Posted on May 16, 2016 in Divorce

You have long suspected it but the words have now been spoken; your spouse is filing for divorce. While you may be reeling from the revelation, you must quickly gather yourself and begin preparing for the process. Part of your preparation should include hiring a qualified divorce attorney to assist you along the way.

You have two choices, you could either run a fairly blind online search and hope for the best or ask your family or friends for a referral. Finding a few prospects, however, is only the beginning. From there, you will need to prepare a game plan that includes a series of interview questions to ensure you are hiring the right lawyer to handle your case.

It is important to meet in person with your prospective attorney, whenever possible, even if a face-to-face consultation is not free. In many cases, seeing the attorney's office and reading his or her body language and attitude are as important as the answers to your questions. Take notes during your consultation so that you have them to review as you make your final decision. 

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 Posted on May 11, 2016 in Divorce

For many individuals going through a divorce, the process can be frightening, stressful, and, at times, completely overwhelming. To be sure, ending a marriage is rarely easy; anyone who says otherwise has probably never experienced it. On the other hand, your divorce does not need to be as traumatic as you might think, even taking into account the wide range of accompanying emotions. Perhaps the biggest source of anxiety and trouble in a divorce is the fear of the unknown. What should I do first? Then what? How much will it cost? Will I be okay when it is all over? While questions like these are certainly valid, a little effort and research can help you obtain the knowledge you need to face your divorce with a sense of confidence and hope.

Knowledge of Your Current Situation

Before you even begin the divorce process, you need to take stock of what you own, both individually and as a couple. This can be rather difficult if your spouse has been handling the household finances, but now is the time for you to learn. Go through bank records, tax returns, credit card statements, and any other available documents to be sure you know exactly where you stand financially. You should also make a list of physical property that is likely to be divided between you and your spouse, including cars, furniture, valuable jewelry and antiques, artwork, and real estate. Last, but certainly not least, if you have children, you will need to fully understand their needs, especially in light of upcoming changes.

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 Posted on May 09, 2016 in Spousal Maintenance

As you may be aware, an order for spousal maintenance, or spousal support, in divorce is issued on a need-based review of each individual case. There is no presumption that one spouse or the other will be required to pay spousal support. Spousal support, though less common than in previous generations, is still awarded in many divorce cases to help alleviate the financial burden of the divorce on an economically disadvantaged spouse. Once the final divorce judgment is entered, the spousal support order becomes enforceable by law and the supporting spouse must comply or face court sanctions. But what about during the divorce? Can spousal maintenance be ordered while the proceedings are still ongoing?

Temporary Orders

The simple answer is yes. Spousal support can be ordered by the court before the final divorce judgment is entered, but the order takes a somewhat different form. The process for obtaining a temporary maintenance order is different as well.

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 Posted on May 04, 2016 in Divorce

In today’s American society, everyone “knows” that half of all marriages end in divorce. We have been hearing it for years, so it must be true. The divorce rate in the United States is probably around 50 percent, then, right? Wrong. Sociologists and relationship experts from across the country are increasingly challenging the notion of a national 50 percent divorce rate, and on closer inspection, they have some pretty convincing arguments.

Misleading Numbers

At first glance, it would seem like statistics from the federal government support the idea that half of American marriages are doomed to fail. For 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the rate of marriage to be 6.9 marriages per 1,000 U.S. residents. The CDC also reported, for the same year, that there were 3.2 divorces per 1,000 residents, just under half of the rate of marriage.

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 Posted on May 02, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

When you have been ordered by the court to pay child support, your obligation is seen as more than just another bill. The law in Illinois makes child support an extremely high priority, not only for the paying parent but for his or her employer as well. The Income Withholding for Support Act provides that, unless other arrangements are expressly made, all orders for child support must include provisions for serving any employer of the supporting parent with a properly prepared income withholding notice to facilitate the payment of child support obligations.

Benefits of Withholding

For many years, a supporting parent’s only option for making child support payments, other than income withholding, was by writing a check every month and sending it to the State Disbursement Unit. Today, online payments are available, but still require the supporting parent to take action to make his or her payments. Income withholding, on the other hand, requires no additional effort by the supporting parent and secures the payment before other obligations can prevent the parent from paying. Thus, the two-fold benefits—convenience and security—are what make income withholding the most common method of paying child support in Illinois and around the country.  

