Posted on March 27, 2018 in Property Division

Going through a divorce is hard for anyone. Especially in cases where you and your spouse can't seem to see eye-to-eye, the stress can feel unbearable. This said, even in cases where everything is going amicably, you will no doubt still have questions and concerns about just how assets are going to be divided among two people.

One thing that can help reduce the overall stress - and simply get a handle on what is even out there to divide - is to create a checklist.

Creating a checklist

A property division checklist outlines all of your assets, giving you a clear idea of what is even on the table for possible negotiation. This checklist is typically divided into four distinct categories:

• Real property: Your marital home, along with any vacation properties or vacant land that you own.
• Personal property: These are typically tangible items, including but not limited to, electronics, guns, antiques, collections, artwork and cars.

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 Posted on March 07, 2018 in Family Law

The only constant in life is change. The recent overhaul of the federal tax guidelines are demonstrating the truth of this aphorism by turning old policies around and changing the way people pay taxes. In the realm of family law, the new tax rules affect how alimony payments are taxed. The new rules will apply to divorces in Illinois and other U.S. states starting in 2019.

Previously, an alimony payment was tax deductible for the person paying it. The person receiving it claimed the income and paid taxes on it. The new policy, applying to divorces finalized in 2019 and beyond, flips this rule on its head and does the opposite. The person paying will now lose the tax break and must include alimony with their taxable income. The person receiving is not obligated to dwindle the allotment further by paying taxes.

The federal government anticipates that the policy change will increase federal revenue by almost $7 billion over the next decade. The IRS has long reported issues with more deductions being reported than income being claimed. The change, it is hoped, will help turn the tables and increase available funding for the government.

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 Posted on March 01, 2018 in Child Custody

A parent, no matter whether a father or a mother, has a great influence on a child's life. Research reveals that strong relationships with both parents matter, and that if a couple with children separates, most often the best solution is shared parenting. In the case where a mother does not have the ability to care for children because of substance issues or criminal convictions, a father may be awarded child custody. In the past, it has been difficult for fathers to get sole custody because of outmoded ideas about rearing children. In Illinois, and across the United States, more fathers are fighting for a fair chance at custody of children.

As a society, Americans used to have the idea that only a mother was suited to nurture and care for young children. These days more fathers are challenging that notion and are requesting time in their children's lives. One recent statistic indicates that 17 percent of single parents with custodial rights are men.

More fathers are also forming support groups to aid them with the transition to single parenthood. Men and women both are capable of providing a stable home for a child. The system is slowly changing to reflect custody decisions that better represent the best interests of a child.

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 Posted on February 27, 2018 in Child Custody

Your parenting plan is a flexible document for you and your child's other parent to put in place agreements for how you'll raise your child - or children - together. Having a solid parenting plan helps to ensure you are both on the same page and will hopefully reduce the chances of having serious disagreements over parenting choices later on down the road.

Aside from the usual things, like how you will organize your child's living arrangements, how to organize pickups and drop-offs and visitation schedules, there are two other topics you will also want to include.

How to discipline your child

Some parents believe in timeouts, while others take away certain privileges. Then - there are discipline measures that are appropriate for a 5-year-old, but ones that look vastly different with a teenager.

You and your child's other parent are also different people who may have different parenting styles and backgrounds. Because of this, you will want to consider including provisions in your parenting plan addressing how you will handle discipline. You may want to include specifics as to what is OK and what is never allowed. For example:

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 Posted on February 22, 2018 in Divorce

Movies and television shows have a tendency to take life's monumental events and resolve them neatly in a few minutes or hours. Because of time constraints, movies are forced to adapt some generalizations about life. Unfortunately, for many people, movies form the way they look at the world. Then when the time comes that they face a divorce, some individuals may already have unrealistic expectations about how, when and how quickly things will happen. For folks in Illinois, it can be helpful to remember that movies don't really say it all when it comes to breaking up.

One pervasive myth is that a person isn't okay after the divorce. Sure, it is likely that there will be a grieving period - a time during which the person must come to terms with the changes he or she now faces, but a person isn't broken simply because he or she must endure a divorce. Some other individuals believe that it is better to stay together for the sake of the children. In most cases, children are resilient and can understand the changes, possibly even better than they can understand why their parents argue constantly or never speak at all.

