Posted on July 30,2017 in DuPage County Divorce Lawyers

Many parents have taken steps to provide for their children in the event of their passing. However, it is far less common to have a plan for cases of incapacitation or inability to provide, and this fact can cause significant issues down the road. When a parent becomes incapacitated or unable to take care of their children, things are in flux, and as such, it can be hard to determine what course is truly in the best interest of the child.

Temporarily Assigning Parental Rights

Some cases of parental incapacity are permanent, and some are temporary. If you sustain a physical injury that renders you bedridden, for example, you may be unable to take care of your children until you recover. If you encounter a reason why you are unable to adequately take care of your children, but you either know or believe that inability will not be permanent, it is possible to convey parental rights to another person for a limited time, which qualifies as a guardianship under Illinois law. The state will assume that parental rights default to your child’s other parent, in most cases, unless you specify to the contrary.

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 Posted on July 26,2017 in Child Support

Child and spousal support are a part of life for many Illinois residents. Hever, even if the agreement to provide one or both was signed in good faith at the time of a divorce, things change. Child support and spousal support payments may both be modified if you are able to show a substantial change in your circumstances, and while this may seem vague or confusing, the law is fairly clear as to the procedure that must be followed.

Why Is a Substantial Change Required?

For your child support payments to change, your income or living situation must change to the point where the current amount is no longer appropriate. For example, if you had formerly agreed—or been ordred—to pay $200 per month, but then took a substantial pay cut, it could be appropriate to lower your support payments since your income is correspondingly less. To keep payments high when you may no longer be able to afford them is inequitable at best, and at worst, can be devastating to the standard of living for the paying parent.

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 Posted on July 24,2017 in Division of Assets

Most of the time, when a spouse brings property into a marriage, it will remain non-marital property, especially if the title is in his or her name only. However, there are occasions when such assets will become marital property—usually because the chain of ownership becomes muddled either accidentally or deliberately. It is always a good idea to be aware of these considerations in divorce law, lest you lose an asset that you wish to retain.

How Is Property Classified?

Dividing property can be very easy, or it can be so complex that expert opinions may be required. If you bring very little property into your marriage, there will be very little individual, or non-marital, property that is exempt from asset division. Conversely, if you have been married previously, or have significant assets otherwise, you may have substantial non-marital assets that you wish to keep separate from the estate of your current marriage.

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 Posted on July 20,2017 in Child Support

When you are ordered by the court to pay child support, you have a reasonable expectation of what the money will be used for--namely, meeting your children’s most basic needs. However, at least in Illinois, the law permits that additional expenses may be added on to the amount due if f they are shown to be in the child’s best interests.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is by far the most common “additional expense” that supporting parents are asked to help pay, and it is often tacked on after a divorce decree because the general cost of insurance is too difficult to accurately estimate in advance. The costs of health insurance premiums can change, as well as the method for obtaining insurance. In many cases, the supporting parent will be ordered to carry his or her children on an employer-sponsored health plan. However, if the employer in question does not offer insurance, the law states that the recipient parent may cover the children, and the paying parent should reimburse him or her for a percentage of the cost.

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 Posted on July 19,2017 in Divorce

Sometimes, divorces get ugly, as we all know. The most common way that spouses try to hurt each other during divorce, aside from arguing over their children, is to attempt to gain the upper hand in terms of property distribution by any means necessary—including the hiding of assets. If you suspect your spouse of hiding assets, there are multiple methods that can be used to help uncover the wrongdoing, either on your own or with professional help.

Methods for Your Lawyer

In a divorce, your attorney is your primary resource if you suspect your spouse has committed a financial misdeed. There are multiple legal documents used during the civil process of divorce, especially during discovery, in which a party is bound by law to tell the truth, and they must do so in very specific ways, providing very specific information. Both parties are bound to comply with any discovery request that the court deems reasonable, which will usually be most of them.

