Posted on February 17, 2016 in Divorce

Several kinds of assets are easy to divide between the spouses in a divorce. However, determining out how to divide a business is complicated. Most businesses cannot simply be divided up without damaging or destroying their value.

How Much of the Business is Marital Property?

Illinois requires judges to divide marital property equitably. Therefore, given all the factors, a judge must split all of the marital property fairly. There are two questions that must be answered about every asset before the marital property can be divided:

1. Is the asset marital property?
2. What is the value of the asset?

An asset is considered marital property if it was acquired after the marriage, with a few exceptions. In the case of a business, if the business was started after the marriage, the entire value of the business is marital property. However, if the business was started by one of the spouses prior to the marriage, then only part of the value of the business will usually be considered marital property.

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 Posted on February 10, 2016 in Hidden Assets

When an individual believes that a divorce is unavoidable, he or she may panic. As a result, he or she may try to hide money or assets to avoid losing them in the divorce. If your spouse is playing games with your family finances, it then puts you at a disadvantage. However, there are teams of experts who are trained to detect fraudulent financial activity in a divorce, and to find missing assets.

How Spouses Try and Hide Money and Assets

There is no end to the creativity of people looking to try and hide money from their spouse and their spouse's attorney. Sometimes they spend months withdrawing money from checking and savings accounts and depositing the money into secret accounts. A spouse may also try and buy expensive items such as jewelry or art that can easily be transported and hidden, hoping to cash in those assets later after the divorce is final.

Another common technique is to transfer assets, even property, into the name of someone else before the divorce. The plan is for the person to then "give" the assets or property back after the divorce. Other times a spouse may just try and lie about the value of property, assets, income or accounts.

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 Posted on February 08, 2016 in Child Custody

A contentious divorce can be hard on everyone involved. However, children are especially vulnerable. If there is a dispute over the allocation of parental responsibilities in a divorce, the parents need to work hard to protect their children from feeling like they are pawns, or that they have to choose between their parents.

Keep the Routine Stable

A divorce or custody dispute often causes a lot of upheaval for everyone. The more stable you can make your child's daily routine, the more secure the child will feel about the new changes. The child should continue to attend the same school, participate in the same activities, and associate with the same friends as much as possible.

One of the factors court appointed custody evaluators often look at is which parent provides the child with the most stability. The more you can keep your child's routine the same, the better you will look to the evaluator.

Do Not Speak Negatively About the Other Parent

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 Posted on February 03, 2016 in Alimony

As part of a final divorce decree a judge may award spousal maintenance. However, that order may not be the final word on the matter. Both sides may be able to come back to the court to ask for a modification of the original order.

When Do Maintenance Payments End?

Illinois law sets out a formula for judges to use when determining how long maintenance payments will last depending on the length of the marriage. However, in most cases, the payments may also end if the spouse receiving the payments remarries or lives with an intimate partner. Because maintenance is a court ordered payment, the spouse making the payments may need to file a motion in court to have the payments officially terminated.

When Can You Request a Modification?

Either side can request a modification to the amount of support if there is a material change in circumstances. The change in circumstances could be based on either party. If the spouse making the payments loses his or her job, then he or she can request a modification to the amount of support. If the spouse receiving support wins the lottery, then the spouse making the payments could also request a modification.

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 Posted on February 01, 2016 in Divorce

In the early stages of a divorce there is often a lot of positioning to see who will be awarded the marital residence. However, the fight regarding who gets the house is about much more than just the house itself. Possession of the house is also linked to almost every other area of the divorce.

Areas of Conflict in a Divorce

In most divorces there are three main areas of conflict:

• Division of property;
• Allocation of parental responsibilities (custody); and
• Support.

Often, the decisions about the division of the marital property, allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, and spousal maintenance are thought of as separate. However, they are all connected. For example, when a judge decides if spousal maintenance is appropriate in a case, he or she will also look to see if child support has been awarded, how the marital property has been divided, and where the children live, among other factors. Similarly, when the court awards possession of the primary residence a variety of factors are in play.

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 Posted on January 29, 2016 in Divorce

A lot can be at stake financially during a divorce.

