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Recent Blog Posts
Why You Should Consider Drafting a Prenuptial Agreement
Prenuptial agreements have an unfair reputation as only being used by the extremely wealthy or in celebrity marriages that seem doomed to fail. The truth is that many normal, everyday, couples who take the financial responsibilities associated with marriage seriously sign prenuptial agreements. A prenuptial agreement, or “prenup,” can protect you and your soon-to-be spouse’s property rights in the event of divorce and address other issues. Drafting a prenuptial agreement is also a great way to start a dialogue about how financial matters should be managed during the marriage.
Common Situations in Which a Couple Utilizes a Prenup
Many people who are getting married for the second or third time use a prenuptial agreement. When you are on a second or third marriage, your financial situation is likely much more complicated than it was the first time you got married. You may own a home, significant assets, or have child support and spousal maintenance obligations from your previous relationship. A prenup can define exactly how marital assets should be divided if the marriage ends in divorce. It can also ensure that your final wishes regarding asset distribution and special heirlooms are followed.
How Moving in With a New Partner Will Affect Your Spousal Maintenance
If you are receiving spousal maintenance, you probably know—or, at least, assume—that your former spouse’s financial obligations to you will end in that event you ever get remarried. It only makes sense. When you get remarried, you become financially interdependent with your new spouse, all but making your ex all but irrelevant—children’s needs notwithstanding.
Depending on your situation and your desires, however, you may be inclined to shy away from marriage for a time after your divorce, as your last formal commitment may have soured you a bit on the institution. As an alternative to getting married, you may decide to move in with your new partner, but you should know that, in most cases, cohabitation is grounds for ending spousal maintenance as well.
A Growing Trend
Evolving social mores and more liberal views on interpersonal relationships have led to an increasing number of unmarried couples living together. Many choose the arrangement as a precursor to marriage, while others are content to remain cohabiting indefinitely. While sociologists and religious authorities continue to debate the morality of cohabitation, legal systems around the country have been forced to contend with the changing concepts of household and family.
Co-Parenting Tips for Divorcing Parents
If you are getting a divorce or have decided for certain to end your marriage, you may have apprehensions about how you and your spouse will raise your children. If you want to share parental responsibilities and parenting time, formerly called custody and visitation, you will need to find a way to co-parent that meets your child’s needs. Of course, cooperating with an ex-spouse can be extremely difficult. No co-parenting arrangement is perfect, but there are some things you can to do help make your co-parenting relationship with your ex as amicable and effective as possible. Read on to learn some of the top co-parenting tips from child development and mental health experts.
Do Not Disrespect Your Ex in Front of Your Children
It can be nearly impossible to keep quiet about frustrations involving an ex-spouse. If your marriage ended because of infidelity, deceit, or another hurtful behavior, you may be understandably furious at your ex-spouse. However, bad-mouthing your ex in front of your children will only make the situation worse. Children who hear parents talking negatively about each other may feel like they have to choose sides. Furthermore, when a parent talks badly about the other parent to the point that it encourages a child to turn against the other parent, it can be considered “parental alienation.” In extreme cases, parental alienation can lead to the loss of your parental rights.
Preparing for Your Illinois Divorce
If you ask five family members or friends for advice on what to do in preparing for your divorce, you are likely to get five different answers. This is not because any of them wrong necessarily, but because there are many important factors to consider and steps to take. Similarly, the Internet is full of advice and checklists for divorcing individuals, but before you take action, it is important to take stock of what you have, what you want, and what it will take to get there.
Save Some Money
As you get ready to file your petition for divorce, you will need to have some money put aside for a variety of expenses. This is especially true if you have become accustomed to a lifestyle that relies on two incomes. Very soon, you may be forced to be self-reliant, and if your monthly income cannot meet your monthly needs, you will need to have savings. Remember that during the divorce process, you may need to find a new place to live, buy new household goods or furniture, or hire an attorney. All of these things cost money and you need to be prepared.
Understanding Equitable Distribution in an Illinois Divorce
When a couple gets divorced, everyone “knows” that each spouse is entitled to half of everything the couple owns, including the property that each party brought with them into the marriage. This idea is repeated as fact in countless movies, television programs, and informal advice forums. Such an assumption, however, about how property is divided in a divorce is, at best, misguided and, at worst, completely inaccurate—at least in the state of Illinois.
