Posted on January 13, 2017 in Property Division

Issues of money and property are often among the most contested elements in any divorce situation. A couple who has spent many years building a life together frequently have trouble disengaging from one another, at least in regard to their assets and debts. When divorcing spouses cannot reach a negotiated agreement regarding how their property will be divided, the court will make such decisions for them. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) provides fairly straightforward guidelines for the distribution of marital property which must be followed by the court.

What Property Will Be Divided?

Before any assets can be distributed, the court must first identify the property that is subject to division. Only assets and debts that are considered marital property will be divided between the spouses. The full listing of a couple’s marital property is sometimes referred to as the “marital estate.” According to Illinois law, the marital estate consists of virtually all property—including assets and debts—acquired by either spouse during the marriage. Very limited exceptions may be made for assets acquired during the marriage as a gift or inheritance to one spouse. Assets that were owned before the marriage are considered non-marital and are not subject to division.

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 Posted on January 11, 2017 in Property Division

When you are going through a divorce, it is imperative for you and your spouse to be completely forthcoming about your respective financial situations. Without full transparency, it is impossible for you and your spouse—or the court, when necessary—to properly divide the marital estate in accordance with Illinois law. In many cases, unfortunately, one spouse will look to manipulate the division of assets by hiding property and income streams to avoid having to share them with his or her partner. While it is often possible to address such behavior before the divorce proceedings are finalized, hidden assets may go undiscovered until after the divorce judgment has been entered. If you recently discovered that your former spouse was hiding assets during your divorce, it is not too late to take action.

Reopening Your Divorce

The first thing you should do if you have reason to believe that your ex-spouse hid assets during your divorce is to contact an experienced attorney. Your lawyer will work with you in filing a request for relief from the divorce judgment. Reopening your case is often easier if you file your motion within 30 days of the judgment being entered, but there is no statutory timeframe that limits your rights.

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 Posted on December 30, 2016 in Alimony / Maintenance

The financial implications of a divorce cannot be overstated. This reality is especially true for those that put a career on hold to raise a family or to advance the professional aspirations of their spouse. Even in marriages where both spouses work, one often makes much less than the other and could face financial hardships following divorce. These individuals may need some measure of spousal support to meet necessary expenses.

Earlier this year, the Illinois Legislature enacted a number of significant changes to the divorce laws, including provisions related to spousal support. These changes reflect efforts to make it to easier to get divorced and to give the outcome of divorce cases more predictability. On the issue of spousal support, predictability is extremely important to parties that do not earn a lot of money and must worry about paying the bills on one income following a divorce.

Deciding When Spousal Support Is Appropriate

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 Posted on December 28, 2016 in Divorce

Has your spouse recently filed for divorce? If so, he or she was able to choose the county in which the petition was filed and in which the proceedings are to be held. It may come as a surprise to learn that you are not necessarily bound by your spouse’s choice. While he or she may have filed first, you have the right to object to the chosen venue, but the law in Illinois requires you to act quickly.

What is Venue?

In the legal realm, the term “venue” refers to the county or district court system in which a case will be heard. For the purposes of divorce in Illinois, proceedings are generally held in the county circuit court. According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, it is presumed that a couple’s divorce will be heard in the county of residence of at least of the parties. For example, if a husband and wife have separated, and the husband lives in DuPage County while the wife resides in Kane County, the law expects that the couple will file their petition for divorce in one of those two counties. A non-residential county may be chosen if there is a valid justification for doing so.

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 Posted on December 22, 2016 in Child Support

In almost every aspect of a divorce proceeding, you and your spouse have the freedom to reach an agreement on your own, without interference from the court. There are certain elements, such as the allocation of parental responsibilities and child support, that the court will review before the agreement is entered as part of the judgment, but the court will only make changes if necessary. Once an agreement has been approved and entered by the court, you cannot change your mind about the agreed upon terms. As a Knox County woman recently discovered, it is vitally important to be certain that your agreement meets your needs before it is signed and presented to the court.

In re Marriage of Eastburg

The Third District Court Appellate Court in Illinois released its ruling last week on a case involving a child support agreement between divorcing parents. Shortly after their divorce in December 2006, the couple in question originally agreed that the father would pay $511 bimonthly in child support, allegedly equal to 28 percent of his net income. As time went on, the mother would petition for an increase in payment to correlate to the father’s increase in income. Most recently, in May 2015, the couple agreed that, based on the father’s 2014 income, he should pay $721 bimonthly.

