Recent Blog Posts
A Spouse’s Supportive Role Considered in Maintenance Proceedings
When a couple gets divorced in Illinois, maintenance is not guaranteed for either spouse. Also known as alimony or spousal support, maintenance is only ordered by the court if such payments are found to be necessary and appropriate. In some cases, a divorcing couple will agree to maintenance terms on their own, and the court will typically approve these agreements as long as they are reasonable. When left up to the court, however, there must be a demonstrable need on the part of one spouse.
When determining whether award maintenance, the court must take into account more than a dozen factors, including each spouse’s age, health, income, earning potential, the length of the marriage, and the standard of living created during the union. Many of these factors address each spouse’s current situation, but according to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), there two specific considerations that deal with contributions and sacrifices made by a spouse in a supporting role as the primary homemaker or child-raiser.
Younger Generation More Likely To Use Prenups
Prenuptial agreements have gotten a bad rap for many years. Many hold the false belief that prenuptial agreements are only for celebrities or couples who do not believe in the longevity of their marriage. The reality is that a prenuptial agreement is a valuable legal tool as well as a great way to plan for a couple’s future. Prenups are not only a valuable tool if a marriage ends or one of the spouses passes away, but are also a good way to hammer out the details of how finances will be managed within the marriage.
Prenuptial Agreements Especially Popular with Younger Crowd
A survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers suggests that the younger generation of married couples may be more likely to use prenuptial agreements than the older generations. In fact, of the total attorneys surveyed, 51 percent reported an increase in the amount of millennials requesting prenups within the last three years.
Emotional Affairs Are Often the First Sign a Marriage Might Not Last
When one thinks of the word affair, the image that most often comes to mind is that of a married person sneaking off to meet their secret lover in a hotel room. However, affairs do not always involve men or women being sexually active with their new partner or even physically interacting with them. In fact, some of the most damaging affairs are those which involve a partner having intense emotional attachment to a person other than their spouse – even if the affair never goes beyond phone calls, texts, or nonsexual interactions.
Is Your Spouse Engaged in an Emotional Affair?
Of course, every married person should have friends outside of their marriage. Having friends allows us to expand our circle of influence, meet new and interesting people, and have support when life gets challenging. However, there are times when an innocent friendship can morph into an emotional affair. Instead of being a healthy, beneficial relationship, the situation is changed into one which can be devastating to a marriage.
How to Keep Your Divorce Amicable
Going through a divorce is one of the most stressful things a couple can endure. Sometimes, one of the spouses wants the separation but the other does not. Other times, divorce comes after one of the partners has had an affair or done something else tremendously hurtful to their partner. Even marriages that end as a result of a mutual decision can lead to conflict during the divorce process.
There is no way around some of the disputes that accompany ending a marriage. After all, two people who planned to be together forever are making a decision to separate their entire lives. It is understandable that those who divorce will feel anger, resentment, confusion, or uncertainty towards their partner at some point. The key to an amicable divorce is to minimize acting out on those negative feelings and to work together toward the goal of ending the marriage cordially.
Change Your Perception in Order to Feel Better
How Will Divorce Affect Retirement?
Although the general population usually thinks of retirement as something that married couples will enjoy together, research shows that many retirement-age couples are splitting up. Nicknamed “gray divorce,” divorce over age 50 has doubled in frequency since the 1990s. Older couples split up for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the stresses of finances and taking care of the house get the better of a couple, other times, infidelity ends the marriage, and sometimes, a couple simply does not wish to be married anymore.
Gray divorces like these are particularly complicated. When a couple in their 20s gets divorced, they are usually not as financially established as an older couple would be. Couples in their 50s and 60s often own their home and vehicles and have more valuable assets. One of the biggest concerns for older individuals who divorce is how divorce will affect their retirement. If you are considering divorce, you should be aware of how divorce will affect your retirement and how to plan for these unexpected disturbances.
I Cannot Afford A Divorce Attorney! What Do I Do?
Normally, when one brings a civil suit in Illinois, it is that person’s responsibility to cover all the attorney’s fees and other costs associated with bringing suit. This can frighten many people when they begin divorce proceedings, especially if they are in a precarious financial state, have no savings, or cannot access their savings due to the actions of their spouse or another party. However, divorce is an exceptional case, and there are options by which attorney fees can be paid.
