Posted on August 14, 2017 in Divorce

During a divorce, one of the most hotly-contested issues is often one spouse’s (or both spouse’s) Social Security benefits, either for disability or retirement. Federal law allows a divorced spouse, in some instances, to receive retirement benefits based on their ex-spouse’s work record, assuming it would pay greater dividends than their own. If you are in a position where you believe you are entitled to such income, it can generally be obtained with sufficient proof.

Criteria for Retirement Benefits

The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides specific criteria, all of which must be met, in order for a divorced person to collect retirement benefits based on his or her former spouse’s work record. The criteria are:

• You must be currently unmarried;
• You must be age 62 or older;

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 Posted on August 07, 2017 in Divorce

Sometimes, a marriage will simply not work out, no matter how hard the spouses try. However, if your soon-to-be ex-spouse is a foreign national, rather than a U.S. citizen, a divorce may have immigration consequences for him or her, which can, in turn, cause difficulties for you for considerations like child support and parenting time. Being aware of the potential issues before going ahead with the proceedings can help smooth things over between the two of you and work out any potential problems.

If Your Spouse Has a Green Card

Most of the time, if your ex-spouse has already applied for and received permanent resident status card—commonly referred to as a “green card”—he or she will be relatively safe from deportation, assuming he or she does not commit a serious crime. Permanent residents are just that, and cannot generally be deported unless there is crime involved. This is one of the major concerns that permanent residency alleviates by law. While a permanent resident will not be deported after divorce, they should, however, be aware that it can restart the clock in terms of how long they will have to wait in terms of applying for citizenship. A green card holder who is married to a U.S. citizen must wait about half as long as one who is not to apply for U.S. citizenship. However, since your spouse will be permitted to remain in the U.S. in most cases, your divorce should be able to proceed as normal.

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 Posted on August 03, 2017 in Child Custody

As one might expect, the allocation of parental responsibilities—the new name for "child custody" in Illinois—is the most hotly contested topic in many divorces. In recent years, changes have been to the laws regarding such proceedings that were aimed at giving divorced parents more time with their children, if they are in a position to take it. The amended laws created what is referred to as the right of first refusal, and there are some common misconceptions, but is generally seen as a help to most parents.

Know Your Rights

The right of first refusal may be included in a divorce decree itself, or it may be part of a parenting agreement worked out between the parties on their own. The right does not have to be granted to either parent, or it may be granted to both parents if the circumstances are appropriate. A court will take several factors into account when deciding whether or not to grant such a right, including:

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 Posted on August 01, 2017 in Family Law

Travel sites estimate that approximately 20 percent of all U.S. marriages involve destination weddings. They can be an extremely attractive option for many couples, especially if the climate in your hometown is not ideal for the wedding you imagine. However, there can be legal pitfalls if you do not properly research the law in your chosen destination. Symbolic ceremonies are common, but if you plan for your marriage ceremony to be binding and it is not, problems could develop down the road.

What Is Required?

While the specifics will obviously depend on the country in question, many countries require documents which prove that both parties have the ability and the agency to marry. For example, officials may ask for your passport, birth certificate, and a copy of any relevant divorce decree from a previous relationship. It is also possible that they will ask for an Affidavit of Eligibility to Marry or an affidavit of single status. While there is no universally accepted form for this, many consulates do have their own, so it is important to plan ahead.

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 Posted on July 30, 2017 in Child Custody

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 Asset Division

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 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.

Before its passage, there was essentially no statutory right to receive any amount of military or retired pay, exemplified by a high-profile case in 1981. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that applying community property standards to military pay was precluded from happening by the language of the relevant statute and that to do so might undermine the impetus for many service members to enlist. In response to the court’s decision, the USFSPA was enacted, passing Congress with bipartisan support and being signed into law in 1982.

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