Posted on June 05,2018 in Illinois prenup

Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups” for short, are tremendously valuable legal tools that help couples planning to marry protect their assets and plan for their future. Although they have gotten a bad reputation due to outrageous celebrity marriages, prenuptial agreements can be useful to anyone getting married. Unfortunately, some people think that they have signed a legally-binding prenuptial agreement only to find out it is unenforceable during a divorce. There are several ways a prenup can be considered invalid.

A Prenup Must Meet Certain Requirements to Be Legally-Enforceable

Sometimes in movies or television, a character will scribble a contract such a prenuptial agreement on something like a napkin and it is assumed to be legally binding. Although it can be a good plot point for a fictional story, in reality, the courts only recognize prenuptial agreements which are properly constructed and executed. A prenup must be written, signed, and agreed upon by both parties.

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 Posted on May 31,2018 in Child Support

For the last 40 years, divorced parents in Illinois could be required to contribute toward the college expenses of their children, even after the children have turned 18 years old. Over the years, the law has been amended and clarified to specify that the matter is one related to the finances of the marriage and divorce rather than the direct support of the child in question. In other words, a child cannot file a legal action to get help paying for college from his or her parents, but one parent can ask the court to make the other parent help.

Illinois law does not, however, have the power to force married parents to pay for their child’s college expenses. According to a ruling by a DuPage County judge earlier this month, such a disparity is a violation of the equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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 Posted on May 28,2018 in Social Media

In today’s digital world, we are rarely more than a few feet from our cell phones. For many people, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offer the chance to share their lives with friends and acquaintances. Critics of social media claim that many individuals use such sites to create an idealized version of themselves for public consumption—downplaying daily struggles and only highlighting positive achievements or “perfect” photos.

Social media can also create issues during a divorce. Some of these issues could affect the legal proceedings directly while others have the power to slow the healing process and prevent you from moving on. If you are considering a divorce or the process has already started, it is important to avoid:

Sharing Too Much, Too Soon

A person’s “relationship status” has been a feature of Facebook profiles since the site was launched 14 years ago. You may be tempted to change your status within hours after making the decision to divorce. Doing so, however, is not usually the best choice. It is possible for you and your spouse to reconcile and change your minds. It is also likely that your friends may see the change, prompting uncomfortable and unnecessary conversations early in the process.

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 Posted on May 24,2018 in Divorce

Television shows and movies tend to depict divorce as a contentious, messy affair where the spouses can barely stand to be in the same room together. Fortunately, this type of case represents a relatively small number of divorces in real like. For many couples, a divorce may be difficult, but it is not usually a contentious and bitter war of attrition. If you and your spouse agree that a divorce is the best option for you both, you may be able to work together to draft a divorce settlement agreement that largely keeps you out of court and focused on building your new, post-divorce life.

Understand the Context

Illinois law provides that every divorce issued in the state is now granted on the no-fault grounds of irreconcilable differences. This has been the only possible grounds for divorce in Illinois since the beginning of 2016, but it has been the most commonly used grounds for much longer than that. The social acceptance of no-fault divorce has allowed unhappy couples to seek better lives outside of their marriage rather than waiting or looking for a serious issue on which to base their divorce.

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 Posted on May 18,2018 in Child Custody

When parents cannot agree on how to divide parental responsibilities, including decision-making authority and parenting time, the court is forced to make decisions for them. In doing so, the court will hear arguments and proposals from both parents, but with the understanding that it is nearly impossible for most parents to objectively consider the best interests of their children. Sometimes, the court may even suspect that it is not getting the full story from one or both parents. When this is the case, Illinois law allows a judge to appoint an independent attorney to serve as guardian ad litem (GAL) for the duration of the proceedings.

What Is a GAL?

A guardian ad litem is a licensed attorney who meets certain experience requirements and who has undergone select training related to resolving family law disputes. Each county maintains a list of qualified GALs who may be appointed in a given case. Either party in the case may ask for a GAL to be appointed or the court may make the appointment on its own.

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 Posted on May 16,2018 in Child Custody

In just a matter of weeks, children throughout Northern Illinois will be done with school for the summertime. If you have children, you have probably seen signs of excitement. They may be ready to sleep in later than usual and to spend time outdoors with friends. You, the parent, may be eager for summer to arrive as well, but if you are divorced, the extended break may bring a few additional concerns. If you are currently subject to any type of shared parenting arrangement or custody order, it is time to begin making plans for the summer months ahead.

Know What Your Plan Says

The most important thing you need to do before summer break arrives is to review your existing parenting arrangements so that you are refreshed on your rights and responsibilities. Your parenting plan likely contains at least a bare-bones parenting time schedule. In some cases, the schedule may actually be quite detailed.

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 Posted on May 10,2018 in Divorce

Relationship and social science experts have known for generations that children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced later in life than children whose parents stayed together are. Of course, knowing that something is more likely to happen is not the same as knowing why that thing is more likely to happen, especially when it comes to children and families.

Noted scientists have long gone back and forth on the issue of “nature vs. nurture” in many areas of study. The debate boils down to two simple questions with quite complex answers. How much of a person’s behavior is determined by the environment in which he or she was raised, and how much is determined by his or her genetics and evolutionary instincts? A recent study suggests that divorce, of all things, may be linked to a person’s genetics more than we ever really thought possible.

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 Posted on May 09,2018 in Child Custody

Sometimes a couple with children divorces and they continue interacting almost as if the divorce never happened. They still chat about their lives together when picking up or dropping off the children and can easily communicate about changes in parenting time schedules or concerns regarding the children.

Other couples are much more antagonistic toward each other during and after a divorce. They struggle to communicate at all without fighting and are not willing to cooperate with each other. This often happens when a marriage ends due to adultery or another significant breach of trust. Mental health issues like narcissistic personality disorder can also make it nearly impossible for parents to communicate effectively. In circumstances like these, a method of shared parenting called parallel parenting may be the best option for raising happy, successful children.

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 Posted on May 02,2018 in Divorce

If you are thinking about ending your marriage through divorce, you probably have many questions and concerns. One of these concerns might be about how your marital property will be divided when you split. While we often only think of a marriage as a romantic partnership, it is also a merging of two people’s finances. When a couple divorces, the courts are tasked with dividing the couple’s jointly-held property, assets, and debts fairly. Read on to learn how property is divided during Illinois divorces.

When Couples Cannot Decide How to Split Their Accumulated Assets

Although the simplest and easiest way to manage property separation during a divorce is for the couple themselves to decide how the property will be split up, this is not always possible. Many divorcing couples are not able to agree on property division issues. Other times, one spouse refuses to sign divorce papers or dodges making any decisions about the split. For couples such as these, the matter often ends up in court.

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 Posted on April 27,2018 in Divorce

Since the beginning of 2016, there has been only one grounds for divorce in Illinois: an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage caused by irreconcilable differences. Before that, the law permitted divorces to be granted on a number of other grounds, including adultery, abandonment, and repeated mental or physical cruelty. Many people are aware that a divorce on the basis of irreconcilable differences is considered a “no-fault” divorce, regardless of the circumstances. What some do not realize, however, is that verifying that a marriage is truly beyond repair is the first step in any Illinois divorce proceeding.

A Bifurcated Process

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, a contested divorce is handled on a “bifurcated basis.” This means that there are two stages of proceedings. The first stage is where the court must decide “whether irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.” The second stage involves the particulars of the divorce including property division and child-related matters, but it is only necessary if and when the court determines that the marriage is truly beyond repair.

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