Posted on September 29, 2018 in Divorce

When you have decided to divorce, it is logical to seek advice from a friend who has already gone through a divorce. However, you should understand what is appropriate for you to request from your friend. Someone who has previously divorced understands the stress and emotional pain you are going through. That experience does not extend to legal decisions about your divorce.

Not Your Lawyer

Going through a divorce does not make someone a legal expert. Your friend may have learned about the process, but that does not qualify him or her to advise you about your divorce. You should not compare your divorce to your friend’s divorce because there are numerous factors that may differentiate your cases, such as:

• The amount and types of marital properties you have;
• The number of children you have;

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 Posted on September 25, 2018 in Divorce

The political war between conservatives and liberals can claim several marriages as among its casualties. The media and public are noticing more divorces caused by political disagreements between the spouses. A recent study found that:

• 29 percent of the respondents believed political differences are causing tension in their marriages or relationships;
• 11 percent divorced or ended their relationship due to their political differences; and
• 22 percent of millennials divorced or ended their relationship due to their political differences.

Your marriage can work if you are on the opposite end of the political spectrum from your spouse, but couples are finding it more difficult to avoid the issue.

‘The Trump Effect’

Many people identify the political rise and election of President Donald Trump as a flashpoint in political divisiveness between couples. The president has polarizing views on political and societal issues, and many people either vehemently oppose or enthusiastically support the views. There have been well-publicized stories about spouses ending their marriages because one person voted for Trump in the election or supports his policies. Trump’s presidency has increased political discussions among friends and family, but the worsening political divisions started before he took office:

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 Posted on September 21, 2018 in Child Custody

You must act decisively to protect your child if you suspect that your co-parent is abusing your child or allowing someone else to abuse him or her. It may be necessary for you to take sole responsibility for your child until your co-parent can show that your child will be safe around him or her. However, a family court will not take away all of your co-parent’s rights and responsibilities unless you can provide convincing evidence of the abuse. You must establish that the abuse is occurring, that your co-parent is responsible, and that giving you sole responsibility for your child is in his or her best interest:

1. Physical Evidence: You may suspect child abuse if your child is injured after returning from a visit with your co-parent. Your child may be afraid to tell you that your co-parent caused the injury, but you should be suspicious if your child cannot give a plausible explanation for the injury. If you believe your co-parent is responsible for the abuse, you should document it by taking pictures of visible injuries and visiting your child’s pediatrician.

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 Posted on September 18, 2018 in Child Support

You can order your former spouse’s employer to withhold money from his or her pay if that former spouse is not making his or her required payments for child support or spousal maintenance. You must send your uniform order of support and a notice to withhold to your spouse’s employer. Once it receives the notice, the employer must:

• Withhold money from your former spouse's paychecks, starting with the first pay period in the next 14 days; and
• Send payments to a state disbursement unit within seven business days of the date that the former spouse is paid.

If the employer does not comply with the notice, you can file a third-party complaint against the employer for receipt of the missed payments and a $100 fine for each day that the employer did not comply.

Recent Example

In the case of In re Marriage of Schmidgall, a woman filed a complaint against her former husband’s employer for ignoring her notice to withhold for six months. The woman’s lawyer initially sent the notice to withhold by certified mail in May 2014, but the envelope was returned and marked “refused.” The lawyer sent two more notices in June and August, both of which were returned as “unclaimed.” The employer claims that it did not receive a notice until late December, after which it began to comply. Testimony in the case established that:

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 Posted on September 15, 2018 in Property Division

You have a sentimental and monetary decision to make in regards to what you should do with your engagement and wedding rings after your divorce. There are three options:

• Sell the rings;
• Keep the rings; or
• Give the rings back to your former spouse if he or she gave them to you.

Studies have found that Americans spend more than $6,000 on average for an engagement ring, and that average may be more than $8,000 in Illinois. Thus, the fate of your rings is highly valuable to you and your former spouse.

Selling the Rings

Illinois courts consider engagement and wedding rings to be gifts between spouses, which means they are separate from marital property. As the owner of the rings, you have the right to sell them and keep all of the proceeds. A premarital agreement could create an exception if the agreement states that you must either return the ring to the original purchaser or share its value as marital property. The value of your rings can still affect your division of property, even if they are not part of the marital property. The court has the discretion to compensate a spouse in the division of property if the other spouse has significant nonmarital properties.

