Posted on October 25, 2019 in Divorce

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an astounding 10 million men and women are victims of intimate partner abuse every year in the United States. Data shows that about 20 people per minute are abused by a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse in the U.S. Anyone who has been a victim of domestic violence knows just how terrifying and overwhelming the experience can be. Domestic violence or abuse can also have a tremendous impact on divorce proceedings. If you are considering divorce, and you have been mentally, emotionally, or physically abused by your spouse, there are several issues you need to be aware of.

Negotiation and Mediation May Not Be Appropriate in Situations Involving Domestic Abuse

Generally, couples getting divorced are encouraged to work out issues related to child custody, property division, and spousal support on their own or with help from a qualified mediator. However, when there is an imbalance of power between the spouses or a history of domestic violence, this may not be appropriate or even possible. It is highly encouraged that you speak with an experienced family law attorney if you are getting divorced and have been abused by your partner. Your attorney can help you understand your legal options and choose the course of action which is best for your unique situation. If you worry about the effect that your partner’s abuse has or will have on your children, your lawyer can also help you determine the steps you can take to protect your children’s safety, including requesting sole custody or requiring that your ex-spouse’s parenting time be supervised.

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 Posted on October 24, 2019 in Divorce

If you are a parent who is considering divorce, you probably have many concerns about how your children will take the news of the split. Children may remember the moment that they learned their parents are getting divorced for the rest of their lives. Therefore, it is important to minimize the emotional trauma caused by this conversation as much as possible. The good news is that there are many resources available to parents that can help them talk to their children about divorce in a healthy, productive manner. There is no perfect way to tell your children that you are getting divorced, but experts have some tips to help make the discussion go as smoothly as possible.

Tell the Children All at Once

Child development experts suggest that parents break the news of the divorce to all the children at once. If you have children of varying ages, you may assume that it would be better to tell the oldest children before the youngest children. However, psychologists suggest that telling some children before the others may cause more problems than it prevents. This may make children feel like they have to keep secrets, which can be especially burdensome during an already tumultuous time.

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 Posted on October 18, 2019 in Divorce

If you are getting divorced and earn a lower income than your spouse, you probably have many concerns about finances. Making ends meet on a single income can be a daunting prospect. This is especially true if you have been out of the workforce for many years because you were raising your children. Spousal support, also called maintenance or alimony, may offer the financial relief you desperately need. However, only individuals meeting certain criteria will be eligible for spousal support in Illinois.

When Is Alimony Awarded in Illinois?

Not every person who gets divorced will qualify for spousal maintenance. The courts typically only award a spouse maintenance if it is “reasonable and necessary.” There are many factors considered by Illinois courts when deciding whether or not maintenance is appropriate. These include but are not limited to:

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 Posted on October 15, 2019 in Divorce

Social media websites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit have become an integral part of many Americans’ lives. In fact, one study shows that about 70 percent of all U.S adults actively use Facebook to keep up with friends and family. Because of this, social media accounts are becoming increasingly influential in divorce cases. What you post on your Facebook page can affect issues such as child custody, spousal maintenance, child support, and more. If you are ending your marriage, read on to learn about how your online activity can be used against you during divorce and how to take steps to protect your privacy.

Online Activity Can Affect Child Custody Decisions

What you do and say online can directly affect your divorce. Many people ending a marriage have intense feelings of resentment towards their spouse. While these feelings are understandable, you should avoid venting these frustrations online. Posting disparaging things about your spouse online could possibly damage your credibility and influence the court’s opinion of you. 

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 Posted on October 11, 2019 in Divorce

If you are a parent who is considering divorce, or if you have already started the process of ending your marriage, you probably have concerns about how you will share parental responsibilities and parenting time with your ex-spouse. Understandably, it can be very difficult for newly-divorced parents to jointly raise their children. It takes a great deal of teamwork, patience, and creativity to find a co-parenting strategy that works for your unique family situation. Fortunately, experts have several pieces of advice that may help divorced parents share parenting roles in a way that decreases stress for everyone.

Embrace Technological Assistance  

There are a good number of applications, websites, and other resources that divorced parents can benefit from. Some parents find that sharing a Google calendar can help them stay on track with parenting time schedules. Others use an app such as Cozi, Coparently, or OurFamilyWizard to organize parent and child schedules, keep track of school events, share information about expenses, and more. Often, the most difficult part of co-parenting is communicating with your ex. Using technology to connect can make the process easier and more organized.

