Posted on April 05, 2017 in Divorce

Has your marriage reached the point where it is no longer a healthy part of your life? A marriage can deteriorate for many reasons, but according to Illinois law, there is only one legal basis for divorce. Thanks to changes to the state’s family law statutes last year, a divorce can only be granted on the grounds that irreconcilable differences have pushed the marriage beyond the point of repair.

What Are Irreconcilable Differences?

When Illinois permitted fault-based divorce, such grounds were fairly straightforward. They included behaviors like adultery, repeated mental or physical cruelty, abandonment, and other actions that were easy to understand, even if they were difficult to prove during divorce. Irreconcilable differences, on the other hand, are rather vague. In fact, there is no single definition of irreconcilable differences contained in the law. Instead, the phrase is understood to mean that the spouses are no longer able to remain in a marital relationship with one another.

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 Posted on March 31, 2017 in Visitation

While it may seem that your children just went back to school a few short weeks ago, the reality is that the current school year will soon be drawing to a close. Of course, children spend much of the academic year looking forward to summer vacation, but many parents face difficulties during the summer months in regard to finding appropriate child care and keeping the kids out of trouble. For divorced, separated, or unmarried parents, the issues can be even more challenging, as summer vacation is often treated as a special circumstance in a court-approved parenting plan.

Common Arrangements

It is not unusual for a child whose parents are divorced to spend a significant portion of the summer break with the parent he or she tends to see less during the school year. Such an arrangement is actually fairly common in many parenting plans. For example, if your child resides primarily with you during the school year and spends alternating weekends with his or her other parent, the other parent may be given several straight weeks of parenting time during the summer. This type of situation, however, is not feasible for every family. Work schedules, summer camps, and other complications may require you and your child’s other parent to develop a more creative solution.

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 Posted on March 29, 2017 in Family Law

If you are preparing to get married to someone who has children from a prior relationship, it is important to understand what may be in store for your future, especially if you do not have children of your own. While you may have taken on certain responsibilities and been accepted as part of the family while you and your partner dated, marriage is a very serious step. When you say, “I do,” you will become a stepparent, and, from that day on, you will have a very real impact on the lives of your spouse’s children.

A Package Deal

It may seem obvious, but many new stepparents seem to downplay or outright ignore the role that a child plays in his or her parent’s life. It is easy to get caught up in the euphoria a new romantic relationship with your partner and to only think about the children on occasion. You must remember that, no matter how much you love your partner, you are not just marrying him or her. For better or worse, you are also marrying into a pre-existing family unit. If you are not prepared for this reality, the new family dynamic could quickly spiral out of control. This means that you may not get as much one-on-one alone time with your partner as you would like, at least while the child is fairly young. Instead, you are likely to have a wider variety of family experiences

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 Posted on March 24, 2017 in Divorce

Have you found yourself in a pending divorce and feel like you have no plan in place? Whether expected or not, divorce is an overwhelming and life-changing event for many. It is important to arm yourself with information, help, and peace of mind. An experienced can take care of your legal needs and offer the knowledge needed to help you sail through the process smoothly.

Changes for 2017

By July of this year, a new child support law will take effect. Currently, the dollar amount of child support is based on the payer’s net income. The change implements the income shares approach, which calculates child support based on the parents’ combined, adjusted net earnings and takes into account the time each parent spends with the children.

How to Map Out a Plan

After consulting with a lawyer, make a plan. Doing so will help you know what steps to take from an objective point of view during an emotional time in life. While some people do pursue a divorce on their own, working with a lawyer can help you sort through the surplus of well-meaning opinions and unofficial legal advice you are undoubtedly receiving from friends and family.

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 Posted on March 22, 2017 in Property Division

Many couples, if not most, decide to combine their finances after they get married, effectively sharing their property and income. There may be situations, however, in which a spouse wishes to keep some of his or property separate even after he or she gets married.

Illinois Law on Marital Property

Illinois takes a very broad view of marital property. With a few exceptions, any asset or debt that is acquired by either spouse after the marriage becomes marital property. Assets or debts acquired before the marriage or that qualify as the mentioned exceptions are considered non-marital property. Non-marital property is not subject to division during a divorce, but assets that began as non-marital can become marital property if they are commingled.

How Commingling Happens

Commingled property means that one spouse’s separate property is mixed with the marital property. When this happens, the separate property becomes part of the marital estate. For example, if one spouse had an inheritance that they received after the marriage, that inheritance would not be marital property; inheritances are one of the exceptions included in the law. But, if that inheritance was deposited into a joint checking account and used for everyday household expenses, it may be considered commingled and may become marital property.

