Articles

Prepare and Protect Yourself During a Divorce

Naperville Divorce Attorney

Even when you know ahead of time that you plan to file for divorce, actually going through with the process can make you feel like your life is spiraling out of control. Try to take some comfort in knowing that this is normal – a divorce means the end of a marriage and all that comes with it, such as a shared home, shared finances, and the day-to-day routine that you built with your partner and your family. If you are a parent, a divorce can also mean a future where you will not see your children every day and, instead, you will have to cooperate with your former partner to raise them while alternating time with them.

You can cut down on the overwhelming aspect of the divorce process by adequately preparing for it. Although you cannot prepare for everything, sometimes, the divorce process may throw a curve ball your way. Therefore, you should begin the process with the documentation you need organized and accessible and in a mental state that is focused on your rights, your interests, and the best possible solution for your family.

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How Does Collaborative Law Work?

Naperville Divorce Attorney

Collaborative law works just as its title says it works: collaboratively. What this means is that instead of having the Court make your decisions for you, as is the case for couples who divorce through litigation, you and your partner can work together to determine the terms of your divorce settlement without Court intervention through collaborative law.

For many couples, collaborative law is a refreshing alternative to divorcing in a courtroom. It is less expensive, less stressful, and can be completed more quickly than a traditional divorce. Although it has these benefits, collaborative law is not perfect, nor is it the right choice for every couple. Couples with a significant power imbalance, a history of domestic violence, or an inability to work productively together are generally not suited to collaborative divorce. Even couples who are on fairly good terms with each other can find tempers flaring when certain issues come up during their collaborative talks, such as how they will structure their parenting agreement. Sometimes, the level of freedom that initially makes collaborative law appealing makes it too open-ended and couples find themselves instead seeking the structure that other forms of divorce provide.

The Collaborative Divorce Process

Although you and your spouse are in the drivers' seats for your collaborative divorce, you will not complete the process alone. You each retain your own lawyer, and during the process, you will likely meet other professionals, like a real estate appraiser or a child custody evaluator to advise you in the decision-making process.

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What is Mediation?

Naperville Divorce Attorney

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that is popular among divorcing couples. Unlike divorcing through litigation, which means that the couple's divorce is determined in the courtroom by a judge, divorcing through mediation allows a couple to work through the items of their divorce settlement with the guidance of a mediator, a trained third party who can act as a neutral resource for the couple. Mediation is similar to collaborative divorce in that it grants divorcing couples a greater level of control over their divorces than they would have through litigation divorces. The mediator guides the couple's settlement discussions and helps them determine the right settlement terms for them based on applicable laws, their rights, and their individual needs. There are many ways you and your family can benefit from mediation, should it be the right fit for you.

How Does Mediation Work?

When a couple decides to divorce through mediation, each partner retains his or her own lawyer. The process begins with each partner providing the mediator with background information about the marriage, such as their income and assets and the issues at play in the divorce. This may be done in person or over the phone.

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What Happens to the Family Home in a Divorce?

Naperville Divorce Attorney

For many Illinois couples, the family home is their most valuable asset. This often speaks not only to its monetary value, but the emotional value that a home holds. This is often the first large purchase that the couple made together, the home where their children took their first steps, and the home where their family memories were made. As such a valuable asset, many individuals fight about what will happen to their home in their divorce.

In Illinois, a divorcing couple's property is divided equitably, which means that it is divided according to each partner's personal and financial needs. A parent who has a greater share of parenting time with the couple's children might use this as an argument that he or she should retain the home, but making such a determination is not easy. To allow one partner to remain in the family home, the court must compensate the other partner somehow.

There are many options for handling a family home in a divorce. Each of these has unique benefits.

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Understanding Illinois Child Custody Laws

Naperville Divorce Attorney

In Illinois, the term "child custody" is no longer used. In its place, we use the term "parental responsibilities" when discussing parents' decision-making responsibilities for their childern, and we use "parenting time" to refer to the share of a child's time that each parent spends in the custodial role. This change in terminology is meant to reduce the sense of winning versus losing a custody case among parents, fostering a more collaborative approach to co-parenting after a divorce. Despite the change in terminology and perspective, many of the old custody determination rules are still in place. The most important rule used when determining an appropriate parenting time agreement is to always put the child's best interests first. Sometimes, determining a parenting time and parenting responsibilities arrangement that meets a child's needs requires the aid of an impartial custody evaluator.

In Illinois, a parent may petition to the court to hire his or her own custody evaluator to handle this job. Previously, the decision to allow a parent to hire his or her own custody evaluator was made at the judge's discretion. This does not mean that judges no longer have the ability to appoint independent evaluators – they do. But they cannot prevent a parent from hiring his or her own custody evaluator.

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