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Release Notes for Version 10.04 Build 387.01, released
July 7, 2008
This version features a new 50-year time frame, up to 50-year mortgages,
and numerous small fixes and improvements.
1. 50 Year Time Frame. The software is now able to project
reports for up to 50 years.
2. New Jersey Child Support. We updated the rules, primarily
affecting texts.
3. Defined Benefit Pension. If the employee was already retired,
we were not phasing down the net worth of the pension post retirement.
We now are doing that.
4. Investment Income. If you entered a dollar amount as the way
of dividing the assets, the software now uses exactly that dollar amount
in calculating the growth of the asset. Previously, it was using the
percent that the dollar amount represented, which could result in
distortion, because the percent could differ slightly due to rounding.
5. Mortgages. We now allow up to 50-year mortgages. Previously
our maximum mortgage term was 30 years. Mortgages of 40 years have now
started to appear.
6. Mortgage Payoff Immediately Before Real Estate Sale. If a real
estate mortgage is paid off with a lump sum, balloon, or bullet payment
in the year of sale, but before the sale itself, the balance was still
appearing at the sale. Now, the mortgage balance will be zero in that
case.
7. Investment Income in Liquidations. Investment income was
continuing even after the investment was liquidated. Investment income
now stops upon liquidation.
8. Investment Income Entered as a Dollar Amount. Investment
income expressed as a fixed dollar amount (as opposed to a percentage)
is now sensitive to both decline and increase in investment value. That
is, we are converting the dollar amount to a percentage and using that
percentage. For example, income on investment entered as $1,000 this
year may be $1,100 next year if there is 10% appreciation in the value
of the investment.
9. Alimony Present Value. If alimony is non-taxable, the Present
Value now reflects the absence of taxation. The present value is the
same for both parties.
10. Separate Property of One Party Given to the Other. We have
improved the way we reflect separate property of one party given to the
other. It now appears as a plus to the marital property retained by
recipient and a minus to marital property of the giver. The result is
that recipient can double that value of "other" marital property to
break even. For example, consider two properties: $100K separate, to be
divided 50/50, and $100K marital, all kept by the one who had the
separate property. This is a 50/50 marital property division and now
will show as such. Of the $100K marital, $50K went to the spouse in the
50/50 division, and the other $50K compensates the spouse for the
contribution of separate property. Another way to think of it is that in
a 50/50 division of marital property, one spouse would have $150K ($100K
of separate property + $50K of marital), and the other spouse would have
$50K. If the separate property is divided 50/50 and the marital property
is all retained by the spouse who has separate property, the result will
be a $150/$50K split. This should (and will) show as a 50/50 split of
the marital property.
11. Sale of Real Estate. We have changed the calculation of
marginal tax payable on the sale of residence to look only at the
marginal capital gains and state tax rate. Previously we computed the
tax with and without a sale and showed the difference. The way we
previously did it may have been more accurate, but it was also more
difficult to explain. If you are interested in the previous analysis,
you may simply create two files, one with the sale and one without, and
compare the tax reports in each.
12. Defined Benefit Pension. If the date of marriage is after the
cut off date, because the marriage started after the employee left the
firm, we were not calculating the pension. We have expanded the
calculator to handle pension valuation calculations in that situation.
The coverture fraction will be zero.
13. Capital Losses on Liquidation. Previously, we were not
limiting net capital losses on liquidation to $3,000 per year. Recently,
this has become more of an issue, as people are liquidating securities
at significant losses. As it liquidates securities, the software now
tracks net gain or loss so far. Net losses are allowed only to the
extent of net gains plus $3,000. We still are not tracking capital loss
carryforwards.
14. IRA Regular Distributions in Liquidation Years. Previously,
we were reducing IRA required minimum distributions in years in which
there were IRA liquidations. Now, we are not doing that. Required
minimum distribution amounts are now unaffected by IRA liquidations
(except if there is nothing left to distribute, or not enough left).
15. New Real Estate. New Real Estate (not yet purchased) no
longer appears on the Property Division Report or the Property Division
spreadsheet screen.
16. Nonwage Income. We have converted the Nonwage income screen
to look like the Living Expense screen. This adds to the consistency of
the user interface.
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