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 Posted on March 18, 2017 in Divorce

Are you comfortable when you are by yourself? Whether or not you are currently married or in a long-term relationship, could you see yourself being single for an extended period of time? If you answered no, you are far from alone—no pun intended. In fact, recent surveys suggest that approximately one-third of all American adults are afraid of being by themselves. About 35 percent of men and 40 percent of women report fear and reservations about being alone. Unfortunately, the fear of being alone may encourage couples to eschew divorce and stay together even when they are unhappy.

FOMO Is Real

Relationship experts believe that the fear of being alone is very closely related to the fear of missing out—or FOMO, a term that was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. It is possible—and even reasonable—that this fear of missing out could have as much to do with biology as social pressures. “We were biologically and evolutionarily created to find the right partner to reproduce,” said Sahaj Kohli, a mental health advocate and editor for The Huffington Post. With this reasoning, if a marriage goes sour, it can make an individual feel as if he or she has biologically failed; hence, the hesitance to admit “failure” and file for divorce. However, staying in a bad relationship can be more emotionally, financially, and socially detrimental than a divorce itself.

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 Posted on March 15, 2017 in Divorce

It is one thing to be done trying to make a failing marriage work and quite another to feel sure that you are emotionally ready for divorce. Divorce is a crucial life decision and is not always quick and easy. The benefits of being emotionally prepared for the legal battle ahead are numerous, and those who are often come out on the other end much happier. There are a few questions that anyone considering divorce must answer so they can make a clear and definitive decision.

Is the Marriage Benefitting Everyone?

This question is not just if your existing relationship is helping the children or your spouse, but is it benefitting everyone in the household? Most importantly, is it benefiting you? Your needs are just as important and valid as your spouse, so it has to work for you as well.

Have You Exhausted All Avenues for Saving the Marriage?

All relationships have fluctuations between times of closeness and moments of conflict. This will apply in your current marriage and any future relationships. Although it may hurt your pride to go to counseling, the risk of throwing away a repairable marriage and disrupting everyone's lives is worth the consideration.

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 Posted on March 10, 2017 in Domestic Violence

Lawmakers in Mississippi raised controversy last month when legislation that would have amended the state’s divorce laws died in a House committee. The bill would have added domestic violence to list of reasons that a person can seek a divorce in the state, bringing the total number of grounds to 13. Advocates for victims of domestic abuse say the failure of the measure is another blow to those who are suffering in their marriages and see no way to escape.

“Habitual Cruel and Inhuman Treatment”

Legal experts and commentators generally agree that Mississippi is one the most difficult states in which to obtain a divorce. A married person currently may seek to end his or her marriage one of dozen grounds, including drunkenness, adultery, impotence, and “habitual cruel and inhuman treatment.” While some have argued that domestic violence would fall under the category of cruel and inhuman treatment, the state requires proof that behavior is ongoing and habitual. Some forms of physical abuse could be proven in this way, but others—such as emotional or psychological abuse—are much more difficult to prove in a divorce proceeding.

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 Posted on March 08, 2017 in Divorce

If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times. “Half of all marriages end in divorce.” The idea has been repeated so many times over the last several decades that it is come common “knowledge.” The main problem is that it simply is not true. In addition, many experts believe that it never really was.

Oversimplifying Complex Numbers

It is difficult to know for sure exactly when and where the 50 percent myth originated but many sociologists point to the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) managed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2000 and 2001, for instance, the NVSS compiled data that found that there were 8.2 marriages per 1,000 people in the United States to be 8.2 marriages. During the same two years, the NVSS reported 4.0 divorces per 1,000 people. A quick estimate confirmed that the divorce rate was half of the marriage rate, so the half of all marriages must end in divorce, right? Well, not exactly.

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 Posted on February 28, 2017 in Child Custody and Support

When the other parent in an allocation of parental responsibilities case is given the majority of the parenting time, it can feel like you will only rarely see your child. However, there are many things you can do to increase your time that you and your children get to spend together. Even if the court has decided it is not in the child’s best interest for you to be the primary caretaker, that does not mean you cannot play a vital role your child’s life.

Right of First Refusal

Under Illinois law, when the child lives primarily with one parent, the other parent can ask the court for the “right of first refusal” when childcare is needed. This means that before the child is put in daycare or a sitter is called, the other parent should be given the chance to be with their child instead.

This situation can benefit everyone involved. You and the child get to spend more time together, and the other parent saves on childcare costs. This arrangement works best when the two parents have an amicable relationship and both parents are willing to be flexible in putting the needs of their child first.

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