Pro Se and Payment Plans
Many parties to a divorce choose, at least at first, to go it alone and represent themselves pro se. Many courts, including Cook County, offer resources to assist with doing so, but stories abound of pro se parties who make mistakes, or who wind up signing away far more than they should. While handling your divorce pro se is possible, it is generally not recommended, especially if you and your spouse actually have disputes to resolve.
Is Independent Adoption Right for You?
Adopting a child is one of the most rewarding things a couple can do. Not only are couples able to experience the joy and wonder of having a child, but they also giving a child in need a loving home. There are many different types of adoption available to Illinois residents. Some choose to adopt internationally while others seek a local adoption. Some choose to use an agency and others seek an independent adoption. Independent adoption, or private adoption, involves a direct arrangement between birth parents and adoptive parents. As with all types of adoption, independent adoption has its own advantages and challenges.
Potential Advantages
An independent adoption was portrayed in the 2007 movie Juno. In the film, a young girl gets pregnant unexpectedly and realizes that she is not capable of adequately caring for the baby. She finds a couple who is not able to conceive children, and she begins to arrange for them to adopt her child. This type of adoption process puts the control in the hands of the expectant mother and adoptive couple. They have the time to get to know ach other on a personal level.
Women’s Issues During Divorce
While the United States has made significant strides in the arena of gender equality in the last few decades, there is still quite a bit of work to be done, especially in terms of perception of rights or lack thereof. This is very clearly articulated in divorces, as several issues may come up during the process that affect women substantially more than men.
Financial Questions
Perhaps the most pressing concern for many women before and during a divorce is financial, because there are still a great many marriages where the husband handles the bulk of the financial decisions and assets. This is especially true if you and your spouse are older and were married during a time when women were less involved in anything outside the realm of child-rearing. While Illinois is an equitable distribution state, meaning that the marital estate will be divided between the spouses as fairly as possible, this does not take away the issues that can come along with being inexperienced in financial matters.
Can I Get Divorced While I Am Pregnant?
Pregnancy brings with it many difficulties. If you are in a marriage which you believe is broken beyond repair while pregnant, this is even more challenging. Sometimes a wife becomes pregnant by her spouse but no longer wishes to be married to him. Other times, a wife gets pregnant as a result of infidelity, and her husband is not the father. A divorce in either of these situations can become very complicated from a legal standpoint.
The Husband Will Be the Presumed Father
Being pregnant cannot prevent you from filing for divorce, but in some cases, the judge may choose to delay finalizing the divorce until the child is born. However, if you wish to pursue a simplified divorce in Illinois, you will not be able to do so while pregnant.
Illinois law dictates that the husband of a woman who is legally married is presumed to be the father of any children she conceives. (The presumption of parentage actually applies to the mother’s spouse, regardless of the spouse’s gender.) The presumption of paternity has many serious implications. The child will have certain rights, such as financial and medical support, Social Security and inheritance benefits. A presumed father takes up those rights and responsibilities associated with being a legal parent, such as child custody/visitation and child support. If your husband is not the father of your unborn child, he may need to take legal action to absolve himself of responsibility for the child. These formal legal proceedings can include paternity suits, filiation hearings, parentage actions, or establishment hearings.
Divorce After Age 50 Brings Unique Considerations
Over the last few decades, there has been a noticeable increase in older married couples getting divorced. In fact, the rate of these “grey divorces” doubled between 1990 and 2010. If you are over the age of 50 and are considering getting a divorce, you may face some unique challenges. As you weigh your options, there are a few things to keep in mind.
You May Be Ordered to Pay Spousal Support
When an older couple gets divorced, they are often more established financially than a younger couple would be. Therefore, there are some rather unique financial situations that may arise. Firstly, those couples that have been married for several decades should expect one of them to be ordered to pay spousal maintenance, also called spousal support or alimony. Often, spouses have considerably different incomes or one spouse stayed home to raise children while the other worked. In these circumstances, the higher-earning spouse is often ordered to pay spousal support to the lower-earning spouse. The duration that payments will occur and the amount of each payment will depend on the recipient’s health, ability to find employment, job skills, and other factors.
