Recent Blog Posts

 Posted on March 25, 2016 in Divorce

Marriages end for all sorts of reasons, some financial, others behavior-based, and still others because of incompatible personalities. While divorce can provide a doorway to happier life, it is understandable that you may not want to put yourself at a disadvantage during the process itself. Whether the problem is genuine or just perceived does not really matter; if you feel a certain way, the impact on you is real enough. Many who are considering divorce often wonder if filing first makes any difference in the proceedings compared to waiting for their spouse to file. The answer to that question is fairly complex and depends on your specific circumstances.

No Legal Advantages

When you consider other areas of the law, such as criminal defense or personal injury, it is usually up to the filing party—the prosecutor or injured person—to prove his or her allegations. Of course, the burden of proof differs by the area of law, and may be shifted to the other party as the case proceeds, but, in general, the party who files has more responsibility and control over the suit. Divorce is unique in that there are no presumed roles or advantages for either party regardless of who files the petition for dissolution. You will each have the opportunity to make requests, file motions, prove your claims, dispute those of the other party, and otherwise be heard as equals throughout the proceedings.

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 Posted on March 23, 2016 in Divorce

Once you have made the decision to end your marriage, there is no point in delaying or dragging out the proceedings. Divorce is rarely easy, but the legal process itself does not need to take countless months as you and your spouse place your lives on hold. In many cases, you may be able to obtain a finalized divorce judgment in a little as just a few weeks, but doing so requires a bit of effort on your part and cooperation from your spouse.

1. A Plan of Attack

The easiest way to eliminate delays in divorce is to negotiate as much of your settlement as you possibly can. You and your spouse may not agree on everything, so start with the simplest topics. For example, if you have little concern about certain pieces of property, agree on those and then build on the cooperative momentum. Eventually, you will get to more difficult subjects, but, by that point, you will have likely established a level of commitment to completing the process amicably.

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 Posted on March 18, 2016 in Child Custody

When you are in the midst of a divorce, it may seem very tempting to just sit back and the let a judge make the difficult decisions. Of course, this approach fails to account for the multiple court appearances that will probably be necessary, and the fact that you will still need to provide the court with all of the information and evidence relevant to your case. Divorce laws in Illinois explicitly promote amicable agreements between divorcing spouses whenever possible. Divorcing parents, in particular, are expected to work together in developing a plan for cooperative parenting and protecting their children’s best interests. Parents Know Best There are many examples in Illinois family law indicating that a court must presume that parents will act in the best interest of their child. This is based on the idea that, unless proven otherwise, parents are equipped to fully understand the situation at hand and to make decisions for their child that are ultimately beneficial. Due to recent updates to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the same concept is now being applied to co-parenting and the allocation of parental responsibilities. Rather than assuming that courts should make parenting judgments, the amended law requires divorcing parents to develop a strategy for parenting together. The plan, of course, must be reviewed and approved by the court, but the court will only make changes or enter a judgment of its own when absolutely necessary to protect the child’s interests. Parenting Plans According to the law, once a proceeding for the allocation of parental responsibilities—formerly child custody—has begun, parents have 120 days to file a proposed parenting plan. The plan must address each party’s rights, decision-making authority, parenting time schedule, and a number of other concerns required by law. The deadline may be extended if either parent can show good cause. If the parents cannot agree on a plan, the court has the authority to order mediation to assist in the process. Should mediation ultimately fail, or if either party refuses to participate in good faith, the court may allocate parental responsibilities, likely taking the refusal to cooperate into account. A parenting plan that addresses all of the appropriate concerns and that is reasonable to both parents will be approved by the court and entered as part of the divorce judgment. Parents can later amend the plan either by agreement or by showing of a substantial change in circumstances. Legal Advocate for Parents

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 Posted on March 16, 2016 in Divorce

The process of divorce is going to be challenging no matter how well you and the other party get along. There are simply too many variables to expect everything to be resolved easily and without some measure of disagreement. Even if the two of you agree on most matters of substance, personal feeling of anger, grief, or betrayal over the end of your relationship can complicate the proceedings. Along the way, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse will need to keep lines of communication open between you, especially if you have children together. It is absolutely critical for you to be aware of what you are saying and how it may be received so that you can avoid creating additional problems down the road.

Decide on a Method of Communication

The first thing you can do to prevent misunderstandings is to reach an agreement regarding the types of communication you and your spouse should use throughout the divorce process. If your relationship is such that speaking directly to one another in person or over the phone is acceptable, do so very carefully. Keep notes about your conversations, so that the words you choose cannot be misconstrued or misinterpreted. For many divorcing couples, a written form of communication works better, including email or text messages. Emails and text messages generally allow you the ability to consider your words more carefully, helping to ensure that what you send is exactly what you mean.