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 Posted on July 13,2017 in Military Divorce

Military members marry, divorce, and deal with family just like everyone else. However, the nature of military service means that the law must be adapted to serve their unique needs at times. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) is a good example of this adaptivity that can help keep military service members and their former spouses in good shape even after a divorce.

History of the Law

The USFSPA sets out regulations which must be followed by civilian courts in awarding military retirement pay as an asset in the division of a marital estate. It does not give a former spouse an automatic share in retirement pay; it merely grants the court the right to see such pay as an asset. The Act also allows civilian courts to enforce orders for child or spousal support against active or retired military service members.

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 Posted on July 12,2017 in Child Support

In this day and age, bankruptcy has become more common than it used to be, unfortunately, and as such, more and more people are encountering issues with other obligations that are directly related to bankruptcy. While many believe that a bankruptcy will essentially wipe out all their debt, what they do not know is that certain obligations are specifically exempted from this, and must still be paid regardless of any financial issues.

Spousal Maintenance

While it is not mandatory, a large number of divorce cases in Illinois assign maintenance rights to one spouse or the other. In Illinois, this obligation is specified to last a certain period of time, but if the obligor—the spouse who is paying support—must file for bankruptcy, it is reasonable to look into the possibility of modification. However, the key word is modification. Under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, maintenance or alimony obligations are not considered dischargeable. In other words, any debts that are of this nature will not be simply erased, as other debts might be in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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 Posted on July 07,2017 in Divorce Mediation

Mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution are fast becoming a popular substitute for a standard courtroom divorce, especially for couples who still are able to maintain a good working relationship. However, it is not uncommon to see couples commencing a mediation without a real grasp of what it actually entails, especially if they are doing so post-decree, or after a divorce decree. While everyone’s experience will be slightly different, there are some things that remain the same and some that will differ from a pre-decree mediation.

Lots of Flexibility Pre-Decree

Finding a mediator in Illinois is usually not difficult, especially in the Chicago suburbs. There are multiple organizations that field trained mediation professionals, some (but not all) of whom are also attorneys. You must choose one if the mediation is not specifically court-ordered, but the fee to hire a mediator is generally split between both parties—though if you prefer, one party may foot the bill in exchange for assets or another advantage. The decision is up to the couple, as are most in this process.

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 Posted on June 29,2017 in Divorce

 Divorce is often long and bitter fight over the remnants of a marriage. However, it does not have to be, especially if you and your spouse have decided to divorce due to simply growing apart. In Illinois, an uncontested divorce, also called a joint simplified dissolution of marriage, can save couples significant time and trouble if their relationship is still good enough to work together.

The Facts

Essentially, an uncontested divorce simply means that neither spouse is interested in contesting any aspect of the dissolution of marriage. Generally, this is achieved by presenting the court with a divorce decree co-written by the spouses, stipulating to issues such as asset distribution. The court does have the right to modify a separation agreement authored by the spouses, though this will not usually occur unless the agreement is clearly unconscionable. Illinois is an equitable distribution state for the purpose of distributing marital assets, which means that the court will divide all marital property between the spouses in the most equitable way possible or will ensure that the spouses have reached an agreement that is reasonable.

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 Posted on June 27,2017 in Divorce

Sadly, many marriages are affecting by patterns domestic violence. While such abuse is most often characterized as perpetrated by a husband against his wife, it can come from either spouse, and it can be directed at anyone in the household. If you are in fear of an abusive or violent spouse and want a divorce, you do have some options and protection in Illinois. It may be imperative one day to know what you have at your disposal.

Have an Exit Plan

The main thing that every abused spouse needs to have when preparing to separate from or divorce a domestic abuser is a strategy for leaving if necessary. Plans for divorce must come after a successful exit and, likely, a restraining order. Statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) show that an abused spouse is at most risk in the two weeks immediately following their leaving the marital home. A prearranged exit plan that guarantees access to money and safe housing is absolutely critical lest you wind up back in your spouse’s hands.

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