(Forbes) If your spouse—current or ex—squirreled money away in Switzerland or didn’t report consulting fees or gambling winnings, is it your tax problem too?  If you filed joint tax returns the answer is yes, and that can be painful—financially and otherwise.  Who’s innocent or guilty may seem irrelevant given today’s no-fault divorce.

Yet when it comes to the IRS, it counts big-time.  If you’re married, you don’t have to file joint tax returns but most people do.  In fact, only about 5% of married taxpayers file separately.  It’s worth thinking critically about this.  See Consider Tax Filing Status Carefully.

After all, by filing jointly, you are both fully liable, even if your spouse earned 100% of the income and handled all the finances.  If your spouse dies, goes to prison, flees the country, or simply divorces you and disappears with no forwarding address, you can be left holding the bag.  Your spouse could take 100% of the income and disappear, leaving you with 100% of the tax.

Read more in Forbes

Israel has a very extensive and experienced infertility treatment system, with one of the highest rates of IVF clinics and usage per capita of any country in the world. But Israelis, especially gay men, run into legal and cultural roadblocks when they require surrogacy and/or egg donation. Then they need to travel abroad for third party assistance to build their family. On the next episode of The Surrogacy Lawyer: Your Guide to IVF and Third Party Family Building, Theresa Erickson, Esq., will discuss international surrogacy and egg donation for Israelis, as well as for citizens of other countries, with Israeli-born reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Gad Lavy, medical director and founder of New England Fertility Institute (www.nefertility.com).

The show aired on Thursday, February 17 at 11AM PST/2PM EST on Voice America

When you take tax positions that are challenged, the IRS usually adds penalties and interest to your tax bill. Interest generally can't be waived, but "I relied on my tax adviser" can be a potent defense to penalties. Unfortunately, claiming you relied on your tax lawyer or accountant doesn't always work, as a recent Tax Court case reveals.

Read the Forbes article

Financial consultant Jennifer Openshaw launches “SuperFutures.”

According to Openshaw the mission of SuperFutures is to help young people answer two questions: What do I want to be when I grow up? And, how do I get there in today’s world?

Through courses, coaching and instruction from industry professionals, Superfutures exposes teens to tools and guidance needed to succeed in the transition from high school to college and from college to the real world of business and life.

The SuperFutures team is comprised of highly credentialed educators, career guidance counselors, and thought leaders from both industry, government, and the Harvard Business School.

The lawyer representing the class of Super Bowl ticket-holders suing the NFL has asked  commissioner Roger Goodell to meet with him to resolve the dispute.

Attorney Michael Avenatti wrote Goodell alerting him that "hundreds" of affected fans have contacted him asking to join the suit. It resulted from the NFL's failure to seat about 400 fans at Super Bowl XLV. The NFL has offered a compensation package to many of the affected fans, but Avenatti filed a $5 million lawsuit on their behalf.

Read more at USA Today

The Surrogacy Lawyer, Theresa Erickson-Voice America Show 2/10/2011

Though they have never met, Karin, Nancy and Wendi share a common bond in more ways than one. Karin is an American journalist currently residing in England and expecting her first child in a few months. Nancy is a New Jersey mother with a school age son. Wendi lives in the Sun Belt taking care of her toddler daughter. All three women underwent long journeys to become mothers while learning and growing from the adversity they endured. They also felt they could give back to their fellow infertility travelers by building the type of infertility Web experience they had longed for while they were seeking information and a sense of community.

Egyptian President Mubarak's decision to step down from power is "obviously a welcome step," a U.S. official involved in the Egypt discussions said Friday.

Now comes "an unpredictable next chapter," the official added.

The official said it’s "a sign the (Egyptian) military chose society" over the longtime ruler.

Israeli journalist Avi Lipkin discusses the impact this will have on Israel and the rest of the Middle East.

Interview-Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut

Detectives investigating allegations that Lindsay Lohan stole a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store also examined claims that the actress tried to leave that same store with a pair of earrings, according to a law enforcement source.

Lohan was not charged in that earlier incident, which was cited in a police report, according to the source. A clerk the store noticed Lohan had the earrings on before the actress left the store, said the source.

Lohan Wednesday pleaded not guilty to felony grand theft charges of stealing the necklace in Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles before Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz.

She posted a $40,000 bond and was released. (LA Times)

Interview-Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut

Detectives investigating allegations that Lindsay Lohan stole a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store also examined claims that the actress tried to leave that same store with a pair of earrings, according to a law enforcement source.

Lohan was not charged in that earlier incident, which was cited in a police report, according to the source. A clerk the store noticed Lohan had the earrings on before the actress left the store, said the source.

Lohan Wednesday pleaded not guilty to felony grand theft charges of stealing the necklace in Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles before Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz.

She posted a $40,000 bond and was released. (LA Times)

Interview-Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut

Detectives investigating allegations that Lindsay Lohan stole a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store also examined claims that the actress tried to leave that same store with a pair of earrings, according to a law enforcement source.

Lohan was not charged in that earlier incident, which was cited in a police report, according to the source. A clerk the store noticed Lohan had the earrings on before the actress left the store, said the source.

Lohan Wednesday pleaded not guilty to felony grand theft charges of stealing the necklace in Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles before Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz.

She posted a $40,000 bond and was released. (LA Times)