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 Posted on October 08, 2019 in Divorce

Child support ensures that unmarried or divorced parents share the financial responsibilities of raising a child. Illinois courts calculate child support payments using the "income shares" model, and the amount of child support to be paid is based on the income of both parents, the amount of parenting time each parent has, and a number of other factors. If either parent wishes to change the child support order once it has been entered, he or she must petition to court to make this change.

Requesting a Child Support Modification  

Illinois child support orders can only be modified under certain circumstances. Child support orders are eligible for a modification review every three years. Parents can also request a modification if they can prove that a major change in circumstances necessitates the modification. Illinois courts have broad discretion to decide what constitutes a substantial change in circumstances. Some of the most common reasons that parents request a child support modification include:

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 Posted on October 03, 2019 in Divorce

If you are considering divorce, you may have heard about the different “grounds” or reasons that a person can give when seeking to dissolve their marriage. Traditionally, these grounds have included an identification of which spouse was at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Of course, marriages end for a wide variety of reasons, and identifying a specific cause for the failure of the relationship is not always easy. Sometimes, a couple simply grows apart or stops being in love with each other. Updates to Illinois law have now taken this reality into consideration with regard to the grounds for divorce.

Previous Illinois Grounds for Divorce

Before major changes were made to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), anyone wishing to get divorced in Illinois would need to identify grounds for their divorce. These grounds included several “fault” grounds which included but were not limited to:

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 Posted on September 30, 2019 in Divorce

You may be surprised to learn that “gray divorce,” or divorce involving older individuals, is on the rise. According to the Pew Research Center, the divorce rate for people over the age of 50 has doubled in the last two decades, and the divorce rate for people over age 65 has tripled. Many of these older couples are ending marriages which lasted 20 years or more. Often, the longer a marriage lasted, the more complex the divorce will be. When a couple divorces after being married for a significant amount of time, there are special considerations they must keep in mind.

The Lesser-Earning Spouse May Be Entitled to Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance, also called spousal support or alimony, are funds paid by one spouse to the other after divorce. The purpose of alimony is to help the lesser-earning spouse avoid any unfair financial consequences of ending their marriage. There are a number of factors considered by Illinois courts when determining whether or not a spouse will receive spousal maintenance. The length of the marriage, the age and health of each spouse, and the financial circumstances of both parties are some of these factors. Spousal support is most often awarded when one spouse sacrificed his or her career to act as a homemaker or stay-at-home parent or has otherwise been out of the workforce for a significant amount of time. If you are getting divorced after a long marriage, it is possible that you or your spouse may be required to pay maintenance.

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 Posted on September 27, 2019 in Divorce

While nearly every divorce has some degree of contentiousness, a high-conflict divorce can be especially volatile. High levels of conflict can be the result of two spouses who are unwilling or unable to cooperate, or they can be caused by one spouse who is especially resentful of the other. When parents decide to end their marriage, they must consider how they will share parental responsibility and parenting time. Making these decisions can be nearly impossible without court intervention if the parents cannot effectively communicate with each other.

During a high-conflict divorce involving parents, it is often the children who suffer most. Fortunately, there are many resources and strategies available to parents that experts say can reduce the emotional turmoil of a high-conflict divorce for everyone involved. These include:

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 Posted on September 27, 2019 in Divorce

Although television and movies have sometimes presented prenuptial agreements (also known as prenups) in a negative way, there are a multitude of benefits to drafting a premarital or prenuptial agreement. Not only does a prenup protect the financial interests of both spouses, it also helps facilitate open communication about financial expectations before the couple gets married. However, it is important to remember that prenuptial agreements must meet certain criteria in order to be legally enforceable. There are several problems which can invalidate a prenuptial agreement.

Premarital Agreements Must Be Written and Agreed to By Both Parties

Studies show that disagreements about money are among the most common reasons couples get divorced. Having an open and honest conversation about financial expectations before walking down the aisle is one way to avoid financial disagreements during the marriage. In a prenuptial agreement, couples will decide how they will handle issues such as property division and spousal maintenance (alimony) if they end up divorcing. The agreement can also contain information about how debts will be distributed in the event of divorce. The prenuptial agreement cannot be a verbal contract; it must be written and signed by both spouses.

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