Posted on April 10, 2020 in Child Custody

Despite reasons to not get along, many co-parents manage to have an amicable relationship following their divorce or separation. You do not have to be friends with your co-parent but do need to communicate and cooperate with each other, which allows you to focus on making decisions that are best for your children. A crisis such as the one the world is currently experiencing can test your patience as a co-parent because of the way it disrupts your normal routine and creates uncertainty. It is important to continue to cooperate with your co-parent during any crisis for the sake of creating stability for your children. Here are a few suggestions for co-parenting during our current crisis:

1. Put Health First: The most important thing for you to do right now is to protect the health and safety of everyone in your household. This may mean following public health guidelines and taking extra precautions at home. If you have not already, you should talk to your co-parent about what actions you believe are necessary to protect your children.

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 Posted on April 07, 2020 in Divorce

April is normally the end of tax season, though the U.S. has extended the deadline to July 15 for this year. Still, it is good to get a headstart on filing your federal income taxes if you are dealing with new circumstances, such as your recent divorce. Depending on when your divorce was completed, you may have a decision to make about your tax-filing status. If possible, filing a joint tax return with your former spouse will qualify you for a greater standard deductible and other deductibles and credits. However, you may be forced to file a separate tax return.

If Your Divorce Was Completed by Dec. 31

If you finalized your divorce during the 2019 tax year, then you are considered divorced for the entire year and must file separately. The standard deductible for filing as a single adult is half the amount of what you would receive if you filed a joint tax return. You can receive a higher deductible if you file as the head of the household. In order to qualify, you must:

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 Posted on April 03, 2020 in Divorce

Getting divorced can be a blow to your mental wellness, though each person will react differently to the experience. The stress of completing your divorce agreement and adjusting to your single life can cause depression and anxiety. Sometimes, a decline in your mental health will affect your physical health, such as:

• Changes in your eating habits
• Increased consumption of alcohol or drugs
• Struggles with insomnia
• Higher blood pressure
• A weakened immune system

It is important to take care of your health during and after your divorce. Unfortunately, people are currently limited in the activities they can do. You do not know when you will be able to join a fitness club or go to social gatherings. You may not even have the option of going to work, which would have given you something to focus your thoughts on. There are still several ways that you can improve your physical and mental health:

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 Posted on March 31, 2020 in Child Support

If you are one of the millions of Americans who have recently lost their jobs, you are understandably concerned about your ability to pay for living expenses. For some adults, child support is part of their monthly expenses. Fortunately, you do not have to continue paying the same amount towards child support if you have become unemployed. By requesting a modification of your child support payments, you can reduce your payments to something more manageable, though it is unlikely that you could ever get it reduced to nothing.

Changing Child Support

During a divorce or separation, Illinois calculates child support payments based on the parents’ comparative incomes. Your combined incomes help determine how much you both should be spending on child-related expenses each month, and your comparative incomes determine what percentage of those expenses you will each pay for. You can request an immediate modification of child support if you have a change of financial circumstances, such as losing your job. If the court grants your request, your child support payments will be reduced if you are the paying parent, or the payments you receive will increase if you are the recipient parent. There are a few conditions to the modification that you need to understand:

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 Posted on March 27, 2020 in Children and Divorce

Children of divorce need their parents’ attention to console them and remind them that they will always be loved. If you are worried about your divorce causing lasting emotional damage to your children, active parenting will allow you to watch for signs of emotional stress. However, it is possible to be too active in your parenting, to the point that you may harm your relationship with your child. You need to find a balance in which you are attentive to your children’s needs without becoming controlling or overbearing.

How Divorced Parents Smother Their Children

An overly involved parent can smother their child with positive and negative attention – both of which can be unhealthy:

• Positive attention may be spoiling them with gifts or being overprotective of them.
• Negative attention may be harsh punishments for misbehavior or setting strict rules.

It may not be your intention, but smothering your children is emotionally manipulating them to serve your own desires. Your children may become overly attached and dependent upon you, which hinders their maturation. Your overbearing parenting could also have the opposite effect, causing your children to rebel against you.