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 Posted on December 19, 2016 in Children and Divorce

When you are a divorced parent, figuring out how to divide holiday parenting time can be very difficult. It is especially challenging if you and the other parent are not able to communicate effectively. Any parent who has a healthy relationship with their child, however, will want to spend time together during important family holidays like Christmas. Doing so is possible with some advance planning and cooperation between you and your ex-spouse.

You and your former partner may already have an agreement in place regarding where your child will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A holiday parenting schedule is often included in a court-approved parenting plan. In many situations, parents—especially those who live relatively far from one another—will enjoy Christmas parenting time in alternating years. For example, your child may spend Christmas with you this year and, next year, he or she will spend Christmas with the other parent.

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 Posted on December 15, 2016 in Children and Divorce

When you are a divorced parent, it can be very difficult to find the time to do things that interest you. Between your obligations for work and caring for your children, it may seem impossible to pursue hobbies or spend time with friends. Your own health, however, depends on you being able to develop an identity as an individual with interests outside of your children. One of the biggest challenges that divorced parents often face is finding a babysitter or someone to care for their children when such care is needed. If you need child care arrangements, your parenting plan may dictate that your first call must be to the child’s other parent.

The Right of First Refusal

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act Provides that a parenting plan may include what is known as the right of first refusal if the parents agree or if ordered by the court. The right of first refusal refers to an arrangement in which a parent requiring child care must first offer the other parent the opportunity for additional parenting time before seeking alternate arrangements. While this may sound complicated, the right of first refusal is often fairly straightforward in practice.

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 Posted on December 12, 2016 in Property Division

For many married couples, the family home is the largest investment the spouses will ever make. The couple may own cars, furniture, and business interests, but the marital home typically represents more than just financial worth. It generally carries a great deal of intrinsic and sentimental value as well. That is why the marital home is often a source of controversy during a divorce, leading many couples to explore creative solutions for dividing their marital property.

Equitable Distribution and Proper Valuation

Illinois law requires the marital property of a divorcing couple to be divided equitably during the process of divorce. There is no expectation that the division should be equal, only that is fair and just. The marital home usually comprises a significant portion of the marital estate, so it is very important for the home’s actual value to be properly determined. This will likely require the help of at least one real estate appraiser. If you and your spouse cannot agree on a particular professional, you can each hire your own to present their independent evaluations to the court.

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 Posted on December 08, 2016 in Property Division

If you are thinking about a divorce, you probably realize that you and your spouse will need to figure out a plan for dividing the property that you own as a couple. You may also understand that if you cannot reach an agreement on your own, the court will need to step in and divide your assets and debts for you. Finally, you may even know that the property division laws in Illinois are based on the principals of equitable distribution, which means that, if left to the court, your marital property will be divided in a way that is fair and just, not necessarily evenly.

Many individuals, however, are unsure about what the law considers to be marital property. Countless movies and television shows suggest that just about anything a person has ever owned—both prior to and during the marriage—is fair game in a divorce. Fictional characters are often encouraged to be wary of marriage because if it ends badly, his or her spouse will supposedly get half of everything. Assuming that the marital property was supposed to be split 50/50 in Illinois, a spouse would not be entitled to a share of anything the other party ever owned. Instead, the law provides a definition of what comprises the marital estate which, at times, can be a little complicated.

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 Posted on December 06, 2016 in Property Division

Purchasing items with credit is a common practice today and one to which many people have become accustomed. According to USA Today, the average American household carries almost $16,000 of credit card debt at any given time. This reliance on credit means those who are considering a divorce should take extra care to ensure that they have their credit in order. This is especially true for people who have stopped working to care for the home while their spouse has continued to draw a paycheck. One of the most contentious issues in many divorces is actually the division of debt--not assets. Finances are often tight for each partner after a divorce, and matters are made even more challenging when the new beginning comes with a large debt burden.

Here are some tips to help you get your credit on solid footing:

Check Your Credit Score

Your credit score impacts the ease with which you open new credit cards and take out loans, and it also affects the terms of those deals, such as the size of interest rates. Your spouse's debts and your joint credit cards may have an effect on your credit score. If they have been accumulating new debts in your name without your knowledge, this practice could seriously harm your credit. Checking your credit score can give you a fuller understanding for what debts exist, and where you and your spouse stand on them. It can also alert you to any mistakes that the credit reporting agency might have made, which will allow you to take the necessary steps to resolve this.

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