Posted on November 15, 2017 in Alimony / Maintenance

The proposed tax reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives has caught the attention of divorce attorneys. The bill would eliminate the federal tax deduction for spousal maintenance as part of an effort to offset massive tax cuts. Recipient spouses would also no longer pay taxes on their maintenance payments. The changes would shift the tax burden from the recipient spouse to the paying spouse. However, the recipient spouse may find it more difficult to obtain spousal maintenance during a divorce.

Tax Deductions

Under the current federal tax law, people may deduct the entirety of spousal maintenance payments they make, as long as:

• The payments are not related to child support or property division from the divorce;
• The former spouses are not filing a joint tax return;

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 Posted on November 10, 2017 in Property Division

Settling a divorce involving a veteran of the U.S. military can be more complicated than with a typical divorce. Federal and state laws determine how veterans benefits may be divided during the divorce. With the varying types of benefits a veteran can receive, divorcing spouses may have difficulty differentiating between them. Some benefits are treated as marital property, while others are exempt from division. The duration of both the marriage and the veteran spouse’s service can also affect how the benefits are treated. Here is a breakdown of different types of veterans benefits and how they relate to divorce.

Medical Benefits

Spouses and dependents are eligible for coverage under a military veteran’s health care plan, such as TRICARE. When a spouse divorces a veteran, the spouse can remain on the health plan indefinitely, as long as:

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 Posted on November 07, 2017 in Divorce

It is vital for you to protect your personal information and communications during your divorce. Spouses are looking for information that gives them an insight into the other party’s strategy or that can be used to discredit the other party. Access to your email, text messages and voicemails can expose all of that information and other details you may not want your spouse to know. Unauthorized access to your electronic accounts is illegal, but you would need to prove that your spouse surreptitiously gained access to the information. It is easier to strengthen your cyber security at the start of your divorce.

Security Breaches

Your spouse does not need the skills of a computer hacker in order to access your electronic accounts. Often, it is as simple as knowing your password. Spouses often share passwords with each other so they can both access important personal information. If you have not shared your passwords, your spouse may know where you have them written down. Once your spouse has gotten into your electronic accounts, he or she can:

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 Posted on November 01, 2017 in Children and Divorce

Divorced parents often cannot avoid each other due to their shared responsibilities to their children. Many encounters can be brief, avoiding uncomfortable tensions and possible conflicts. However, there are child-related events that the parents are expected to both attend and remain in close proximity to each other for extended periods. These events may include:

• Sports competitions;
• School concerts;
• Parent-teacher conferences; and
• Awards ceremonies.

Both parents likely want to attend these events because they are important moments in their children’s lives. The children are also hoping to see both parents at the event. Divorced parents should try to peacefully interact with each other when attending their children’s events.

Being Together

As awkward as it may feel, divorced parents can best show their support for their children by sitting next to each other at events. The action tells a child that his or her parents can agree on their love for the child, even if they disagree on other important matters. When not around the children, the parents can limit their interaction to a level that will not escalate into conflict. Though it may be tempting, they should refrain from discussing topics relating to their personal lives. Such conversations can easily devolve into the arguments that were at the heart of the divorce. Instead, the parents should focus on the children and what is happening at the event. Even sitting next to each other in awkward silence is preferable to a conversation that may become an argument.

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 Posted on October 27, 2017 in Child Support

After a court has established child support, parents are entitled to a review and possible modification of the payments. Illinois allows child support modifications in three situations:

• When three years have passed since the child support was enacted or last modified;
• When there is a significant change in the needs of a child; or
• When there is a significant change in the income of one of the parents.

A recent Illinois appellate court case involved a father requesting to lower his child support payments. The court found that the father had proven a viable reduction in his income and rejected the mother’s argument that the support payments should remain the same.

Case Details

The two parties divorced in 2013, and the mother was appointed the primary residential parent of their three children. Using the child support law at the time, the court ordered the father to pay 32 percent of his net income towards child support, as well as set amounts for medical expenses and extracurricular activities. Initially, the payments were $1,700 per month based on the father's job income. However, the mother successfully petitioned to increase the support payments because of additional income the father received from a side business selling computer parts. In April 2015, the court set the child support payments at $4,053 per month.

