Posted on May 20, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

Any legal matter related to children can quickly become emotionally charged and fraught with challenges. Parents, especially those going through a bitter divorce or separation, can often have trouble remaining objective and keeping their child’s best interest a priority. In such cases, the court may choose to appoint an independent attorney as a Child Representative to serve the child’s needs without emotional complications.

Child Representative Situations

Frequently in child custody, support, and visitation cases, the interested parties are dealing with a number of contentious issues related to the end of a marriage. Unmarried couples, as well, may struggle to remain civil as the end of any relationship can lead to feelings of anger, betrayal, and confusion about the future.

Negotiations regarding a couple’s children may start amicably but too often deteriorate into an ugly situation in which neither parent will compromise. The focus of the case may become clouded while “winning” and “losing” gain more importance than the well-being of the child. A situation like this may necessitate the court to appoint a Child Representative who is tasked with acting on behalf of the child’s best interests.

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 Posted on May 18, 2015 in Divorce

It is an unfortunate reality of modern life that spouses often find it difficult to be completely honest with each other, particularly in matters pertaining to money. For some couples, it may be motivated by fear of embarrassment, as one spouse may not be especially proud of decisions that he or she has made. For others, however, the motivation may be more selfish, as a spouse insists on keeping a portion of his or her assets hidden from the other partner, so as to retain them for his or her own personal benefit.

Hiding assets during a marriage is seen by many as a form of infidelity, which can have a detrimental impact to the marital relationship. When such actions or intentions are discovered, the trust level between partners may be severely damaged, often leading to divorce. Continuing to hide assets during divorce, however, can be even more serious, as doing so constitutes a violation of the law.

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 Posted on May 12, 2015 in Divorce

Nobody will claim that divorce is easy. Even the most amicable of situations still bring certain challenges and stresses for the divorcing couple. Interestingly, while recommending the help of a legal professional during divorce is a very common and welcome suggestion for many couples, suggesting that a couple seek help from a mental health professional often seems too personal or invasive. Mental health professionals, however, have a great deal of insight to offer a divorcing couple, especially if the divorce is being handled through mediation or collaborative law.

The help of a mental health professional can be employed in several ways, any of which may positively contribute to the divorce process. The first of these would seem to be the most traditional way, and that is, as an individual counselor or therapist. Either or both spouses and the children may independently seek the help of a therapist to better understand his or her own approach to the divorce. Counselors can aid an individual in coming to terms with his or her motivations, underlying emotional issues, and even identify potential problems before they arise. Likewise, the couple may seek counseling or therapy together, but, if the divorce is already in process, the benefits of such therapy may be limited.

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 Posted on May 11, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

When you share custody of your child, it may feel reasonable to assume that neither parent should be required to pay child support. With shared custody, both parents are expected to contribute to the child’s overall well-being by providing food, shelter, clothing, and covering necessary educational costs in a cooperative manner. However, the laws, as they are currently written in the state of Illinois, may still lead judges to require the payment of child support, even in shared custody arrangements.

Child Support in Illinois

Illinois law regarding child support is considered by many to be a bit antiquated as it relates to modern parenting situations. The basic principles of the statute indicate that the court is recommended to require that a supporting parent pay child support as a set percentage of his or her net income. While the law provides some discretion to the court for deviation from the recommendation, most such changes are made based on consideration of income, resources, and needs. This means that factors such as parenting time and parental responsibilities may be frequently ignored as they are not statutorily specified considerations for the court.

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 Posted on May 06, 2015 in Divorce

“Things just aren’t they way they used to be.” Nearly everyone has something similar from a grandparent or older relative. In many families, such maxims are often used in response to a younger generation’s morals, work ethic, or approach to a particular situation. When it comes to divorce, however, today’s young people may be justified in saying the same thing to older generations, as the divorce rate for those over 50 is at its highest point ever. Social trends notwithstanding, older divorce can present considerable issues for the parties involved, in many ways making such a divorce more complicated than that of a younger couple.

