Posted on February 20, 2022 in Divorce

In addition to the many challenges divorce brings, such as negotiating property division, determining who will move out of the family home, and making parenting arrangements, spouses must figure out how to pay for divorce. This can present particular challenges for spouses who are unemployed or homemakers, but financing divorce can be difficult for everyone.

However, lacking a clear path towards paying for divorce should not compel anyone to stay in a relationship that has irretrievably broken down. With careful planning, financial conservation, and the help of an experienced Naperville divorce attorney, you can make your divorce work for you. Here are a few things you can do to bring down the cost of divorce in Illinois.

Consider Doing Some of Your Divorce Yourself

Certain parts of divorce, such as filling out paperwork and delivering it to the appropriate county courthouse, may be easier with the help of an attorney but spouses who are under financial constraints can do it themselves. Limited scope representation is a form of legal representation that allows an attorney to provide assistance to a spouse in the areas where they need it most - without breaking the bank. If you can assess the overall divorce process and determine where you really need help and where you do not, you may be able to reduce your legal fees.

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 Posted on February 10, 2022 in Child Custody

Many parents worry that, after divorce, their ex will try to poison their child against them. Efforts to do this are known as parental alienation and while parental alienation can sometimes be obvious, more often the signs are subtle and difficult to pin down. The effects of parental alienation on a developing child’s psychological well-being can be damaging and Illinois courts take this behavior from parents seriously. If you are worried your child’s other parent is trying to turn your child against you, read on.

Parental Alienation is Real

Whether you call it parental alienation, psychological manipulation, or child abuse, behaviors that unjustly cause a child to feel hostility towards a parent are wrong. Children need both of their parents and even when parents feel hostility and anger towards each other, they should do whatever they can to keep kids out of the conflict. Unfortunately, many parents use their children in proxy battles with each other to get revenge for hurt and disappointment during their marriage.

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 Posted on February 03, 2022 in Domestic Violence

Getting divorced is a traumatic and difficult process for many people, but if you have a possessive or controlling spouse, the process can be even harder. A spouse’s worst behavior is often brought out during divorce; in fact, research shows that victims of domestic violence are at the greatest risk of being seriously hurt or killed when they try to leave their abuser. If you are considering divorce in Illinois and are worried your spouse may try to stalk you, intimidate you, or otherwise control you, here are four things you can do that may help.

Change Your Passwords

Many couples share passwords to their accounts. Without you even realizing it, your spouse may be legally accessing your private information. Emails, bank statements, browser history, social media accounts, and text messages could all be easily available unless you change passwords.

Open Personal Financial Accounts

If you share bank accounts, credit cards, or a cell phone plan with your spouse, you may want to consider closing them or getting your own private accounts. Even closing down shared accounts for online retailers that are connected to your credit cards may be a good idea. Be sure to talk to an attorney before you close any accounts that may be considered marital property.

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 Posted on January 27, 2022 in Divorce

When a couple in Illinois has been married for a short time and wants to legally end their relationship, they may be able to pursue something known as a “joint simplified dissolution.” Joint simplified dissolutions are different from a declaration of invalidity of a marriage, which makes a marriage as if it never happened. Instead, a joint simplified dissolution is a divorce that allows couples with no children and no significant assets to end their relationship in an expedited process. If you want to learn more about whether you may qualify for a joint simplified divorce in Illinois, read on.

Joint Simplified Dissolution Definition and Requirements

A joint simplified dissolution is essentially a fast-track divorce process for simple divorces in Illinois. A joint simplified divorce takes fewer forms, usually costs far less money, and moves much faster than a traditional divorce. Most joint simplified divorces can be completed after only one court appearance.

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 Posted on January 24, 2022 in Divorce

Most residents of Illinois know what divorce is, but fewer people understand the concept of a legal separation. While many people think of legal separation as simply a temporary period during which a couple can do a kind of trial run for divorce, legal separation is actually much more complicated. If you want to learn more about legal separation in Illinois and whether it may be right for you, read on.

What Does it Mean to Be Legally Separated?

Legal separation is when spouses choose to separate their lives, physically, financially, and, usually, emotionally. But rather than a temporary breakup, a legal separation is approved by an Illinois court and deals with many of the same issues as divorce. Parents of children under 18 who seek a legal separation must create a parenting agreement and deal with child support. Couples must also divide marital assets and debt, and one spouse may need to pay spousal maintenance or alimony.

