Posted on February 02, 2016 in Domestic Violence

Divorces can be messy. In many cases, the divorce process brings out the worst in each partner, pushing him or her to become angry, vindictive, and frightened about what will happen in the future with his or her property and relationship with the couple's children. This fright can turn to aggression, which can manifest itself as antagonism aimed at the other spouse and attempts to harass him or her into giving in to the aggressive partner's demands.

This is not a healthy way to end a marriage. In fact, it can be the foundation of a very difficult life for an individual following his divorce because if this behavior is not nipped early, it can lead to a life of fear, resentment, and a much smaller share of the couple's marital assets than the victim was entitled to receive.

Document Everything

This is the most important action you can take if you are a victim because without adequate documentation of your spouse's actions, it can be difficult or even impossible for the court to put a stop to them. Save threatening emails, text messages, and voicemails and document any face-to-face aggression or threats you receive.

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 Posted on January 27, 2016 in Child Custody

There are many reasons why an individual may be determined to be a poor role model for his or her child or that a relationship between him or her and the child is not in the child's best interest. Mental health problems, addiction, or involvement with a harmful activity or individual can tarnish a parent's image in the court's eyes. But these issues do not exist forever. When a parent who was previously found to have a negative influence in his or her child's life turns his or her situation around, he or she may seek to have his or her parenting time increased. Work with an experienced family attorney to prove that your circumstances have changed and seek a modification to your parenting time order.

Examples of How a Parent Can Get Help

If the court only grants you limited time with your child because of a factor or circumstance in your life that could potentially be harmful to your child's health or safety, work with your attorney to determine how you can eliminate this factor. Some examples of improvement you can seek include:

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 Posted on January 25, 2016 in Child Custody

Fitness to parent a child is critical to having the court assign you a favorable level of parenting time or parenting responsibilities following a divorce. Parenting issues like child support, parenting time, and parenting responsibilities are key issues in family law and when determining appropriate rulings for a family, the court scrutinizes both parents and their households to create a post-divorce arrangement that is in the child's best interest.

You might encounter a guardian ad litem during your divorce, which is a neutral third party who interviews parents and children to determine the best living situation for the child. You might also be subject to accusations of poor parenting or poor character from your former spouse in court. In any situation where your parenting skills are questioned, do not become defensive. Instead, show that you are a qualified parent by demonstrating the following.

Show that You Can Support Your Child

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Legal Separation

For many Illinois couples, a legal separation is the first step toward a divorce. It is a way to legally designate the end of a couple's relationship so any property acquired between that point and the couple's divorce is not considered to be marital property.

For other couples, a legal separation is a step to take to decide if divorce is right for them – a couple might know that their relationship is not healthy, but not know whether ending their marriage is the right step to take.

For others yet, legal separation is an attractive alternative to divorcing because although it severs the couple's relationship with each other, it does not sever their marriage and the benefits that accompany it.

What you can and cannot do while you are legally separated is not always obvious. Some actions, like remarrying, require an individual to get divorced first. Others, like cohabitating with a new partner, are more ambiguous. If you are considering legally separating from your spouse, discuss the actions you may and may not take with your attorney.

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 Posted on January 18, 2016 in Divorce

When you are going through a divorce, you might feel like you never want to see or speak to your former spouse again. You might even hate your former spouse. This is normal – divorces are emotionally trying and many couples have to work hard just to remain cordial after their divorces. But once time passes and emotions cool, some individuals find themselves voluntarily spending time with their former spouses again. Some even go as far as to fall in love a second time and remarry – each other! An estimated six percent of couples in the United States follow this pattern.

If you are considering remarrying your former spouse, you probably have a lot of questions you need answered. You have already divided your shared assets – now what? Do you combine them again? Do your individual portions from your first divorce remain singly-held property? These are questions that can be answered by an experienced divorce attorney.