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 Posted on March 09, 2016 in Child Support

When you are responsible for making child support payments, virtually every financial decision you make can affect your ability to meet your obligations. This is especially true if you are considering a job or a career change, as your income is very likely to change. While an increase in your income can be a good thing, a decrease could make it impossible for you to comply with your child support requirements. You may be able to petition the court for an order modification, but depending upon the circumstances of your employment, your request could be denied.

Illinois Law

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, your order for child support may be amended upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances. Losing a job, starting a new one, a significant promotion or demotion, and a complete career change could all create a significant difference in your monthly and annual income. The law recognizes a change in employment status as one of the possible causes of a substantial change in circumstances for the purposes of pursuing an order modification.

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 Posted on March 04, 2016 in Collaborative Law

Supermarket tabloids and social media feeds are frequently full of divorce horror stories—usually involving celebrities—in which the proceedings drag on for months because the parties cannot see eye-to-eye on virtually anything. You probably even know someone personally whose spouse refused to cooperate, leading to expensive delays and long-term uncertainty. In addition to the added costs, the emotional strain on a family in such a situation can be tremendous, and in some case, almost unbearable. There is, however, no reason to subject yourself and your family to the dangers of that type of divorce, especially when a collaborative divorce may be an option.

The Collaborative Process

A collaborative divorce is a team-oriented approach to ending a marriage that looks to avoid taking the matter into the courtroom. In fact, as part of the agreement to collaborate, the attorneys for you and your spouse contractually agree to withdraw as your representation should you decide that collaborative divorce is not working, and litigation is necessary. This creates an incentive of sorts to reach a resolution without spending additional money on new lawyers.

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 Posted on February 26, 2016 in Child Custody

If you are in the process of getting divorced or ending a relationship with your child’s other parent, you undoubtedly realize that the road ahead is likely to be a tough one. Even in the most amicable of situations, making arrangement regarding your roles as co-parents can be extremely challenging. There are many considerations that go into developing a workable parenting plan, of course, but certain elements are generally recognized as being among the most important. The authority over such aspects of the child’s life are known under the law as significant decision-making responsibilities, and they represent a major portion of any co-parenting agreement.

Formerly Legal Custody

For many years, the state of Illinois addressed parenting roles in terms of physical and legal custody. Physical custody referred to a parent’s access to the child. In most cases, a parent would be granted at least shared physical custody of the child, meaning the child would be able to spend in the home of both parents on some type of rotating basis. Legal custody, by comparison, referred to the authority of the parents to make important decisions regarding the child’s upbringing. This was allocated in one of a couple ways: legal custody could be granted to one parent in a sole custody arrangement, or shared between both parents in a joint custody agreement.

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 Posted on February 24, 2016 in Divorce

For most couples who have been divorced, there was probably not a single moment that suddenly clarified their decision to end the marriage. It, more likely, was the combination of many factors that ultimately led to the split. In many cases, spouses begin to think about divorce long before it ever becomes a reality, and often ask themselves similar questions.

Before contacting a divorce attorney, you should be able to clearly address, at least in your own mind:

Do You Want a Better Marriage?

Or, do you just want out? You may recognize serious problems in your relationship, but that does not necessarily mean that you no longer want to be with your spouse. If you can identify particular areas of concern, working on your marriage may be an option. Conversely, you may be ready to be done with your spouse, realizing that your relationship is not healthy for either of you.

What Have You Added to the Problems?

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 Posted on February 19, 2016 in Property Division

For some, the most painful part of a divorce is the division of the marital property. Illinois law requires judges to divide the marital property equitably. This means dividing the property fairly based a set of factors. However, if your spouse is hiding assets, you are at a disadvantage. You may get less than your fair share of the marital property. While there are many ways to hide assets, often they are in plain sight if you know where to look.

Electronic Discovery

One favorite technique of fraudsters is to withdraw money over time from the marital bank accounts and deposit the money in a secret account. Sometimes the secret account will be in the name of a friend or romantic partner to help avoid detection. But, because almost everything is now online, chances are that your spouse either checks the balance online or gets regular account updates via email.

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 Posted on February 17, 2016 in Property Division

Financial and property considerations can be very complicated parts of the divorce process. It is often difficult to determine who should get what, and how much is fair based on the specific circumstances of the case. For many couples, the concepts of dividing marital assets and spousal maintenance represent two, very separate ideas. In reality, however, they are often very closely related, and in many cases, decisions regarding one directly affects the other.

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance, or alimony as it is sometimes called, is intended to help a financially-disadvantaged spouse alleviate some of the economic impact of a divorce and a post-divorce life. To determine if maintenance is needed, in the absence of an agreement between the spouses, the court must take into account a number of factors regarding the marriage and divorce. These include each spouse’s income and needs, the contributions to the marriage and toward the earning capacity of the other, as well as the length of the marriage and the established standard of living.

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