Posted on April 26, 2018 in Child Custody

In today’s families, parents often function as equal partners when raising their children, and both mothers and fathers are highly involved in decision-making and day-to-day care. Close relationships with their parents are beneficial for children, and these relationships should continue even if parents decide to end their marriage through divorce. 

In recent years, the divorce laws in Illinois have been updated to reflect the nature of modern parenting. The presumption that one parent will have custody of children has been replaced with the allocation of parental responsibility between parents, and rather than granting temporary visitation for a non-custodial parent, each parent will have parenting time with their children. 

Some advocates are pushing for additional changes to the law that they believe would protect parents’ rights. Currently, the Illinois House of Representatives is considering a bill which would change divorce laws to presume that it is in children’s best interests to have equal amounts of parenting time with both parents.

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 Posted on April 19, 2018 in Divorce

The process of divorce can be lengthy and complicated, and issues related to the property that a couple owns can often be very difficult to resolve. When determining how to divide property during divorce, couples should be sure to consider the following:

• Marital property - Any property that a couple acquires during their marriage is considered marital property, and Illinois law states that these assets should be fairly and equitably divided between divorcing spouses. However, “fair and equitable” does not necessarily mean “equal;” rather; each spouse should receive a “just proportion” of the marital assets.
• Non-marital property - Property which a spouse owned prior to the marriage or which they received by gift or inheritance is not subject to equitable division during divorce. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may also state that certain property is non-marital property. However, marital and non-marital property can become commingled, making it difficult to determine ownership. In some cases, non-marital property may be converted to marital property, or one spouse may be obligated to repay the other spouse for improvements they contributed to non-marital property.

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 Posted on April 12, 2018 in Divorce

The end of your marriage is likely to be a traumatic, chaotic time, but taking the time to prepare for your life after divorce will help you begin the next phase of your life on the right foot. One of the key concerns you should address is your finances, making sure that the decisions made during divorce will protect your financial security and ensure that you will be able to provide for yourself and your family. Here are some tips for financial planning during divorce:

• Gather documents - Be sure to obtain complete records that will give you the full picture of your and your spouse’s finances. These documents may include bank statements, credit card accounts, retirement accounts, investments, mortgages, automobile loans, pay stubs, tax returns, and appraisals of items you own. Fully understanding your financial situation will ensure that assets and debts are divided equitably, and it may help identify any hidden assets.

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 Posted on April 05, 2018 in Divorce

Children deserve to have a good relationship with both their parents, but this can sometimes be difficult after parents decide to divorce. Children often struggle to understand the reason for the end of their parents’ marriage, and they can have difficulty adjusting to dividing their time between two homes. Unfortunately, the emotional distress they experience is sometimes made even worse when one parent attempts to negatively influence their children’s relationship with their other parent. This is known as parental alienation, and it is important for divorcing parents to recognize when it is occurring and understand their legal options.

Forms of Parental Alienation

Parental alienation occurs whenever a parent attempts to influence their children’s feelings about the other parent, and it can take a variety of forms, including:

• Criticizing the other parent, including making disparaging comments, blaming them for the breakup of the marriage, claiming that they are the cause of financial difficulties, or questioning or overriding their decisions about discipline.

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 Posted on March 28, 2018 in Divorce

When parents decide to divorce, both they and their children may have difficulty adjusting to the major changes they will be experiencing in their lives. Some growing pains are inevitable as children become accustomed to dividing their time between two separate homes. However, parents can work to provide a good environment for their children by avoiding the following mistakes:

• Involving children in conflict - Even though parents will likely not get along very well during divorce, it is important to avoid arguing in front of children or exposing them to disagreements. This can be very damaging to children, so parents should work to resolve their disputes when children are not present.
• Inconsistency - Parents should work to maintain consistent rules and schedules at both their houses, which will provide children with a sense of security and help them avoid feeling anxious about what to expect. 