Consider a Prenuptial Agreement

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Divorce Over 50

We are living in a much different America than the one in which our parents and grandparents lived. Not only are we living and working longer, issues like divorce, remarriage, and parenting after divorce are no longer taboo to discuss and seek help with handling.

Gray divorce, divorces between couples who are aged 50 and older, have seen a dramatic increase in recent years. Many of these couples are in their first marriages, finding that they no longer want to remain married after decades together. Other couples in this category are ending their second or subsequent marriages, finding themselves facing challenges they did not face with their first divorces. If you are over the age of 50 and considering filing for divorce, understand the issues that are relevant to your situation by working with an experienced divorce attorney.

How Divorce Will Affect Your Retirement Benefits

Getting divorced will have an effect on your retirement and pension benefits. If you set up a retirement account during your marriage, this account is considered to be marital property and subject to division between you and your spouse by the court. This is true even if the account is only in your name.

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 Posted on January 11, 2016 in Child Custody

Most parents choose a child's religion before the child is born. For many, the religion in which their children will be raised is determined before the couple marries – this, along with plans regarding whether one parent will stay home with the children and whether to home school or send the children to public school, can be a divisive factor to the point that it becomes a deal breaker for some couples.

Under the changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act that went into effect on January 1st, handling a child's religious upbringing is one of the parental responsibilities that the court assigns during a divorce proceeding. The parent who is granted this responsibility may then choose how the child is raised religiously, such as whether the child will attend regular church services or participate in certain religious traditions. When a couple of different faiths divorces, their child's religious upbringing can be a source of conflict. Work with a family law attorney to minimize this conflict in your divorce and subsequent relationship with your former spouse.

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 Posted on January 06, 2016 in Property Division

Big changes have come to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, effective January 1, 2016. These changes include new rules regarding child custody, property division, grounds for divorce, and the period of time a couple must be separated from each other before they may file for divorce.

Property Will be Valued by its Market Value Standard

Under the changes to the law, the court will determine the value of a couple's property by applying the fair market value standard. This means that a couple's property will be appraised according to its worth on the date that the court handles the couple's property division, rather than by considering factors like the property's cost and potential for depreciation. If necessary, the court can bring in an outside financial expert to appraise a couple's property. The divorcing couple may be held responsible for the cost of the professional appraiser.

What Is Marital Property?

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 Posted on January 04, 2016 in Child Custody

When the court determines a custody or visitation schedule for a child, it does so with the child's best interests in mind. The court weighs not only which parent is best equipped to provide for the child financially, physically, and emotionally, but also whether the child could potentially be in danger in either parent's household. If the court feels that there could be any room for the child to be harmed in a parent's home, it could give that parent supervised or restricted visitation with the child. What this basically means is that the court puts restrictions on the parent and child's visits in place to prevent the child from being harmed.

It is rare that a parent has his or her parental rights completely terminated. This generally happens if the parent poses an immediate, serious danger to the child. Restricted and supervised visitation are a way to ensure that even when a parent is not considered to be fit to parent his or her child alone, he or she can still maintain a relationship with the child after he or she divorces from the child's other parent.

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 Posted on December 30, 2015 in Divorce

Abandonment of one's spouse for a period of one year or longer is currently grounds for divorce in Illinois. If your spouse simply left your home and has not returned or even attempted to contact you for a period of one year or longer, you have the right to divorce him or her. But what if you cannot find your spouse?

You can still divorce your spouse even if you do not know his or her current location. This is true for any type of divorce, grounds or no-fault. But you will need to take extra steps to be able to either locate your spouse or reasonably make an attempt to make him or her aware of your intention to end your marriage. If you are unable to locate your spouse, certain portions of the divorce process must be put on hold until he or she is located.

Serving Divorce Papers

Currently, when an individual files for divorce, he or she must serve his or her spouse with the divorce papers. This means that he or she must provide his or her spouse with documentation that he or she has filed for divorce so the spouse can seek legal aid and prepare for the divorce.

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