Posted on July 25, 2019 in Child Custody

It is hard to see much bright side to your divorce when it comes to your children. They are justifiably upset about the breakup of your marriage and how that will change their lives. It is difficult to adjust to a shared parenting agreement that requires them to travel between two homes. On an emotional level, they have experienced the dissolution of your marriage first hand and may question the permanence of any relationship, including their relationship with you. If there is a positive for the children, it is that they no longer live in a home environment rife with conflict and tension. There is also a chance that you may become a better parent to them as a result of your divorce.

Attention

Your marriage may have distracted you from your parenting in ways that you did not realize. It is difficult to concentrate on your children when you are worried about your relationship with your spouse and what that may mean for your future. Being a single parent is more work, but you could be a more attentive parent as a result because:

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 Posted on July 19, 2019 in Alimony / Maintenance

Starting with divorce agreements created this year, people who pay spousal maintenance as part of a divorce can no longer claim those payments as a deduction on their federal income taxes. The alimony tax deduction was used as an incentive for a spouse to pay more maintenance after the divorce. Maintenance recipients will save on taxes because the payments are no longer part of their taxable income. However, they may have more difficulty negotiating a maintenance agreement with their spouses and may not receive as much maintenance as they would have when the deduction existed. There are financial strategies available during divorce that you can use as an alternative to spousal maintenance or that could replicate some of the benefits of the alimony deduction.

1. Property Division: You could forgo spousal maintenance and give the recipient spouse more marital properties instead. There is more certainty in the value of properties than in what you might pay or receive in spousal maintenance over several years. The transfer of money or assets between spouses during a divorce is non-taxable.

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 Posted on July 16, 2019 in Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

There is a misconception amongst some newlyweds that a prenuptial agreement is not necessary unless you are rich. It is true that a prenuptial agreement is helpful when spouses have substantial assets. Those with fewer assets may believe that creating a prenuptial agreement is unnecessary or not worth the cost. However, you should not discount the benefits of having a prenuptial agreement, even if your premarital assets seem meager. In the event of a divorce, you may be thankful that you took the time to prepare one.

Need

People think of prenuptial agreements as a tool of the rich because they are most likely to hear about prenups in the media when celebrities get divorced. Owning valuable assets is only one reason to create a prenuptial agreement. Others include:

• Identifying premarital assets;
• Determining how to divide assets that may grow in value; and

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 Posted on July 13, 2019 in Child Custody

When arguing over the allocation of parental responsibilities, one parent may accuse the other of creating parental alienation. The concept, which is sometimes called parental alienation syndrome, is that one parent is encouraging the children to not have a relationship with the other parent for reasons that are illogical or selfish. Parental alienation can be viewed as a form of child abuse, and some parents have used the claim to gain greater or complete responsibility for the children. However, parental alienation is a controversial subject because an abusive parent could use it to gain access to their children.

Potential for Abuse

The professional psychology community is divided on parental alienation syndrome, including:

• Whether it is a psychological condition:
• How it can be identified and proven; and
• How prevalent it is in parenting relationships.

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 Posted on July 06, 2019 in Divorce and Finances

Having good credit helps when you are responsible for supporting yourself after a divorce. It gives you the option of borrowing money to finance your immediate needs, such as purchasing a new home. Bad credit history or no credit history are obstacles to your financial stability but can be overcome with proper planning. Two of your goals during your divorce should be to protect or repair your credit and to work on building your individual credit.

Existing Credit

You need a current credit report to understand your financial situation, which you can purchase from a major credit bureau. Your current credit rating is likely based on:

• Marital debts;
• Business debts; and
• Debts from before your marriage.

Equitably dividing your marital debts is part of the divorce process. Marital debts are personal debts created during the marriage. With business debts, both spouses may be liable if they co-signed on the debt agreement or the business is not a limited liability company. Debts that predate a marriage are not shared during the divorce unless the spouse agreed to assume liability for the debt.

