Property Division Issues in Same-Sex Divorces

 Posted on March 09,2015 in Wheaton Divorce Attorney

Last June, Illinois law officially changed to allow same-sex couples to enter into full marriages. While this was a momentous occasion for many, it also opened up same-sex couples to the possibility of having to deal with a formal legal divorce down the road. Although the divorce laws apply to same-sex marriages the same way that they do to heterosexual marriages, there are a variety of practical differences that certain same-sex couples should consider. One of these issues comes up in the context of property division. Many same-sex couples cohabited in long-term, committed relationships that were not legally recognized marriages prior to the enactment of the new law. Those preexisting relationships can make distinguishing marital property from non-marital property more difficult.

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Divorce Investigation in Illinois: Snooping on Your Spouse

 Posted on March 04,2015 in Divorce

Divorces can be emotionally-charged affairs, and those emotions can provoke people to overstep certain legal bounds. Often, this can manifest as people trying to do their own investigations into their spouse's lives, trying to catch them cheating or collecting evidence of other bad behavior to cast them in a worse light in court. This trend has only become more pronounced with the advent of cheaper surveillance equipment and other technology that allows ordinary citizens to spy on their spouses. While the desire to engage in this sort of behavior is understandable, it is often better to leave the divorce investigation to the professionals. People who overstep the bounds of the law can find out that the evidence they gathered cannot be used in court, and they may even end up facing criminal charges because of their actions.

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Marital Debt in Divorce: Who Gets the House, Who Gets the Mortgage?

 Posted on March 03,2015 in Divorce

One of the biggest questions that often comes with a divorce is “Who gets to keep the house?” Houses are often one of the most substantial assets a couple has, so it is understandable that the dispute over it gets a lot of focus. However, there is an aspect of dividing up the house that often gets overlooked, the mortgage. Marital property division also includes dividing up the marital debt, so couples going through divorce should be aware that the mortgage will need to be divided up as well. There are some general concerns people going through a divorce should be aware of, as well as special issues in the case of an underwater home, a problem plagues millions of U.S. households.

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Broken Engagement vs. Divorce: Who Gets the Ring

 Posted on February 26,2015 in Divorce

Engagement rings are a symbol of a couple's commitment to each other, but beyond that they are also valuable assets in their own right. In fact, The New York Times reports that the average value of an engagement ring is $4,000. A broken engagement or a divorce often raises questions about who gets to claim that value. The question is especially important for younger couples who may not have much in the way of tangible assets. As it turns out, the way the relationship ended is important for determining who gets the ring. The rules are different between a broken engagement and a divorce. For a broken engagement, it depends on who breaks the engagement, and for a divorce it tends to remain the property of the wife regardless.

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Estate Planning after Divorce

 Posted on February 24,2015 in Divorce

The purpose of divorce is to provide an orderly way for people who have legally intertwined their lives to begin unwinding them. The two major ways that law does this are through property division and child custody decisions. Yet, there are other parts of people's lives that are tied together during a marriage that also need to be dealt with. One of the biggest areas of law where that is true is in the estate planning context. A divorce can have major implications for things like wills, trusts, and insurance policies. Some of these instruments change automatically when a divorce occurs, while others require manual updating by the spouses. Re-examining estate planning after divorce is critical, yet one area that many people overlook.

Automatic Revocations

There are a variety of documents that update automatically in the event that a couple divorces. One of the biggest is a person's will. Section 4-7(b) of the Illinois Probate Act deals with what happens to wills in the event of a divorce. It automatically invalidates any bequest to the ex-spouse in the will. However, it is important to realize that the law does not update the will with new presumptions that the property will go to someone else. Instead, the property that would have gone to the spouse passes to the people it would have if it were not included in the will at all. This makes it important to manually update a will following a divorce to ensure that the property that would have gone to the spouse is properly redirected. This is especially true in cases where the will provided some decision-making authority to the ex-spouse, which will now be left out entirely.

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Domestic Abuse and Divorce

 Posted on February 19,2015 in Divorce

Divorce can result from many different issues, but one of the most serious thing s that may cause a divorce is domestic violence. Domestic violence can take many different forms, and many people do not understand what is currently considered domestic abuse. The issue of domestic violence affects people of all genders, and people who suspect that they may be be victims of it should understand the definition. They should also understand their options in the event that they choose to seek a divorce from their partner.

What Is Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse is a term that has different meanings for different people. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has a variety of different behaviors for different situations. In a sense, all of the behaviors relate to a person's controlling, possessive aspects. However, there are certain things that a partner may do that can trigger concerns about domestic abuse. These include:

• Physical violence such as choking, hitting, slapping or beating;

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The Interaction of Divorce and Bankruptcy

 Posted on February 17,2015 in Divorce

Divorce and bankruptcy are often intertwined events in people's lives. The added stress of mounting debt or a lost job can hasten the end of a difficult marriage. The two processes are also both somewhat similar from a legal standpoint, at least as far as they are both legal proceedings designed to divide a set amount of property, albeit quite differently. However, the fact that these two processes involve property division becomes important for how they interact. Yet, how they interact also depends on whether the bankruptcy comes before or after the divorce.

Bankruptcy before Divorce

Filing bankruptcy before the divorce may have some advantages, but it can also necessitate making decisions about the bankruptcy during the divorce.

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The Benefits of Prenups for Second Marriages

 Posted on February 12,2015 in Divorce

People often ignore the possible benefits of prenuptial agreements, thinking of them as documents that only the wealthy need. Even some people who do think they would benefit from a prenup avoid them because they are nervous about how their future spouse will react to the idea. While all couples should consider the potential upside of prenups, there is one group of couples who can find them particularly useful: couples entering into second or third marriages.

These couples often see specific benefits from prenups for a variety of reasons. First, the couple is likely to consist of people who are more well-established in life and who already have their own finances. Second, the couple's members may have children from prior marriages whose interests need protecting. Third, the notion of a prenup may be more palatable to people who already understand the realities of a divorce.

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Mental Illness and Divorce in Illinois

 Posted on February 11,2015 in Child Custody

Divorce can often be a trying experience, but adding a mental illness to the process can often make things difficult. In fact, one study shows that marriages where one spouse has a mental illness are 20 to 80 percent more likely to end in divorce, depending on the illness in question. Of course, the exact way a mental illness will affect a divorce depends greatly on a variety of factors, such as the way the illness is managed and the type of illness. If the disease is well-managed and under control, then it may not affect the divorce much at all. However, poorly managed mental illnesses or those that affect the safety of people close to the mentally-ill spouse can take a more central role in the process.

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Cohabitation Agreements: Property Rights for Unmarried Couples in Illinois

 Posted on February 05,2015 in Wheaton Divorce Attorney

While marriage is still a major cultural institution, shifting attitudes have led to a rise in unmarried couples living together. Some of these couples see marriage on the horizon, but others do not feel the need to formalize their relationship through ceremony. In fact, the 2010 Census showed a 13 percent increase in unmarried cohabitation between 2009 and 2010 alone. Unfortunately, Illinois law has yet to catch up with these changing attitudes. The state does not recognize common law marriage or other similar default property rights. This can be a problem when couples split up or when one of them passes. Fortunately, the law does still provide some options for proactive couples. Couples can enter into cohabitation agreements that mark out specific rights that they want the government to recognize. Additionally, there are special options in cases where the couples choose to purchase a house together.

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