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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 Posted on November 30, 2016 in Child Custody

Sharing parental responsibilities can be quite complicated for divorced, separated, or unmarried parents. Each parent may have an idea of how he or she thinks the child should be raised, and such ideas often differ—even between reasonable, well-meaning parents. Conflicting ideas about parenting can create confusion for the child, which is why it is so important for parents to work together to develop a parenting plan that clearly determines what role each parent will play in making significant decisions about the child’s life.

What Are Significant Decisions?

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act defines “significant decision-making” as “deciding issues of long-term importance in the life of a child.” The law also provides several considerations that are always considered significant decisions, such as:

• The child’s education, including the choice of school and tutors;

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 Posted on November 24, 2016 in Divorce

An amicable divorce can be challenging, but rewarding. Achieving an amicable divorce, though, is hard work and requires the skill of an experienced divorce attorney in Kane County who can protect your rights throughout the process. If you are seeking an amicable divorce or interested in learning more about amicable divorces, one of our attorneys in Illinois can help.

What is Considered an Amicable Divorce?

An amicable divorce involves willingness to put aside existing animosity in an effort to find workable solutions to areas of disagreement related to equitably dividing assets and debt responsibility, establishing child or spousal support, and developing a parenting plan. This process typically involves the use of negotiation and alternative dispute resolution methods, like arbitration, mediation and collaborative law.

Potential Benefit of an Amicable Divorce

There are numerous benefits to choosing an amicable divorce process, including:

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 Posted on November 21, 2016 in Divorce

Are you the type of person who is quick to share photos and experiences with your friends and followers on Facebook or Instagram? Social media networks like these can certainly be fun and help keep distant family members up to date with each other’s lives. When you are in the midst of a divorce, however, social media can be an unexpected source of danger. It is important to keep a few things in mind if you intend to stay on social media as your marriage is coming to an end.

Image Can Be Everything

Part of the reason that social media sites are so attractive for users is that they allow a person to present a carefully managed version of themselves to their friends and followers. Very few users post embarrassing photos or stories about themselves; instead, they focus on the high points. The problem with social media as it relates to divorce, however, is the lack of context.

Consider, for example, a very realistic scenario: for the last two years, you and your best friend have been putting a few dollars aside every week so that you could take a vacation together. You found amazing deals on travel and hotels, managing to book the trip of a lifetime for a very reasonable price. In the weeks before your flight leaves, your spouse files for a divorce, and, in your response, you ask the court to consider awarding you spousal maintenance payments. You decide to take the trip as planned, and you and your friend post several photos of each other sipping tropical drinks on a Caribbean beach. In reality, the trip meant very little in terms of your overall financial situation, but without context, your spouse could point to your social media posts as an indication that you are not struggling for money and that maintenance is not necessary.

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 Posted on November 17, 2016 in Child Custody

Divorced and unmarried parents often face a number of important decisions when determining how to structure parenting arrangements for their children. You may be aware that recent changes to the law in Illinois have increased focus on cooperative parenting agreements and joint parenting plans. While cooperative parenting is great in theory, the reality is often much different. In many cases, it may still be appropriate for one parent to pursue sole responsibility for important decision-making, the amended version of what was once called sole custody.

New Terminology, Similar Responsibilities

For many years, the state of Illinois recognized two distinct types of arrangement for child custody: sole custody and joint custody. Each referred to the concept of legal custody, meaning the authority to make decisions regarding a child’s life and upbringing. A parent with sole custody was responsible for making all important decisions, while parents with joint custody would need to make such decisions together.

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 Posted on November 14, 2016 in Cohabitation

Across the country, more and more couples are delaying marriage in favor of cohabitation arrangements. Rather than tying the knot in a formal ceremony, couples are moving in together and sharing a household. While there is some indication that this social evolution is actually decreasing the divorce rate in certain demographic groups, there are certain dangers that could impact a cohabitating couple regarding property rights and other considerations. For one Cook County couple, the dangers went unrecognized for many years, arising only once the couple got married and, subsequently, divorced.

In re Marriage of Allen

Following a marriage that lasted only seven months, a couple in Cook County cross-petitioned for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Just as the divorce was about to go to trial, the wife filed a motion for the trial court to consider the previous 13 years of cohabitation as, essentially, part of the marriage. As the basis of her argument, the wife pointed to an Illinois Supreme Court ruling in Blumenthal v. Brewer allowing certain common-law relief for a party in a same-sex relationship prior to the law that allowed same-sex couples to marry in Illinois. The wife in Allen asked for similar common law considerations, including a portion of the property her partner had acquired during their cohabitation but before their marriage.

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 Posted on November 10, 2016 in Alimony / Maintenance

If you have spent the last several years as a stay-at-home parent but are now facing an impending divorce, you may be wondering how your life is going to change. By their very nature, stay-at-home moms and dads rely on their partners to provide for the family financially, leaving them at a potentially serious disadvantage following a divorce. Fortunately, there are options available for stay-at-home parents to help alleviate the financial impact of a divorce, and a qualified family lawyer can help you explore them all.

Spousal Maintenance

One of the primary tools that the court may use to help a stay-at-home parent in divorce is maintenance, also known known as alimony. Under Illinois law, maintenance may be ordered following the end of a marriage if the court finds that there is a legitimate need by one spouse. There are many factors that the court must take into account when making a determination regarding spousal support, and your status as a stay-at-home parent is not sufficient by itself to force the court to order maintenance payments.

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 Posted on November 07, 2016 in Family Law

When a couple gets married, it is not at all uncommon for a spouse—usually a woman, but not always—to take her partner’s last name as a symbol of their union. Some partners choose to hyphenate their surnames so as to keep their own identity while adding their spouse’s name to theirs. When a marriage comes to an end, it is relatively easy—and usually part of the standard divorce paperwork—for a spouse who changed her name to change it back during the proceedings. But, what about the children of a divorcing couple? It turns out that changing the name of a minor child in Illinois may be more complicated than most people realize.

What the Law Says

While most of the legal details surrounding marriage and divorce are governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5), name changes are typically made in accordance with the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5). The statute provides that a name change for a minor child is possible if the court finds "by clear and convincing evidence that the change is necessary to serve the best interest of the child." A separate provision in the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 (750 ILCS 46) allows for a child’s name to be changed if both parents agree, though this law is typically utilized in cases of unmarried parents or when parentage is in question.

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