If you are worried about your spouse taking any actions that could harm your property or your financial future, you can seek a financial restraining order.

What is a Financial Restraining Order?

A financial restraining order is a type of temporary restraining order that freezes much of the marital assets. A financial restraining order has nothing to do with domestic violence. Moreover, these orders are not automatically granted when you file for a divorce.

If you believe that your spouse is acting irresponsibly with the marital property with extravagant spending, or by damaging assets, you can petition the court to issue a restraining order. You can also petition the court for a restraining order to block the sale of a property or asset.

What Gets Frozen and For How Long?

A financial temporary restraining order freezes the marital assets, and it freezes assets for both sides. Just as your spouse will be blocked from selling any of the property off, you will also be blocked from selling any of the property without first retaining the permission of the court.

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 Posted on January 27, 2016 in Family Law

Some of the basic laws which govern what makes a marriage valid differ significantly from state to state. While Illinois does not recognize common law marriage, many states do. What happens if you have a common law marriage in another state, move to Illinois, and want a divorce?

What is Common Law Marriage?

According to state law, common law marriage is when a couple becomes married, even though they never went through any of the formalities such as retaining a marriage license or having an authorized person perform a marriage ceremony. Moreover, states that recognize common law marriages each have their own requirements, and these requirements must be met in order for a common law marriage to be recognized.

Getting an Illinois Divorce After Having a Common Law Marriage in Another State

If you lived in a state that has a provision for common law marriage, and you met all of the requirements, you are legally married. If you later move to Illinois and want a divorce, so long as you or your spouse meets the 90-day residency requirement, you can petition for a dissolution of marriage in Illinois state courts.

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 Posted on January 22, 2016 in Child Custody

Even though same-sex marriage is legal throughout the United States, there are still unique issues facing same-sex couples in Illinois family law courts. When there is a case involving the allocation of parental responsibilities, formerly known as custody cases, same-sex couples may face challenges in getting the parenting time they deserve.

The Legal Rights of Biological Parents

In most instances, the biological parents are presumed to be the legal parents of a child. If someone is not a legal parent, he or she has very few rights regarding a child. He or she may not even be awarded court ordered parenting time.

If a same-sex couple has not taken the proper steps to ensure that they are both the legal parents of a child, then it could open the door for a biological parent to try and claim some rights to parental responsibilities or parenting time. If the same-sex couple splits up, then this situation can leave one of the partners in jeopardy of not having any court mandated time with his or her child.

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Family Law

A prenuptial agreement is one of the best documents you can have for your retirement. Most people begin hitting their peak earning years after the age of 40. This is also the time many people begin to seriously plan for their future retirement. A prenuptial agreement is a way to make sure that both spouses protect their future financial interests.

Divorce Trends

Overall divorce rates have stabilized over the past several years. However, divorce rates have increased for those over the age of 50. There are several factors in play. One factor is that many people over the age of 50 are on a second marriage.

Additionally, divorce has also become more socially acceptable. It seems likely that divorce rates for people over 50 years of age will eventually stabilize; however, it is unlikely that divorce rates will fall any time soon.

Benefits of Prenuptial Agreements After Age 40

Many people start to accumulate significant assets in their 40's. These assets can include anything from retirement accounts to homes to businesses. A prenuptial agreement gives financial predictability to both spouses in the event of a divorce and can help to prevent either side from suddenly finding themselves financially ruined.

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Divorce

All divorce cases begin the same way-one side files a petition for the dissolution of marriage with the court. However, sometimes the divorce never makes it any further along in the process because of a problem with the marriage or the petition. Moreover, issues may cause the court to dismiss the petition at the very start of the process.

Lack of Jurisdiction

The most common reason for a petition to be dismissed is because the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. Jurisdiction is a technical term that means the power the court has to hear a case and make a ruling.

The court may not have jurisdiction if neither one of the spouses has met the residency requirement. If neither spouse has lived in Illinois for at least the past 90 days, the court has no power to hear the divorce case. The court also will not have jurisdiction if the case is filed in the wrong county.

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