Posted on August 23,2022 in Illinois Divorce

Dealing with a divorce is difficult for an entire family. However, unique issues can arise for non-custodial fathers after a separation or divorce. No longer living with your children is difficult, and it can be devastating for a parent. Suppose you are a father who is no longer the primary custodial guardian in your child's life. In that case, it is a good idea to prepare for this transition in a few ways. Here are four critical tips for dads during a divorce. 

Stay on Top of Your Parenting Plan 

When you are no longer the custodial guardian of your children, it is easy to overlook the day-to-day activities and responsibilities of being a parent. It is important to stay organized with your parental responsibilities. During the divorce, both parents are included in creating custody, visitation time, and responsibility plans for life after the separation. Typically, each parent is allocated specific responsibilities and visitation with the children. You must stay on top of these responsibilities to maintain an important role in their lives. 

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 Posted on August 16,2022 in Illinois Divorce

For many people, property division is one of the most challenging aspects of divorce. When it comes to business interests, dividing property becomes more complicated. Typically, the two ways to consider property division during a divorce are shared marital property or individual property. Depending on whether or not spouses share a business, there are different ways to protect your interests legally. 

Is Your Business Shared Property?

The first step in ensuring you retain maximum interests within your business during a divorce is understanding whether or not it is shared. Illinois law considers a business unshared if you owned the company before getting married, you built the business with inheritance or your own money, or a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement states that only one spouse owns the business.

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 Posted on August 09,2022 in Illinois Divorce

One of the most critical aspects of divorce is selecting an attorney that best fits your needs. It can become overwhelming to decide which divorce lawyer will represent your interests and help you secure the most favorable outcome of your divorce. A few key things to remember when selecting a divorce attorney include the type of divorce you are handling, your budget, and your personal ethics and values. Here are three essential tips for choosing the right attorney for your divorce. 

Consider the Type of Divorce at Hand

Before selecting the best attorney for you, it is crucial to examine what type of divorce process you are facing. There are a few different types of the divorce process that differ in price, complication, and duration, including:

• Contested vs. uncontested divorces
• High-value and asset divorce

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 Posted on August 02,2022 in Illinois Divorce

When dealing with a divorce, spouses tend to worry about how financial responsibilities will be taken care of when the marriage is dissolved. Alimony, also known as spousal support or maintenance, refers to a series of payments made from one spouse to another following a divorce. Many couples going through a divorce wonder how to obtain spousal support or how the court will decide which partner is responsible for paying spousal support. If spousal support is found to be appropriate, the court will decide who pays spousal support by determining the supporting and dependent spouses. 

Supporting vs. Dependent Spouses 

When deciding which spouse will pay spousal support after the divorce is finalized, it is critical to analyze the financial health of both spouses. By looking at each spouse’s financial statements, a divorce attorney can help identify which spouse will be supporting the other. Below are the general characteristics of a supporting and dependent spouse.

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 Posted on July 28,2022 in Illinois Divorce

One of the most common questions asked during a divorce is how expensive the divorce process is. Creating a cost estimate for a divorce is difficult for many reasons. Costs affiliated with a divorce vary depending on factors such as the type of divorce, the duration of the divorce process, which attorney you hire, and the type of assets shared.

Divorces in Illinois vary in cost, but there are ways to gauge how expensive your divorce can become. Your best bet is to speak with a qualified divorce lawyer about your specific situation.

Finding a Cost Estimate 

By speaking with a skilled divorce attorney, spouses can usually get a rough estimate how expensive their divorce may be. Estimates can be made only after an attorney gathers the facts of your situation and determines a few factors such as:

• Whether a divorce is contested or not 

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 Posted on July 26,2022 in Illinois Divorce

The divorce process can be complicated for many reasons, especially when dealing with property and asset division between two spouses. When dealing with a high-income, high-value divorce, the process can become more intricate to consider the significance of the assets at stake. Stress levels run high in any divorce, separation, or breakup. The essential nature of high-income asset division can exacerbate stress and cause high anxiety levels. If you are in the midst of a high-income divorce, here are three tips that may make the process more manageable for your situation. 

Contact a Financial Analyst

Many divorce and family law attorneys have contacts with analysts that assist in the divorce process. Financial experts are one of the most commonly consulted analysts during a high-value divorce. Alongside your legal counsel, a financial expert can examine the assets divided between two partners. Some of the most common monetary and business assets that are analyzed in a high-value divorce include:

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 Posted on July 14,2022 in Illinois Divorce

Breakups, separations, and divorces can be difficult. Tensions run high, and many couples cannot communicate with their spouse about how to move forward after a marriage is dissolved. When spouses cannot communicate effectively, many people believe that the only solution is to resolve a divorce in court. However, other more cost-effective and productive forms of alternative dispute resolution can help couples get through a difficult divorce. One of the most beneficial alternative dispute resolutions for divorce cases is third-party mediation. 

Understanding Divorce Mediation

Alternative dispute resolutions are different techniques that couples can use to communicate with their partner and dissolve a tense marriage without defaulting to court litigation. A few different types of dispute resolutions are used for divorce, including mediation, settlement conferences, and arbitration.

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 Posted on July 08,2022 in Illinois Divorce

When beginning the divorce process, many couples realize there are two main characteristics the state uses to divide property in Illinois— marital and non-marital property. Non-marital property includes assets owned individually by only one of the partners in a marriage. Marital property has assets accumulated throughout the marriage, thus belonging to both spouses. During the division of property, marital assets are split up between both partners in an equitable fashion. However, some assets, such as retirement accounts, have shared and unshared characteristics, making retirement plans much trickier to divide. 

Illinois Law on the Division of Retirement Plans 

The state of Illinois describes retirement plans as having both shared and unshared characteristics. Sometimes, a retirement plan is opened, and some of the retirement benefits are accumulated before that individual is married. However, once that individual is married, any retirement benefits collected can be considered shared property. The best way to determine which assets in a retirement plan are shared between spouses is to document the benefits awarded after the marriage is finalized. Any financial benefits accumulated before the wedding belong solely to that individual spouse. 

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 Posted on June 27,2022 in Child Support

When a marriage dissolution is finalized, a divorce decree is drafted. A divorce decree is a legally binding document that expresses all decisions made in a divorce arrangement, including custody arrangements, property division, and spousal maintenance. The court enforces a divorce decree, and must be upheld by both parties. However, individuals can make changes within a divorce decree when necessary. 

Requesting Additional Child Support 

It is not uncommon for parents to require more child support after the initial divorce decree is finalized. Lifestyle changes following a separation or divorce can drastically affect a parent’s ability to provide for their children. For example, a mother may have been able to support her children with the child support amount expressed in the divorce arrangement, but she recently finds herself unemployed. In this case, the mother must request more child support from the state. 

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 Posted on June 20,2022 in Illinois Divorce

Although Illinois is considered a no-fault divorce state, there is no doubt that infidelity and other extramarital affairs can be the root cause of a failed marriage. Cheating in a marriage can cause lasting damage to a relationship, often leading to divorce. However, unfaithfulness cannot be used to negotiate a more favorable divorce plan for one spouse over another. The court will see infidelity as a mutual disagreement between partners, not as a way to blame a cheating spouse. However, infidelity can still affect a divorce in a few ways. 

Understanding Irreconcilable Differences 

“Irreconcilable differences” is the legal term used in no-fault divorce states to express that a marriage is beyond repair. The term irreconcilable differences is meant to blame both partners equally, hence the term no-fault divorce. Essentially, this means that both partners have had substantial enough disagreements throughout the marriage that renders the relationship unfixable. 

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