Posted on October 09, 2019 in Divorce

Some costs are unavoidable during the divorce process. You will have to give up a share of your marital properties to your spouse as part of the agreement. A divorce court in Illinois will reject a division of property that it deems to be inequitable. There are mandatory filing and court fees. You can apply for a partial or total waiver of the fees, which the court may grant depending on how your income compares to the federal poverty level. Some divorcees will argue that an attorney is an optional expense, but representing yourself in a divorce has its own costs. There are other ways that anyone can save money on their divorce.

Help with Research

Before starting the divorce negotiations, you must prepare by identifying your marital properties and determining their value. A divorce attorney can do this research for you but will need to be paid for the hours they spend tracking down this information. The process can take days to weeks, depending on:

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 Posted on October 03, 2019 in Divorce

Changing your marital status back to single has a wide-spread impact on various documents and forms of identification related to your life. There is a long list of updates that you will need to make, though many of them can wait until after you have completed your divorce. Failing to make these updates can cause confusion that will be more difficult to fix after the fact. You should write a list of documents that you need to update, which may include the following:

1. Estate Plan: If you created a will or trust for after your death, your former spouse is likely the primary beneficiary. It is your choice whether your spouse should be completely cut out of the estate plan, but you likely want to change it from what you decided during your marriage. If you die before updating your estate plan, your former spouse and your family may get in a legal battle about who you intended to inherit your assets.
2. Power of Attorney: An estate plan may include documents naming the person with the power of attorney over your health and financial decisions in the event that you are incapable of making your own decisions. Once again, your former spouse likely has this authority if the documents were created or updated during your marriage. You need to decide who should have the power of attorney instead.

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 Posted on October 01, 2019 in Children and Divorce

Children of divorce are often unsure of who to talk to about their feelings because their most natural outlet – their parents – is at the source of their pain. Social media is an easy alternative for them, where they can express themselves and connect with friends. Divorced parents may believe that there is no harm in letting their children withdraw into their mobile devices. After all, parents know where the children are. However, children can still get themselves into trouble on social media and are more prone to making poor decisions when experiencing a traumatic event, such as their parents' divorce.

Potential Problems

Children often fail to understand that what they say and do on social media can have real-life consequences. Posting offensive or inappropriate content reflects poorly on them now and leaves a record that could hurt them in the future, such as when they apply to a college. Sharing too much about themselves makes them appear vulnerable to people who try to exploit confused children and teenagers, such as:

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 Posted on September 29, 2019 in Divorce

Many drivers have an E-ZPass – known as an I-Pass in Illinois – registered to their vehicle. The transponder is convenient for passing through tolls without having to stop and throw in coins in a toll booth. Most drivers do not think about how the transponder can track their movements based on the toll roads they use. The Illinois Tollway keeps that information private but can be forced to share information on individual vehicles when they receive subpoenas. Law enforcement officials are the ones who most often subpoena I-Pass records for evidence of criminal activity. You may be surprised to learn that I-Pass records are also used in some divorce and family law cases.

Scenario

Let us say that you are paying spousal maintenance to your ex, who was unemployed at the time of the agreement. You have reason to believe that your former spouse has started a job, which would allow you to modify your maintenance payments. Your former spouse denies that they have a job to avoid any reduction in maintenance. As part of your evidence gathering, you could file a subpoena for your former spouse’s I-Pass records, which may show that they are passing through tolls at times that are consistent with going to and from a job. I-Pass records have also been used as evidence that a former spouse is cohabiting with a new romantic partner, which may allow the termination of spousal maintenance.

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 Posted on September 25, 2019 in High Asset Divorce

Marital assets in a divorce can be intangible properties that hold great value, particularly in a high-asset divorce. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are a modern example of an intangible financial asset. Most divorces do not have cryptocurrencies because owners typically must have a combination of technological savvy and individual wealth. The value of one Bitcoin has hovered around $10,000 for the past few months. Owning cryptocurrency can make the division of property more complicated. You may need to hire a financial professional with knowledge of cryptocurrency and how it applies to divorce laws.