Equal Division Is Not Guaranteed
Illinois is known as an equitable distribution state when it comes to dividing property in a divorce. Equitable is not the same as equal, and the distinction is very important. The principles of equitable distribution—and Illinois law—require marital property to be divided in a manner that is fair and just. To determine what is fair and just, the circumstances of the marriage, divorce, and expected post-divorce situation must be taken into account.
How Life Insurance Can Be Used as Security in a Divorce Case
For many individuals, it takes a divorce to realize just how financially dependent a person may be on his or her spouse. This, of course, may be all the more true if you are also trying to raise children. It is for exactly such reasons that the divorce laws in Illinois include provisions for spousal maintenance and child support. These orders are issued, when appropriate, by the court to distribute the financial burden more equitably between you and your ex-spouse. But, what would happen if your ex-spouse was no longer around to provide support for you or your children? Would you be able to get by? If the answer is no, you may want to speak with family law attorney about including life insurance requirements in your divorce agreement.
Why Life Insurance?
How Could Domestic Abuse Affect Parental Rights?
Domestic abuse is a serious problem in this country. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 10 million women and men are abused by a romantic partner every year. This works out to an average of almost 20 incidents every minute. Many of the couples affected by domestic violence have children. In fact, one in every 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year. Children are deeply affected by witnessing domestic violence, and exposure to it may cause them serious anxiety, fear, sadness or even guilt.
In Illinois parental responsibility proceedings—formerly called child custody—every effort is made to make decisions which are in the child’s best interest. Therefore, most courts will not order a child to live with or have visitation with a consistently abusive parent. However, if this abuse is not known to the court or is not documented, the courts may allow arrangements that place the child in danger. This is why it is important for each parent to notify the court about any issues involving either parent that relate to domestic violence or protective orders.
What Does Timing Have to Do With a Dissipation Claim?
In a divorce proceeding, the couple must reach an agreement about how they will divide their marital property, or the court will step in and divide the marital estate for them. If the court gets involved, there are numerous statutory factors that will be considered, including any claims of dissipation filed by either spouse.
Dissipation refers to the spending of marital assets inappropriately—namely, for purposes unrelated to the marriage. When a claim of dissipation is filed, it is essentially a request for the spent assets to be repaid to the marital estate so that the property division process can be completed equitably. While the type of spending is an important consideration in a dissipation claim, the timing of the spending mattes as well.
Understanding Dissipation
The Illinois Supreme Court has defined dissipation as the use of marital assets by one spouse for his or her own benefit rather than that of the marriage. Dissipation claims are common in divorce cases where a spouse has spent large amounts of money on alcohol, drugs, gambling, foolish investments, or adulterous affairs. In certain situations, dissipation could also include destroying or failing to maintain a marital asset, such as an investment property. This type of dissipation is a problem because it can dramatically reduce the overall value of the couple’s marital estate.
Understanding the Importance of Following a Parenting Plan
It is not easy to raise children, even under the best of circumstances. For parents who are divorced, separated, or unmarried, the situation can be much more difficult. In Illinois, the law encourages a divorcing couple with children to develop a comprehensive parenting plan so that each parent can fully understand his or her rights and responsibilities regarding the child. As time goes on, it is very important for both parties to remain compliant with the parenting plan and to keep the best interests of the child as their top priority.
Components of a Parenting Plan
According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, parents involved in a proceeding for the allocation of parental responsibilities—previously known as child custody—are expected to prepare and submit to the court a proposed parenting plan. Each parent may create a separate proposal, or the parents can develop one together. The law provides more than a dozen considerations that are to be included in any parenting plan, including but not limited to:
What Are My Child’s Responsibilities Regarding College Expenses After an Illinois Divorce?
Classes are now well underway at universities and colleges in Illinois and around the country. If you are the parent of a college-aged son or daughter, you have probably spent much of the last few years budgeting, saving, and preparing for the costs of putting your child through college. Under Illinois law, parents who are divorced may have increased responsibilities, as they could be court-ordered to contribute toward the college expenses of their child.
If you are subject to an order for non-minor support for college expenses, you should realize that you are not the only one with obligations related to that order. Your child must assume certain responsibilities as well, or your ordered contributions will be terminated.
The Resources of the Child
According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the court must consider many factors when deciding on whether to issue an order for a parent to help with the child college expense. These factors include the resources and needs of each parent, including their retirement savings. The same law, however, requires the court to take the child’s resources into account as well. The statute explicitly states that education savings accounts governed by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code—commonly known as “529 Accounts” are considered to be resources of the child, as long as they were established before the divorce. Other resources of the child may include endowments, grants, scholarships, and any other funds intended to help pay for post-secondary education.
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