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 Posted on January 18, 2022 in Divorce

Like most behaviors, gambling is usually done in moderation. Most Hoosiers who enjoy Illinois casinos only do so from time to time and do not allow this pastime to interfere with their marital finances. Unfortunately, for some people gambling is a compulsive behavior that can drain a couple’s finances and put them at risk of losing their retirement and home, and even bankruptcy.

Spouses with a gambling addiction will often try to hide their problem and resort to taking out loans without their spouse’s permission. Credit card debt, home equity loans, and more can be used to secure funds for gambling. If you are divorcing a spouse who has a gambling problem and he or she has racked up substantial debt in the process, you are probably wondering what will happen during the marital debt division process.

Equitable Division

Many states are community property states, meaning all assets and debt are divided 50/50 in a divorce. Illinois, however, is an equitable division state. This means that assets and debt are allocated fairly, rather than equally. If one spouse has a problem with gambling and has incurred significant debt, judges will try to ensure that the spouse who spent the money ends up with the responsibility of repaying the debt.

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 Posted on January 10, 2022 in Division of Assets

Conflict is a natural part of divorce for more couples. Even with the best intentions, it can be very difficult to reach a compromise on important issues like asset and debt division because the consequences can be serious and long-lasting. Illinois requires marital assets to be divided fairly, rather than equally, and “fair” can feel different to each spouse.

Sometimes, frustration at the marital asset division process will lead one spouse to try to hide assets in an effort to put themselves in a better position after the divorce. This is a serious mistake that usually backfires, leaving the spouse who hid assets in a much worse situation than they would have been if they had just followed the law from the beginning. Here are three serious consequences for hiding assets in an Illinois divorce.

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 Posted on December 28, 2021 in Child Support

Divorcing spouses must agree to a compromise on many complex problems before a divorce can be finalized. This is especially true when spouses are parents of children under 18. Parenting time, allocation of parental responsibilities, and child support are some of the most contentious issues and it can be difficult to know what to expect.

Child support is often the most predictable part of divorce, but for parents involved in a high net worth divorce, this is often not the case. Although Illinois generally sets child support amounts according to a standard formula, wealthy parents may see a deviation in child support payments. If you are involved in a high-asset divorce and are concerned that your or your spouse’s income may make child support difficult to determine, read on.

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 Posted on December 23, 2021 in Child Support

If you are a parent who is divorced or never married, you know how impossible it can feel to afford a decent standard of living for yourself and your child without any financial support from your child’s other parent. The rising cost of living and inflation in Illinois can make paying for food, shelter, clothing, and educational costs very difficult.

Child support orders are an important legal tool for getting the financial help you need. However, it can take some time between when a parent asks for child support and when a child support order is put in place. When this happens, Illinois courts can award child support retroactively to cover the period between when the child support request was filed and when child support payments began.

Establishing Paternity and Child Support

Establishing paternity is especially important for parents who have never been married because Illinois cannot order a man to pay child support if he is not the child’s legal father. Mothers who need child support may want to involve the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to get help establishing paternity. Paternity can also be established through a court order.

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 Posted on December 14, 2021 in Prenuptial Agreements

Anyone who has written a prenuptial agreement before getting married knows that negotiations can be tough. Both partners want good things for each other, but they must also look out for their own best interests in the future. Sometimes, negotiating a prenup can be so challenging that couples may feel as if they are negotiating a divorce before the marriage even starts.

Because prenuptial agreements take hard work and compromise, it is extremely important to make sure that they are legally enforceable if a couple does get divorced. Unfortunately, many couples spend time painstakingly writing a prenup only to get a nasty surprise during divorce proceedings: The prenup is unenforceable and gets thrown out by a judge. If you are considering writing a prenup with your spouse, here are three big mistakes to avoid.

Coercion or Duress

Each partner must agree to the contents of the prenuptial agreement and sign of their own free will. If a fiance coerces, blackmails, or threatens their partner to secure a signature, the prenup could be considered invalid. If one partner presents the other partner with a prenuptial agreement shortly before the wedding and makes the wedding contingent on their fiance signing the prenup, that could be considered coercion. Couples can avoid this by creating a prenup together, having it reviewed by their own attorneys, and signing the prenup well before the wedding.

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