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 Posted on February 01, 2018 in Family Law

For many, a marriage does not always go the way one initially expects. Although many start the journey to marriage with the idea of living together happily ever after, the reality is that many marriages end in family law court. Researchers have been looking into the facts surrounding divorce and have come up with the top 25 locations where couples typically end it. While no city in Illinois made the top 25, individuals living in the state are still likely to be affected by marital dissolution at some point in their lives.

The old adage is that half of all marriages end in divorce, but is this actually true? Recent statistics show that this really isn't the case. Since its peak in the 1980s, divorce rates have actually been declining. More people are waiting until they are older to marry, which some experts say can account for the decline in breakups.

Despite the decline, more than 10 percent of the U.S. population can expect to end a marriage at some point. A significant percentage of individuals, more women than men, say they never expect to remarry. Data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey looked at information about marriage from the 200 most populous cities in the United States. After collecting the data, the group of researchers found the top 25 divorce capitals.

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 Posted on January 26, 2018 in Child Custody

One of the few constants in life is change. You may have felt like you understood your situation in life and your future trajectory when you went through your divorce. However, now things are different. Perhaps you lost your job and can't seem to find another that pays as well. Or maybe you've just made a change in your career path, deciding to follow your passion over higher pay. Whatever the reason is, there are many circumstances in life that can lead to a change in your earnings.

There are many possible reasons why your current child support or child custody order from your divorce is no longer optimal for your situation. If you've reached a point in your life where the amount of support ordered no longer matches your income or where increased time with your children would be in their best interests, it may be time to seek a modification of the initial order from the courts.

Negotiating with your former spouse

If you had a straightforward and relatively amicable divorce with your ex, he or she may simply agree to adjust the terms of your parenting plan. When it comes to parenting time, if your ex has primary custody or decision-making authority, talking about your changing needs and availability may be enough to have changes made that benefit you and your children.

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 Posted on January 24, 2018 in Child Custody

Most families want to do the best they can for their children. A family in which the parents are going through a divorce may struggle to find the right balance for parenting now that the parents live separately. In the past, many child custody agreements tended to be one-sided, with one parent retaining the children most of the time. New evidence about the children of divorced parents is changing custody trends, however. Individuals in Illinois facing divorce may be interested to learn more about the possible benefits of shared custody.

Federal statistics and studies performed across the world all seem to show the potential benefits for shared custody. Children who have a relationship with both parents tend to perform better educationally, and exhibit less juvenile disciplinary problems. One federal statistic reveals that 71 percent of high school dropouts come from single parent homes. Another statistic reveals that children of shared parenting environments, who spend at least 35 percent of the time with each parent, have an overall advantage on at least 12 measures of well-being, compared to single parent children.

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 Posted on January 18, 2018 in Divorce

People expect the emotional sting of a breakup, the heartbreak, the loss of the dream from happily ever after, but what they don't always expect is the financial toll. A divorce can bring fees and unexpected costs as a person moves through it and toward a life on his or her own. People in Illinois may be inspired by reading this list of common recommendations for individuals going through a divorce to help ease the financial cost.

Some experts have estimated the average cost of terminating a marriage to be approximately $15,000. Of course, costs vary widely and will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual. Part of the cost will be court fees and attorney fees, but some of the other costs can include mental health treatment, new housing costs, financial advising and more.

By being informed and prepared, one can limit the amount of time and money one will spend on various divorce helpers. One easy way to prepare, once the breakup is pending, is to have documentation ready for all one's assets, both shared and individual. If one holds joint accounts with a soon-to-be ex-spouse, perhaps it is time to begin individual accounts. Any shared loans or credit cards should be updated with any new information. Letting the lenders know the most recent contact information can also help prevent late payments or other issues.

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 Posted on January 02, 2018 in Child Custody

When going through the divorce process, you never want to lose sight of the well-being of your child or children.

If you're dealing with a custody dispute and hoping to find a resolution through mediation, it won't be long before you turn your attention to the creation of a parenting agreement.

There is no guarantee that you will be able to work things out with your former spouse, but it's important to realize that the creation of a parenting agreement could go a long way in giving you peace of mind now and in the future.

You'll need to negotiate all the details of a parenting agreement, with these among the most important:

• Which parent will have physical custody (this is where the child or children will live)
• A visitation schedule for the non-custodial parent
• Which parent (or maybe both) will have legal custody of the child or children

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