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 Posted on October 23, 2017 in High Asset Divorce

Most successful business executives are highly driven professionals who are dedicated to their work. Those qualities do not always transfer to their marriages. Their focus on their jobs can cause them to pay less attention to their home lives. Their spouses may seek divorce if they do not feel there is enough intimacy and communication in the marriage. If the business executive was not paying much attention to the marriage, he or she needs to focus more on the divorce. High asset divorce involves many complex properties that must be divided between the spouses. The business executive spouse may be familiar with negotiating deals involving valuable assets, but he or she cannot take the same approach during a divorce.

Complex Marital Properties

Most marriages involve valuable assets that must be divided, such as real estate and financial accounts. For business executives, these high-value assets can be more diverse and complicated, such as:

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 Posted on October 19, 2017 in Children and Divorce

People going through a divorce can be reluctant to tell casual acquaintances about it. The process is personal and not something they want to share with everyone they meet. However, there are people outside of your friends and family who need to know about the divorce. One such person is your child’s pediatrician. The emotional impact of your divorce can cause developmental and behavioral maladies in children. A pediatrician may be able to help your children, but he or she needs to know that the divorce may be causing the problems. Keeping your pediatrician informed of your child’s life circumstances may help prevent some of the struggles your child will go through during the divorce.

Effects of Divorce

Children feel emotional pain when their parents divorce or separate, regardless of their age or how amicable the divorce is. Feelings of abandonment, anger and self-blame can become emotional scars that last for years. Depending on the child’s age, the emotional effects of divorce on children can manifest as:

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 Posted on October 17, 2017 in Property Division

It is easy to think of a divorce settlement in terms of winners and losers. You may feel like you won the negotiations if you obtained most of the marital properties you wanted and secured favorable support payments. However, there is more to a divorce settlement than the initial financial totals:

• Property ownership can come with additional expenses;
• Some properties have more potential for growth; and
• How support payments are structured can favor one side in terms of taxes.

You need to take a broad perspective of the financial consequences of your divorce settlement.

Pursuing Your Home

Your marital home is probably the most valuable property from your marriage, so obtaining ownership feels like a huge win. Keeping the home is most crucial if your children will be living with you for a majority of the time after the divorce. However, owning the home can be costly and risky:

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 Posted on October 13, 2017 in Divorce

People who are going through or have completed a divorce often turn to comforting activities to help them cope. Divorce is a significant source of stress, anxiety and depression. Divorcees are experiencing a life-altering process with an uncertain outcome. The stress increases if the two parties are hostile and combative with each other. Thus, it seems more important to be able to enjoy themselves when they have free time. However, overindulgence can lead to addiction, even for those without a history of addictive behavior. What started as a coping mechanism becomes a compulsion that is difficult to break.

Types of Addiction

People most commonly associate addiction with alcohol, tobacco products and drugs. All of the them have addictive properties and can become a chemical dependency for the users. Substance abuse is also directly linked to health complications and changes in behavior. However, addiction is broader than substance abuse, including:

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 Posted on October 10, 2017 in Children and Divorce

There is no denying that divorce is a negative experience for your children. You can rationalize how your children will be better off because of the divorce. From their perspective, they have witnessed the end of a relationship that defines their lives and are faced with uncertainties about their futures. However, divorce can have both a positive and negative effect on your children. They may not see any immediate benefits, but the experience can teach lessons that help them become better adults.

Healthy Relationships

Your marriage has a great influence on how your children will view and treat their own relationships. By witnessing your unhealthy marriage, they may unwittingly pick up your bad habits and make the same relationship mistakes that you did. The first lesson your divorce teaches is that your marriage was not a healthy relationship and that it is appropriate to end a relationship that makes you miserable. However, you also need to demonstrate a healthy relationship if you do not want them to repeat your mistakes. In interacting with your former spouse and potential new romantic partner, show that a relationship requires:

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