Posted on September 09, 2020 in Divorce

Every state has different requirements for divorcing couples. Illinois is unique in that a court may require a divorcing couple to attend parenting education classes before finalizing their divorce. This recent legislation is designed to prioritize a child’s well-being as they transition into a divorced family. If you are going through a divorce and have children, you should assume that you will be required to attend these classes and prepare accordingly. Sometimes, parents go into separation with vastly different ideas of what is best for their child, so attend your sessions with an open mind and take the necessary compromises to protect your child’s future as much as you can.

Illinois Parenting Education Classes

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924, the Parenting Education Requirement, states:

“Each circuit or county shall create or approve a parenting education program consisting of at least four hours covering the subjects of parenting time and allocation of parental responsibilities and their impact on children.”

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 Posted on August 31, 2020 in Spousal Maintenance

Although it occurred slightly over one year ago, it is worth understanding the changes that Illinois made to its spousal maintenance law on January 1, 2019. The law controls not just how a court can determine whether or not one spouse is owed maintenance payments from the other, but how to choose the duration and amounts of those payments. Even if you have the help of an experienced divorce attorney to guide you through the divorce process, it could benefit you to understand whether to expect a court to rule in favor of maintenance payments for you or your spouse.

2019 Illinois Spousal Maintenance Law

Before deciding whether spousal maintenance applies in a divorce, the court must consider many factors, all of which are detailed in the 2019 Illinois spousal maintenance law:

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 Posted on August 27, 2020 in Child Custody

Illinois divorce law states that if a couple cannot agree on the allocation of parental responsibilities, the court will make a decision based on the couple’s child’s best interests. These decision-making rights allow either one or both parents to make determinations regarding a child’s education, health (both physical and mental), and if and how religion will be incorporated into their child’s upbringing. The law continues to define what a child’s best interests are in the eyes of the court. Certain factors, including psychological issues, can play a role in making child custody decisions.

A Child’s Well-Being

The overall goal of child-related decisions in a divorce is to do what is in the child’s best interest. Some of the most significant considerations when deciding child custody in an Illinois divorce may include:

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 Posted on August 24, 2020 in Division of Assets

A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is necessary when dividing retirement savings. Without it, the payee can be subject to tax penalties, and there is no guarantee that an employer or retirement plan provider will adhere to your divorce decree alone. Because QDROs are necessary so often, most retirement plan providers have standard forms to help you and your attorney create a draft. If you suspect that the division of retirement assets will be complicated, you can still draft your own QDRO. Either way, it is worth understanding some common mistakes people make when creating QDROs and how you can avoid them. Regardless of your situation, you should work with a reputable divorce attorney you trust to ensure that your financial interests are protected.

Typical QDRO Errors

Even though many retirement plan providers have boilerplate forms for you and your attorney to use as a reference when drafting your QDRO, there are still several common mistakes that you should avoid:

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 Posted on August 13, 2020 in Divorce

Over the past four decades, divorce rates around the world have more than doubled. If you are going through a divorce, this can be a comforting statistic: millions of people are experiencing the same struggles as you. The rise in divorce rates, despite the negative emotions it typically entails, has some positive outlooks as well. Higher divorce rates mean more people are escaping abusive relationships, more people believe they can find love again, and more people are pursuing the life that they want to live.

Cheng-Tong Lir Wang and Evan Schofer, two University of California at Irvine sociologists, compiled nearly four decades of divorce data from all around the world. Their goal was not merely to examine changes in divorce rates over time, but to try to understand what societal factors might cause divorce rate growth. Between 1970 and 2008, they discovered that the global divorce rate rose from 2.6 divorces for every 1,000 married people to 5.5 - the rate more than doubled. After analyzing the data, they found a few commonalities.

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 Posted on August 03, 2020 in Divorce

The division of assets is a central component of divorce. Before you can make a settlement with your spouse, both of you and your attorneys will have to go through the discovery process. Discovery is a pre-trial stage of a divorce where both parties investigate and request evidence from the other party, including financial records. A married couple’s finances can get complicated, and couples are frequently unaware of the scope of their partner’s assets. To reach a fair conclusion, no financial information should be withheld from either party. Attorneys rely on several strategies to unveil the information they need to make adequate demands for their clients. We will detail some of the most commonly requested discovery tactics below. As you are preparing for a divorce, ensure that you have the help of an experienced and dedicated divorce attorney who will leave no stone unturned during the discovery process.

