Posted on November 15, 2022 in Divorce

The dissolution of a marriage can be an arduous process, both emotionally and financially. When most people think of divorce, they think of a bitter, contentious process. What if there was another way to end a marriage on more amicable terms? As it turns out, there is another way spouses can end their marriage that does not end if lifelong scars for both parties.

If both parties feel as though they are capable of working with each other, then a collaborative divorce may be possible. Collaborative law is a kind of dispute resolution that takes place outside the courtroom, where the parties cooperate to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. If you and your spouse are seeking divorce and believe you can work together, consider consulting with an attorney familiar with collaborative divorces. 

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 Posted on November 10, 2022 in Divorce

Getting a divorce can have lifelong implications for your life and your ex-spouse’s life. If you are getting a divorce, you may be concerned about the financial consequences a divorce will have. Divorces can be costly, but what about after the divorce is finalized? You may be wondering, especially if your spouse is a higher earner than you, whether you qualify for alimony, also known as spousal maintenance in Illinois. 

If you are getting a divorce and are curious whether you are eligible for alimony payments, consult with a knowledgeable divorce attorney to discuss your options moving forward. 

How Do You Know if You Qualify? 

The idea behind alimony, support payments paid from one spouse to the other after a divorce, is to prevent one party from experiencing excessive financial difficulty due to their divorce. The lower-earning spouse receives monthly payments from the higher-earner spouse. 

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 Posted on November 08, 2022 in Divorce

The process of divorce can be excruciatingly painful. This is someone you once had tremendous feelings for, and knowing your relationship is coming to an unfortunate end can be a terribly sad experience. No matter how long you and your spouse were together, getting a divorce can be daunting for many different reasons. If you are considering divorce, consult an experienced attorney to ensure your rights are protected and your best interests are put first.

What Makes Divorce Unique in Illinois?

As of January 1, 2016, Illinois officially became a state where irreconcilable differences are the only grounds for a divorce, which means that you do not need to prove that your spouse is at fault for the disintegration of the marriage. 

Notably, the court will not consider misconduct accusations when deciding how to divide property or reward spousal maintenance. However, the court will listen to a spouse’s child-related concerns when it comes time to figure out how best to allocate parenting time and other essential parental responsibilities. 

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 Posted on November 03, 2022 in Divorce

It is well-documented that getting a divorce can be highly unpleasant for many reasons. When children are involved, the process can turn from spiteful to merciless in an instant. Disagreements between parents sometimes occur when determining parental responsibility arrangements during divorce proceedings. How can conflicts best be dealt with to protect the well-being of the children involved? Most parents want the absolute best for their children. Topics vital to the child's development, such as educational and healthcare decisions, are likely to have long-lasting ramifications for children. If you are getting divorced and wish to secure the most favorable arrangement for you and your children, consult with a knowledgeable attorney with experience in divorce cases involving parental responsibility allocation. 

Allocation of Parental Responsibilities Through a Parenting Plan

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 Posted on October 28, 2022 in Divorce

Divorce can be a long process that requires extensive paperwork, planning, and processing. Many people are surprised by how much documentation they have to gather once the divorce process begins, as well as by how much of their own information they do not know. If you are hoping for a swift divorce, one of the smartest things you can do is begin preparing now. For answers to your questions about how to get started, contact an Illinois divorce attorney right away. 

Collect Financial Documents

To answer important questions in divorce, such as how much child support payments will be and whether spousal support will be paid, each spouse needs to collect extensive financial documentation. You will need pay stubs, W2s, tax records, bank statements, credit card statements, and more. The sooner you can begin gathering these things, the sooner you will be able to present them to your attorney. 

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 Posted on October 25, 2022 in Hidden Assets

Illinois requires divorcing couples to divide their marital assets fairly. Despite the requirements of the law, emotions are often running high in a divorce, and spouses sometimes try to gain the upper hand in the asset division process by hiding property so it does not have to be shared with the other spouse. If your spouse is likely to hide assets during divorce, you likely already have noticed some signs that suspicious activity may be at play. If your spouse seems reluctant to give you financial information, suddenly begins buying large “gifts,” or has a small business that seems suspiciously successful in the recent past, be open to the possibility that financial malfeasance may be part of your divorce. 

Where Assets Are Often Hidden During Divorce? 

The list of places a spouse might hide assets is seemingly never-ending. From laughably simple schemes like hiding cash money in a mattress to elaborate endeavors to transfer assets to overseas bank accounts, The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. has seen it all. Some of the most common ways spouses try to hide assets in divorce include, but are not limited to: 

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 Posted on October 20, 2022 in Divorce

Deciding what to do about retirement accounts can be a tricky part of divorce. Both spouses have often worked long and hard to amass their shared financial portfolio and the prospect of splitting it can be daunting. Moreover, the implications of dividing retirement accounts has the potential to impact both spouses long after the divorce is finalized; after all, running two separate households costs more than just one, and spouses will no longer be able to rely on the other’s earning power to get them through retirement. 

Understanding how retirement accounts can be managed in a divorce is important as you begin to strategize the path you want your divorce to take. While asset division is ultimately under the purview of Illinois law, courts prefer divorcing couples to create an asset division agreement on their own. If you and your spouse can discuss your retirement options reasonably, you are more likely to reach an agreement that allows you both to maximize your future financial stability. 

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 Posted on October 18, 2022 in Divorce

Ask most parents of young children who have gotten divorced whether they truly accomplished the goal of getting out of each other’s lives, and the answer will typically be a resounding “No.” This is because parents of young children have to continue to raise their children together until the youngest child reaches 18 or graduates high school (and possibly even after that, if a child is disabled or parents are responsible for paying for the child’s college). 

Fortunately, there are strategies to help even those parents who struggle to get along and co-parent successfully after divorce. If you are getting divorced or are considering getting divorced and you want help from an attorney who has specific experience in Illinois high-conflict divorce situations, read on and then contact someone from our team. 

Start Setting Boundaries Now

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 Posted on October 13, 2022 in Divorce

Although divorce rates are well-known, very few people actually anticipate getting divorced when they get married. If you signed a prenuptial agreement before your wedding, you may not have taken the document seriously or truly investigated its contents. You may also have felt pressured to sign a prenuptial agreement that you did not really want because your spouse, or his or her parents, told you the wedding would not happen without one. This may not have seemed like a big deal at the time, but now that you are getting divorced, your entire marital asset distribution may be dictated by a prenuptial agreement that is fundamentally unfair or that you did not agree to. If this situation sounds familiar to you, contact an Illinois family law attorney right away. 

Can I Prove That I Signed a Prenup Involuntarily? 

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 Posted on October 11, 2022 in Child Custody

If you have recently gotten divorced, you may wonder whether you can leave Illinois and move to another state with your minor child. After all, without your marriage keeping you here, you may want to move closer to family, pursue other job opportunities, or simply go somewhere with winters that do not require you to dig your car out from under two feet of snow. 

But relocation is much more complicated when there is a minor child and a court-ordered parenting plan involved. If you want to relocate with your child and explore the potential to change your custody order in your new state, you need to understand the rules about child relocation as well as when Illinois retains jurisdiction over a child who lives out of state. 

Can I Move My Child Out of Illinois After Divorce? 

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