Age, Health, and Life Expectancy

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 Posted on May 04, 2015 in Divorce

When a married couple announces the birth of a new baby, it is generally the cause for great celebration. Friends and family excitedly share the news and join with the mother and father in welcoming the new addition to the family. What if the father, however, is not really the father? The law, as one might expect, does not really address how a family is supposed to deal with such a situation, but it does offer some legal guidelines for the parents on how to proceed.

Legally Married, Legal Father

Illinois law regarding paternity assumes that a child born or conceived during a marriage is the child of the married couple, establishing legal parental rights for both the mother and the father. In a vast majority of cases, such an assumption is correct and simplifies the legal process. However, situations may arise in which the husband of the marriage is not, in fact, the biological father of the child, such as infidelity or a new relationship by the mother during an extended divorce process.

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 Posted on April 27, 2015 in Divorce

Unsurprisingly, many who experience divorce commonly describe the experience as heartbreaking. A new study, though, suggests that such a word choice may not be entirely inappropriate.

The metaphor of a broken heart is practically as old as language itself. It has survived the centuries as an accurate representation of the intense emotional pain associated with significant loss, including the death of a loved one or romantic rejection. The pain of psychological or emotional heartbreak can be so real, in fact, that physical manifestations are common, including chest pains and arrhythmia, and are frequently mistaken for heart attacks.

While such symptoms and feelings may be experienced at the height of an emotionally charged situation, long-term heart health may be affected as well. A study conducted by researchers at Duke University seems to have identified a link between divorce and future heart attacks in women.

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 Posted on April 22, 2015 in Mediation

As an increasingly common form of alternative dispute resolution, mediation in divorce can allow a couple to navigate the process with minimal stress and reduced financial expense. While divorcing spouses must remain committed to a sense of cooperation in order for mediation to work well, the mediator can also play an integral role in the negotiations. In addition to the necessary responsibility of facilitating constructive discussion, the most successful mediators may be accomplishing the most when it appears that they are not doing anything at all. What seems like nothing may in fact be mediator demonstrating his or skills in active listening, which can be one of the most important characteristics a good mediator possesses.

Even a mediated divorce carries with it a level of uncertainty and apprehension for both spouses, and yours is likely no different. There a few things to keep in mind when selecting a mediator, however, that can help create more positive results.

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 Posted on April 20, 2015 in Divorce

The decision to divorce is difficult under the best of circumstances. A couple with children, however, may be faced with an even more challenging situation. In addition to making the necessary arrangements for issues such as custody, visitation, and child support, parents also have an obligation to help their children through the process, while reducing unnecessary stress and confusion. This generally means that parents must be able to talk to their children about the life changes being effected by divorce to help them understand, as best they can based on their maturity level, what a post-divorce life will be like and how their lives may change.

Be Age Appropriate

When discussing divorce with your children, it important to realize that communication is an ongoing process, not just a one-time conversation. This is especially true in younger children who, as they grow and mature, will likely have more questions and seek to understand the situation on a deeper level. The discussion must begin, however, with your understanding of what your child is capable of comprehending. For example, a pre-school aged child would not grasp the concept of you feeling emotionally isolated from your spouse. Instead, simply explaining that Mom and Dad will both be happier may be a better start.

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 Posted on April 15, 2015 in Business Valuation

Division of property is often a major concern for divorcing couples. As an equitable distribution state, however, Illinois law requires that each spouse receive an appropriate, but not necessarily equal, share of the marital property based on the circumstances of the marriage and divorce. There are a number of methods which may be used to divide property and the right one for a given situation generally depends on the specific assets to be distributed and their appraised value. In some cases, a structured settlement may be appropriate.

Liquidity of Assets

Establishing the value of particular assets may be fairly easy or rather complicated depending on their nature. Goods and property, such as a piece of artwork or real estate, and accounts, such as savings or certificates of deposit, can be valuated with a degree of certainty, as such assets could be converted to cash relatively easily. Others, such as the family home, a business owned by a spouse, and long-term investment or retirement accounts may require an actuary or other financial expert to calculate their actual and anticipated value. Many of these type assets are considered nonliquid or illiquid, as they are not easily converted to cash for equitable distribution.

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