant, and what happens to that relationship when the marriage ends. Wimperis explains what a preparer is and is not engaged to verify, which reframes the sense of betrayal a lot of people carry about a professional who knew things and said nothing. Then he takes the married filing jointly versus married filing separately decision apart: the tax advantage of filing jointly, the joint and several liability that comes with it, and the coordination that separate returns require, right down to both spouses having to itemize or both taking the standard deduction.

The rest is the practical layer. Section 1041, and why receiving assets in a property division is not taxable while the income they generate afterward very much is. What happens when both parents claim the same child, and how the return gets rejected. Updating your W-4 once you are filing as single, and the underpayment interest that catches people who do not. And innocent spouse relief: what it is for, the two-year deadline, the form, and the safety consideration that comes with the IRS contacting your former spouse about it.

As always, this is strategic education, not legal or mental-health advice for your specific situation.

🎓 What you'll learn

• What a tax preparer is actually engaged to verify, and what they take on trust
• Joint and several liability: why a joint return puts the whole bill on both signatures
• When married filing separately is the safer choice, and the coordination it requires
• Section 1041: why receiving assets in a property split isn't taxable, and what is
• What happens when both parents claim the same child as a dependent
• Updating your W-4 for single status, and the underpayment interest that follows if you don't
• Innocent spouse relief, the two-year window, and the safety consideration in filing it
• Why telling your accountant early stops both spouses being copied on everything

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:00 The family accountant, and the conflict of interest in a divorce
4:00 Signing off on a return without the supporting documents
9:00 Getting across the accounts, with your attorney's blessing
11:00 Joint filing, joint liability, and who the IRS pursues
13:00 Married filing separately: how it works and what it costs
17:00 Forensic accounting is a different job
22:00 Tell your accountant early, and stop the copied emails
24:00 Section 1041, and the tax planning a divorce triggers
26:00 Claiming a child as a dependent when both parents try
31:00 Single status, your W-4, and underpayment interest
35:00 Innocent spouse relief, Form 8857, and the safety trade-off

Keep going 💜
Book a free 30-minute discovery call and we'll help you map your next steps: https://beentheregotout.com/call
📘 Been There Got Out: Toxic Relationships, High-Conflict Divorce, and How to Stay Sane Under Insane Circumstances — https://www.amazon.com/dp/194627495X
📘 Been There Got Out: When Your Ex Turns the Kids Against You (our parental-alienation book) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1967674183
🔗 Anthony "Tony" Wimperis, CPA at Adelson & Company: https://www.adelsoncpa.com/Anthony.php

About Been There Got Out
Chris Barry and Lisa Johnson are high-conflict divorce, custody, and co-parenting strategists, and the founders of Been There Got Out. They know these cases from the inside: both have successfully represented themselves in family court. Few attorneys have a playbook for a case like this — Chris and Lisa write yours with you, so you and your kids can get through it as unscathed as possible.