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 Posted on July 03, 2019 in Divorce

Sometimes, your body seems to have a knack for knowing exactly the wrong time for you to get sick. During a divorce would be one of those times because being sick could interfere with you completing the process while balancing your work and personal responsibilities. Of course, feeling ill during high-stress events is not always a coincidence. The constant stress can weaken your immune system or cause its own maladies. Some people going through divorce lead an unhealthy lifestyle because of how hectic their lives are. Though you may think you cannot afford to be sick, you must take steps to protect your health:

1. Know When to See a Doctor: Sometimes, a little time off is what you need to help yourself feel better. However, you may need to schedule a doctor’s appointment if your symptoms are particularly bad, persist for a couple of days or reoccur somewhat frequently. Do not assume that your illness will go away on its own. Your symptoms could be from a minor bug or a major illness. You will not know unless you see a doctor.

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 Posted on June 30, 2019 in Divorce and Finances

When parents divorce, at least one of them must find a new home for them to live with their children. In some cases, both parents are searching for a home if they sell their marital home. It can be difficult to purchase a house as a single parent. You must find a home that is within your price range but still meets your family’s needs. It may also be more difficult to receive a mortgage as a single parent. To purchase a home, you will need to plan ahead and use the resources available from your divorce agreement.

Assess Your Situation

Before hitting the housing market, you must identify what you need and what you can afford. Your needs may depend on how many children you have and their ages. Young children of the same gender may be fine with sharing a room, but older children need more privacy and space. Your housing expenses are a major component of your budget after divorce. Besides your job income and living expenses, you must consider divorce-related assets and expenses, such as:

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 Posted on June 27, 2019 in Children and Divorce

The terms “parenting time” and “visitation” are sometimes loosely interchanged with each other when discussing the allocation of parental responsibilities after a divorce or separation. When the children spend the majority of their time with one parent, the other parent may feel like they are seeing the children only during weekend visits. However, visitation is different from parenting time, both in legal definition and concept. Saying that your children visit you is demeaning to your relationship with them.

Legal Meaning

Illinois revised its Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to replace the words “child custody” with “the allocation of parental responsibilities.” Parental responsibilities are made up of:

• Decision-making, which is the right to decide important issues regarding the children; and

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 Posted on June 25, 2019 in Divorce

A bitter divorce can cause spouses to be angry and vindictive towards each other. Some spouses try to hurt each other in ways that range from petty to criminal acts. A common way to embarrass a spouse is to have the divorce notice served to them at their work, which is not illegal but still humiliating. A spouse may violate the law by posting “revenge porn” on the internet, which is a class 4 felony. From a legal perspective, online impersonation falls somewhere between the previous examples. Your spouse may not always be breaking the law by impersonating you, but catching your spouse in the act will hurt them during your divorce.

Online Impersonation

Illinois is not one of the few states that have created criminal laws that specifically prohibit online impersonation. Illinois has laws against identity theft, which is a form of impersonation that is used to steal assets or defraud others. Cases of online impersonation during a divorce often involve:

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 Posted on June 20, 2019 in Divorce

There are times when going through your divorce may test the limits of your patience, energy, and sanity. No one experiences divorce within a bubble. You are balancing your divorce with your personal and professional lives and trying not to let any of them collapse. If you fear that your divorce may overwhelm you, you should consider hiring a divorce coach to help you through the personal side of your divorce. Through your coaching sessions, you will learn several important facts that may help you cope:

1. You Need to Share Your Feelings: Suppressing your emotions builds up stress and may cause a breakdown. You need an outlet to talk about what is making you worried or upset. The trick is finding the right person to talk to. You want someone who is sympathetic yet emotionally detached from your divorce. A divorce coach or therapist is the ideal choice. If you want to talk to a family member or friend, make sure it is someone who has a calm and compassionate temperament. Your children should never be your outlet.

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