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 Posted on March 23, 2020 in Divorce

The coronavirus epidemic has created shockwaves throughout society, and some marriages may be part of the collateral damage. Millions of residents in the U.S. – including those in Illinois – have been ordered to stay at home as much as possible. Some of those residents have lost their jobs, leaving their financial future in doubt. With couples feeling immense stress and unable to escape each other, they are more likely to argue and feel resentful towards each other. Increased time together can also make it more obvious if they no longer love each other or feel unhappy in their marriage. Some couples may conclude that they would like to divorce. However, should they delay getting their divorce until after the epidemic has calmed down?

Reasons to Wait

If your mind is made up that you want to divorce, you may feel restless to get started. However, this may not be the best time to do so. Consider these questions:

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 Posted on March 20, 2020 in Property Division

Unless you live in an area with a robust public transportation system, your vehicle is one of the most essential properties that you own. Thus, your car is one of the more important properties that you will include in your division of property during a divorce. The division may seem straight-forward if you own two vehicles. You each will get one vehicle. However, there are several issues related to your vehicles that you need to consider before completing your divorce:

1. Is the Vehicle a Marital or Separate Property?: If you purchased the vehicle during your marriage with your shared income, then it is marital property. It may be separate property if you purchased it before your marriage, you received it as a gift, or you managed to pay for it with money that is separate from your marital assets. However, a vehicle you purchased before your marriage can become marital property if your spouse has helped you repay the loan on the vehicle.

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 Posted on March 18, 2020 in Family Law

Q: What will happen to the court dates I have scheduled?

A: Kane, DuPage, Kendall and DeKalb Counties have all suspended non-emergency court dates through April 17, 2020. In Kane County, the judges are offering teleconferencing for previously scheduled pre-trial conferences and our office is working with our opposing counsels to move forward with those scheduled matters. The Circuit Clerk's Offices will be sending new dates for previously scheduled Case Management Conferences and status hearings. If your case was set for an extended hearing or trial, it is likely that those new dates will be scheduled after the courthouses resume regular operations. Should any circumstances change, we will be in touch with all of our clients to update you.

Q: Do I still need to follow my court ordered parenting schedule?

A: You should always follow court orders that are in place unless such orders are modified by the Court. However, during this time, it is imperative that you follow the advice of your doctor, your government officials, and the Center for Disease Control. Continue to work with your former spouse or partner to transition children between households in a safe manner. It is always best to keep children calm and stable in unfamiliar situations. If you have a specific question about your individual cases or parenting plans, please contact our office and we can answer your questions.

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 Posted on March 16, 2020 in Child Custody

The term “homecourt advantage” extends beyond the sports world. There is an advantage to having your divorce in a court that is close to where you live. Having to travel to another state for your divorce would be more costly, especially if you need to use litigation to settle your case. Choosing a court for your divorce should not be an issue if you both live near each other. If more than one state can claim jurisdiction for your divorce, the state that hears your case may depend on who files first and the practicality for both sides. Illinois has rules concerning jurisdiction in a parenting case when the two parents live in different states.

Determining Jurisdiction

The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act says that the home state of the children should have jurisdiction over a parenting case but Illinois can claim jurisdiction if:

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 Posted on March 12, 2020 in Divorce

Infidelity is the most obvious example of a singular event that would cause a divorce. There are no comprehensive numbers on how many divorces involve one spouse cheating on the other because couples are no longer required to give a reason for divorce. Surveys suggest that infidelity is one of the most commonly cited reasons for divorce, but not all cases of infidelity result in divorce. Cheating is often the symptom of other marital problems that could have led to divorce on their own.

Something Lacking

A person who seeks an extramarital affair is likely looking for something that they are not getting or are unsatisfied with from their marriage. Sexual activity is often what is lacking, though the cheater can also have an emotional affair. A person may feel a lack of intimacy in their marriage but never seek satisfaction outside of the marriage through infidelity. However, that does not make the faithful spouse any happier in the marriage. If your goal is to save your marriage from a lack of intimacy, you need to discuss your concerns with your spouse, possibly through couples therapy. If you know you have no interest in continuing the marriage, you can save some pain by ending your marriage instead of having an affair.

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