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 Posted on July 30, 2020 in Family Law

Illinois has extensive child representation laws to help protect children’s best interests when their parents are divorcing. A court may appoint one of several types of child advocates to investigate before making decisions in proceedings involving child support, custody, visitation, and allocation of parental responsibilities. To represent a child, a court can appoint an attorney, a child representative, or a Guardian Ad Litem.

A Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is a professional with specialized training to advocate on behalf of children in legal cases. He or she submits a written report that can play a significant role in divorce proceedings and he or she can be called as a witness, so it is common for parents to get nervous when a GAL interviews them. Speak with a divorce attorney who has a rich understanding of a Guardian Ad Litem’s training and responsibilities for help understanding how they fit into your case. In the meantime, here are some tips to increase your chances of making a positive impression on a GAL.

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 Posted on July 22, 2020 in Family Law

Married couples can create a postnuptial agreement to predetermine what would happen if they eventually divorced or in the event of one spouse’s death. Postnuptial agreements are not, however, required to discuss every aspect of separation. Although the process of creating a postnuptial arrangement is fairly uniform, you and your spouse have the flexibility to focus your legal agreement on particular areas of your life. If you and your spouse are interested in drafting one, you can cater the legal document to pertain to your interests, assets, and finances with the help of an experienced attorney.

Topics Couples Tend to Focus on in Postnuptial Agreements

One of the most popular reasons married couples complete a postnuptial agreement is to determine how they will divide assets and liabilities. These agreements also tend to state whether or not one spouse will provide alimony or spousal support. Spouses can waive their rights to spousal support, if they wish, to gain specific marital property. Postnuptial agreements can cover how marital property will be divided and what will happen to any property that either spouse possessed before the marriage. For those who brought a family business into their marriage, the postnup can outline what would happen with the business in case of a divorce.

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 Posted on July 13, 2020 in Divorce

A divorce decree is legally binding and neither spouse is allowed to violate its terms. If your spouse does not abide by the agreement settled on during mediation or by a judge’s ruling, it is vital to work with a divorce attorney to clarify and resolve this conflict. Since there are many aspects to a divorce, there are different ways a spouse can violate a court order and each violation can carry different consequences. There is no one-size-fits-all punishment for violating the terms of a divorce.

Enforcing an Illinois Divorce - Contempt Proceedings

In general, when someone violates a court order, he or she is held in contempt of court. A spouse’s willful neglect to make child or spousal support payments, failure to comply with a parenting time order, and the refusal by one spouse to give specific assets to the other as stated in the divorce decree are all examples of violations. If your ex-spouse violates the terms of your divorce, you can file for contempt proceedings.

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 Posted on June 30, 2020 in Division of Assets

If you are an animal lover, you may have serious concerns about what will happen to your pet after your divorce. For some divorcing couples, deciding who gets to keep the family pet is easy. If one spouse was the main caretaker of the pet or he or she had the pet prior to the relationship, it makes sense that he or she would retain ownership of the pet(s). However, when both spouses want to keep the pet or one spouse insists on keeping the pet simply to hurt the other spouse, the situation becomes much more complicated.

Options When Divorcing Spouses Disagree About Pets

Pets are considered property according to the law and are therefore subject to equitable distribution. If a spouse obtained a pet before getting married, it may be considered a non-marital asset and assigned to the spouse who originally owned the pet. However, if the pet is considered a marital asset, each spouse may have an equal claim to the animal. Your dog, cat, horse, or other pet is probably like a member of the family to you. Because of this, discussions about who should keep the pet can become quite heated. Collaborative law and mediation are two methods of alternative dispute resolution during which spouses work to negotiate issues such as property division. If you are struggling to reach an agreement about pets and other issues, you may want to consider pursuing one of these dispute resolution options.

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