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 Posted on September 11, 2018 in Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

For all of the work that goes into creating a premarital agreement, you want to feel assured that your effort was worthwhile. Premarital agreements settle the same division of property issues as a divorce, which requires accounting for your individual properties and debts. You may feel uncomfortable discussing the possibility of divorce before you have married. Not every marriage needs a premarital agreement. However, you should weigh the potential benefits of an agreement before dismissing the idea because it is at least worth a discussion.

Financial Protection

A premarital agreement is most useful when the parties own several properties from before their marriage. In the agreement, you can:

• Differentiate between marital and nonmarital properties; and
• Determine which marital properties you will receive in case of a divorce.

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 Posted on September 07, 2018 in Divorce

Your appearance can portray your attitude towards your divorce as much as anything you say or do. Divorce is a formal process in which you are making important decisions that will affect your life and the lives of your children. Dressing appropriately tells others that:

• You take your divorce seriously;
• You will behave professionally during the process; and
• You are organized and responsible.

A divorce court judge is the most important person to make a good impression with by your appearance. The judge will form opinions about your character based on how you dress and groom yourself, which may affect his or her decisions on issues such as the allocation of parental responsibilities.

Attire

The clothing you wear should be formal and tasteful. Business casual is appropriate when you are meeting with your spouse outside of court. At court, you should dress more formally to fit the serious and professional atmosphere. Think of what you would wear to a job interview or important meeting. Men should wear a suit or jacket with a tie. Women can wear a simple dress, tasteful shirt and pants, or a business suit. There are several types of clothing you should avoid wearing, including:

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 Posted on September 04, 2018 in Divorce

Many long-term marriages share traits that create a strong relationship, such as respect, dedication, admiration, and patience. You cannot know whether these attributes will develop and sustain themselves in your marriage, but your interactions before your marriage can foreshadow how you will get along in your marriage. You can more easily predict when a marriage is destined for divorce than when it will succeed. Some couples enter ill-advised marriages because they ignore warning signs of incompatibility or make hasty decisions.

Social Pressure

You may become more anxious to get married as you grow older because:

• You fear that your chances of attracting a spouse will diminish with age;
• You want to start a family while you are still biologically capable of doing so;
• Your family is asking about your relationships and whether you have thought about marriage; and

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 Posted on August 30, 2018 in Children and Divorce

Some parents who are in failing marriages stay together for the betterment of their children. The seemingly ideal time to divorce is when the youngest child graduates from high school because:

• The children are more mature;
• They often leave home to go to college; and
• The divorce agreement will not need to cover the allocation of parental responsibilities or child support.

You may feel noble by deciding to delay your divorce for a couple of years until your children have become adults. You are considering the needs of your children before your own. However, postponing a necessary divorce can emotionally damage your children in ways you did not intend:

1. Your Children Are Continually Exposed to Your Conflicts: Staying married for your children will not fix the problems in your relationship. You will not be able to hide the tension between each other from your children. You will either openly lash out at each other or create an awkward environment by not talking to each other. Your children are learning from you how to interact in relationships.

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 Posted on August 27, 2018 in Alimony / Maintenance

Since the U.S. Congress eliminated the alimony tax deduction, divorce professionals have waited to see how state governments will respond. People paying spousal maintenance will not be allowed to deduct their payments from their federal income taxes if the divorce agreement is approved after Dec. 31, 2018. Recipients will also not claim their payments as taxable income. The new law shifts the financial burden towards the paying spouse, and divorce professionals expect courts to react by awarding less in spousal maintenance. Illinois recently approved a new law that changes its directions to courts on how they should evaluate whether to award spousal maintenance and what the maintenance amount should be.

Deciding on Maintenance

The maintenance section of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act contains a list of relevant factors that a court must consider when determining whether awarding spousal maintenance is appropriate. The list instructed the court to consider “the tax implications of the property division upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties.” Lawmakers amended the section to simply state that the court should consider “the tax consequences to each party.” The amendment broadens the definition of what courts may consider in relation to taxes, which includes how not having the alimony tax deduction will affect the paying party.

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