Can I write off monetary award to an ex spouse?

It depends.  This sounds like a property settlement which is not a deduction on the tax return. Besides qualifying alimony there is no deduction for an award paid to an ex spouse.

If it is alimony, it depends when your decree was entered into whether it can be deducted on your tax return.

• You can deduct alimony paid to a former spouse as long the divorce or separation agreement is executed by December 31, 2018.

Alimony payments resulting from agreements executed after that date can no longer be deducted due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that Congress signed into law on December 22, 2017. The same holds true for agreements modified after 2018 if the new version specifically states that the TCJA treatment of nondeductible alimony payments now applies.

• Topic 452 Alimony and Separate Maintenance