Hidden Asset

Cryptocurrencies are a decentralized and unregulated form of digital currency that originated in the past decade. The lack of a central bank or government oversight creates the risk that a divorcee could hide part of their assets by:

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 Posted on September 23, 2019 in Child Custody

Your parenting agreement is the document that determines your rights and responsibilities as a co-parent, such as when the children will be with each parent and who has the authority to make parenting decisions. However, there are many other aspects of parenting that co-parents need to agree on. Adding provisions to your parenting agreement can clarify how you will raise your children and how you will make decisions with your co-parent.

What Are Provisions?

Provisions refer to the terms of a parenting plan that address decision-making responsibilities and parenting time schedules. It is best to wait until you have completed the basic structure of your parenting plan before you start adding additional provisions. Provisions in a parenting agreement are helpful because they can create:

• Guidelines for how you will raise your children, which creates more consistency between the two homes

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 Posted on September 19, 2019 in Divorce

Part of your recovery during and after your divorce is moving past the emotions that led to divorce. Unfortunately, acts of infidelity can be difficult to reconcile. If your spouse had an affair during your marriage, you may feel hurt and spiteful towards them. It is unhealthy to let spite drive your decisions during divorce because creating a divorce agreement is not about punishing a cheating spouse. You should focus on reaching an agreement with your spouse that benefits you. If you are a co-parent after a divorce, holding a grudge against your former spouse may impede your ability to make decisions that are in the best interest of your children. Healing from an affair may take time, but you can start the process with these steps:

1. Honestly Assess Your Marriage: Learning about your spouse’s affair may have directly led to your decision to divorce, but that does not make it the sole cause of your divorce. It is possible that your marriage was already in danger due to a lack of communication and trust. Divorce may have eventually happened, regardless of whether your spouse had an affair.

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 Posted on September 12, 2019 in Divorce and Finances

The income you earned before you filed for divorce is considered marital property, which is part of the division of property. Your income after your divorce is used to calculate child support and spousal maintenance but is otherwise yours to keep. The structure of your pay has little consequence on your divorce if you receive a straightforward salary or hourly wages. With other forms of compensation, the timing of your divorce could determine whether your spouse can claim a portion of that income:

1. Bonuses: In most cases, a work bonus qualifies as marital property if you received it before you filed for divorce. You must make sure that your spouse does not double count the bonus by claiming it as marital property and including it as part of your income when calculating support. An exception may be a bonus with a clawback provision, which states that you must return the bonus if you are no longer with your employer before a set date. You could argue that you should not include the bonus in the division of property because you could lose it. If it is part of the division of property, you should include a section in your agreement stating that your spouse must repay their share of the bonus if you are forced to return it for reasons beyond your control.

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 Posted on September 08, 2019 in Child Support

Divorcing parents in Illinois do not negotiate child support payments in the same way they may negotiate spousal maintenance. With spousal maintenance, you may need to decide whether payments are necessary and how long they should last. With child support, those issues are predetermined. Child support is mandatory and will last until all of your children have turned 18 or graduated from high school. The formula for calculating child support is also set because the income shares table will tell you the base child support obligation that you share. However, there are still factors regarding child support that you can control.

Establishing Your Income

When calculating child support payments, parents may disagree on their respective incomes. Your income level affects the total child support obligation between the two of you and how much of that obligation you will pay. You need to accurately report your income while making sure that your spouse is not underreporting their income. Your spouse may accuse you of misrepresenting your income. If you cannot agree on each other’s incomes, a divorce court will examine your case and decide for you.

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 Posted on September 04, 2019 in Divorce

Addiction comes in many forms, whether it involves alcohol, drugs, sex or other excessive behavior. People dealing with addiction can become abusive towards the ones they love and betray their trust. It is commendable if you have recovered from an addiction, but your spouse does not have to forgive you for your past actions. You may end up divorcing despite your efforts to improve yourself. While this may be a devastating turn of events, you cannot let yourself relapse into your addiction.

Addiction and Divorce

Your marriage and your family may have been your primary motivations during your recovery. You want to be someone that your spouse and children can rely on, and that idea gave you the strength to seek help and change yourself. The divorce takes away your spouse as a pillar of support. It is also possible that the divorce court will view your history of addiction as a potential danger to your children, which could affect the allocation of parental responsibilities. Divorce is a stressful and sometimes frightening process for anyone. You may be tempted to return to your addiction because it feels comfortable and will take your mind off your anxiety. A relapse would be disastrous for yourself and your divorce. It would likely limit your parenting time with your children and distract you from what you need to accomplish in your divorce.

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