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 Posted on April 27, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

Too often, parents who are going through a divorce focus their energies on fighting with one another rather than on finding workable solutions for raising their children. Under Illinois law, divorcing parents are expected to develop a cooperative plan that addresses the allocation of parental responsibilities—once called child custody. Such an agreement, however, is not always possible, and the matter is left to the court to decide. During the proceedings, each parent will the opportunity make his or her case, which will be taken into account by the judge. But what about the child? Does the child get a say in how parental responsibilities are allocated?

The Wishes of the Child

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act clearly provides that, yes, the wishes of the child are to be considered by the court in a proceeding related to decision-making responsibilities or parenting time. The law, however, does include an important caveat. The court must also take “into account the child’s maturity and ability to express reasoned and independent preferences.”

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 Posted on April 25, 2016 in Adoption

There are countless reasons that parents may consider putting their child up for adoption. In most cases, they believe that doing so will give their child a much better opportunity at a happy, healthy life. A large percentage of adoptions in Illinois involve single mothers who feel that they are not able to provide properly for their child. The choice of a single mother to make her child available for adoption is, undoubtedly, a difficult one, but what about that child’s father? Does he have any say in the process?

Your Rights as a Legal Father

If you are the legally-recognized father of a child that is being placed for adoption, the proceedings may not continue without your consent. In most cases, you must be willing to voluntarily terminate your parental rights. It is possible for your parental rights to terminated against your will, but only if you are found to by the court to be an unfit parent. Grounds for such a finding include abandonment of the child, failure to maintain interest, concern or responsibility, neglect, repeated physical or emotional abuse, substance abuse, and other negative behaviors.

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 Posted on April 20, 2016 in Property Division

During the divorce process, as you probably know, you and your spouse will need to divide your marital property between the two of you. If you are not able to reach an agreement regarding who will get what assets, the decision will be left to the court. In such proceedings, the court will first identify what property is to be divided, establish the value of the property, then allocate it equitably—not necessarily equally—in accordance with considerations contained in Illinois law.

In many cases, identifying the marital estate can be rather challenging, despite seemingly straightforward statutes that govern the disposition of property. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act provides that marital property is any asset acquired by either spouse during the course of a marriage, except property that was received by one spouse as a gift, inheritance, or in exchange for other, non-marital property. Pretty simple, right? If you earned or received it during the marriage, the asset is probably part of the marital estate and subject to division.

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 Posted on April 18, 2016 in Mediation

For many working individuals, it can be nearly impossible to find time during the business day to do anything related to their personal lives. You are probably familiar with the struggle, as you, for example may have to cram a trip to the bank, the post-office, and your accountant’s office all into your lunch hour. Add in a doctor’s or dentist appointment and forget it; you will probably need to take a day off work. If you are considering a divorce, your scheduling challenges are just beginning, no matter how busy you already may be. Many law firms and, of course, the courts are only available during “normal business hours,” typically between 8 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday. With such limitations, how can you be expected to make any progress in your divorce while maintaining a full-time job? Fortunately, divorce mediation may provide a solution.

Increased Flexibility

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 Posted on April 13, 2016 in Divorce

For many generations, a couple who sought to end their marriage in the state of Illinois could only do so based on the behavior of one spouse. In order to obtain a judgment of divorce, a petitioning spouse had to show that the other spouse was at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Over time, however, the laws of the state were amended to reflect evolving societal values, eventually adding no-fault divorce as an option for those in unhappy and unhealthy marriages.

Fault Grounds and the Introduction of No-Fault Divorce

For much of America’s history, spouses who were unhappy in a bad marriage were essentially stuck. Of course, it was possible to get a divorce if the other partner cheated, was mentally or emotionally abusive, abandoned the family, or chronically abused drugs or alcohol, along with several other serious at-fault grounds. This meant, however, that without such behaviors, there was virtually nothing a person could do to end the marriage. Even the process of divorce was much more complicated, as the alleged fault had to be proven.

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