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 Posted on March 27, 2018 in Divorce

During divorce, spouses will work to resolve a wide variety of legal issues through negotiation or mediation, and ideally, they will be able to resolve these issues without the need for litigation in court. At the conclusion of the divorce process, a couple’s final decisions about these issues will be set down in a marital settlement agreement which will be incorporated into their divorce decree. In Illinois, a marital settlement agreement should include the following:

• Division of assets and debts - A settlement will specify how any marital property will be divided between spouses, including real estate property, physical possessions, automobiles, the balances of bank accounts, business interests, and retirement funds or pensions. It should also specify who will be responsible for marital debts. 
• Parenting plan - This portion of the settlement will specify how parents will share decision-making responsibility for their children or whether one parent will have sole responsibility in certain areas. It will also detail each parent’s parenting time schedule, including where children will stay on holidays, who will provide transportation, and any other relevant details.

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 Posted on March 20, 2018 in Divorce

Ending a long-term relationship is difficult, and it is understandable to feel sorrow and anxiety during this time. During divorce and in its immediate aftermath, you may struggle to adjust to the major changes in your life. However, by practicing good self-care, you can not only survive your divorce but thrive in the next phase of your life. Here are some tips for caring for yourself during and after your divorce:

• Focus on the positive - You are likely grieving the end of your relationship, and this can lead to negative feelings about what you have lost. However, by taking time to remember what you do have and the good things in your life, you can build a more positive attitude, put painful experiences in the past, and move on to a better future.
• Establish a routine - It is understandable to feel adrift and unsure about the future during divorce, so following a standard daily routine can give you a sense of order in your life. This can also help avoid having too much spare time to wallow in negative emotions, which can lead to depression.

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 Posted on March 12, 2018 in Divorce

Marriage is hard work, and it requires spouses to form a committed partnership and work together, treating each other with respect and making an effort to put their family’s best interests first. Unfortunately, there are many situations in which one spouse takes advantage of the other and commits acts of abuse designed to give them control in the relationship. While many people are aware of the signs of physical abuse, emotional abuse is often harder to recognize, but it can also be very damaging. If you are unhappy in your relationship, you may want to consider divorce if you are experiencing any of the following signs of emotional abuse:

• Oversensitivity - Abused people are often in constant fear of upsetting their partner or feel that they need to be careful of what they say to avoid provoking anger.
• Criticism - Emotionally abusive people will often tear down their victims in a variety of ways, including blaming them for things that are not their fault, making them feel like they cannot do anything right, making disparaging statements while claiming that they are joking, or offering backhanded compliments.

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 Posted on March 05, 2018 in Divorce

When a couple decides to end their marriage and get divorced, there are a wide variety of legal issues that must be resolved. Determining how to divide marital property is often one of the most complicated aspects of a divorce, especially when spouses own a home together. 

In some cases, a couple may decide to sell their home and divide the proceeds, but often, one spouse wishes to retain ownership of the home, especially when they want their children to continue living in a familiar environment and avoid having to transfer to a new school district. If a spouse does not have the financial resources to purchase their former partner’s share of the home, they may want to consider a divorce lien.

Understanding Divorce Liens

When couples utilize a divorce lien, the spouse who will not be living in the house signs a deed conveying the title to the property to the other spouse. The spouse who remains in the house will sign a payable note and a deed of trust to their former partner. This note is known as a divorce lien. The note will specify how the spouse remaining in the home will repay the other spouse. Payment could be made in a lump sum at a future date or through an ongoing installment plan.

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 Posted on February 22, 2018 in Divorce

When parents of minor children decide to divorce, they will often put a great deal of thought into how the end of their marriage will affect their children and do everything they can to ease children’s transition into a new situation in which they live in two separate households. However, parents should realize that their divorce can also make a big difference in the lives of their adult children. Even though parental responsibility, parenting time, and child support may not be an issue for parents of children who have moved out of their childhood home and begun to support themselves, it is still important to understand how divorce affects adult children.

Protecting Adult Children of Divorce

After their parents’ divorce, adults are often reluctant to make commitments in their own relationships, or they may stay in a bad relationship in hopes that they can avoid repeating their parents’ mistakes. If you are the parent of adult children, you can help them deal with your divorce by following these tips:

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