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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 Posted on January 08, 2016 in Child Custody

Judges are required to make decisions in family law cases in the best interests of the children and take into account several different factors. One of the major factors is the age of a child. Children have different needs as they grow up and judges often take those needs into account when making decisions about parenting time and parental responsibilities.

Young Children

Newborns and toddlers require special care and have unique needs that older children do not. If children are still breastfeeding, it is usually going to be in the child's best interest to spend most of his or her time with the mother who is doing the feeding. These young children are particularly vulnerable and need to be in homes where they will be kept away from dangers and will receive the nurture and high-levels of supervision they require.

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 Posted on January 06, 2016 in Family Law

Jurisdiction can be a confusing concept for non-lawyers to understand. Jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear a case and make a decision. For several different reasons, sometimes a case is brought before a court; however, the court does not have the power to make a ruling. Hence, the court does not have jurisdiction in that case.

Two Types of Jurisdiction

In Illinois there are two types of jurisdiction: subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject matter jurisdiction is the power to rule on cases depending on the subject matter of the cases. No Illinois state court has subject matter jurisdiction over a bankruptcy case. Those cases can only be brought in federal bankruptcy courts.

Personal jurisdiction is the power over a party to the case to make a decision. Usually, in family law cases, the court has personal jurisdiction if the parties took some action in Illinois, or whose effects were later felt in Illinois. If a couple was married in another state and one of the spouses later moved to Illinois and filed for a divorce, there will be a question of whether the court has personal jurisdiction over both of the spouses.

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 Posted on December 28, 2015 in Divorce

Often, after a divorce, both parents continue to live close together. However, when one parent wants or needs to move, and therefore takes the child with him or her, situations can become complicated.

In some cases the court must give permission in the form of an order of removal before a child can move away.

Distance Matters

Not all moves are the same. Prior to the Illinois family law changes taking effect January 1, 2016, a parent could not move with a child outside of the state without first obtaining an order of removal from the court. However, that meant that someone could move hundreds of miles away, still staying in Illinois, and making parenting time difficult for the other parent without the approval of the court. Someone else could not even move just a few miles if the move was across state lines.

However, after January 1, 2016, distance will be the primary factor in determining if a parent needs the permission of the court to move. If, prior to a move, a child lives in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will counties, then the parent can move anywhere within 25 miles without the permission of the court, even if the move is across state lines.

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 Posted on December 22, 2015 in Family Law

While most people have heard about the major changes to the Illinois family law system set to take effect January 1, 2016, many are not aware that family court procedures also changing. The process can be just as important as the substance of the law in determining the best way to handle your case.

New Law and New Process

The new law has eliminated references to child custody in favor of setting out parental responsibilities and parenting time. While the old process relied on temporary custody and visitation orders and mandatory mediation for custody issues to try and foster stability for children and bring the parties to a resolution of child issues as quickly as possible, the new law takes a different approach.

Parties will now have 120 days to submit a parenting plan once the petition for a case has been served. The parties can file a joint plan or separate plans. While the court can extend the timeline for good cause, the law is clear that judges are to encourage the parties to resolve parenting issues quickly.

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 Posted on December 15, 2015 in Divorce

High net worth divorce cases often have complicated finances that need to be evaluated before any agreement for dividing the assets can be reached. Even when a couple is deeply involved in the management of their assets and income, experts are usually needed in a divorce.

The Types of Experts You May Need

A divorce may have several different issues at stake. Couples frequently fight over parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, and the marital assets. The court will often appoint a custody evaluator to deal with parenting time issues. However, both sides frequently hire experts to deal with the money issues.

Forensic accountants are used to evaluate the marital assets. They will dig into the records and statements to make sure all the property is accounted for. Forensic accounts not only look for hidden assets, but they also make sure assets are properly valued.

When there is a business involved, a forensic accountant may not be enough. A business valuation expert familiar with the particular industry may be needed. Sometimes the biggest assets a business has do not appear on the balance sheets-the value of the brand and the goodwill of the business need to have a dollar tag attached to them for the purposes of the divorce.

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 Posted on December 08, 2015 in Family Law

When a marriage begins to fall apart, or even after a divorce is in process, one spouse may react emotionally and destroy, damage, or waste marital assets. This behavior is called dissipation of assets. Under Illinois law there can be severe consequences for such behavior.

What Dissipation of Assets Looks Like

Dissipation of assets can take many different forms. Common situations where a court will find that a spouse has wasted a marital asset include the following:

• Spending money on an affair;
• Excessive gambling losses;
• Allowing a house to fall onto foreclosure;
• Allowing a vehicle to be repossessed;
• Substance abuse;
• Physically destroying personal property; and
• Transferring marital property at a loss to a third party.

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 Posted on December 03, 2015 in Family Law

After a final decision has been reached in your family law case, you only have a short time to decide if you should file an appeal. Not every case is suited for an appeal. You need to have your case evaluated by a lawyer with experience in bringing appeals of family law cases.

Timelines and Options

Illinois law usually requires that any appeals of final orders be filed within 30 days of the order being issued. The first document you file is a Notice of Appeal. While appeals of custody orders are often heard on an accelerated docket, most appeals take months, or sometimes longer, to be completed.

After an order is issued you also may have other issues besides an appeal. Depending on the facts of the case, either party can file a motion for the court to reconsider the ruling. Additionally, a motion to modify an order may be appropriate if there has been new evidence or a significant change in circumstances.

What Types of Issues Can be Appealed?

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 Posted on December 01, 2015 in Divorce

Dealing with real estate can be one of the most contentious issues in a divorce. Whether it is a fight over the family home, a vacation property, or even a vacant piece of land, people are often emotionally attached to their real estate. How much say does a divorce court judge have over what happens to your land?

Deciding if the Land is Marital Property

Under Illinois law, in a divorce case, all property including both real estate and personal property is put into one of two categories. Either the property is individual property or it is marital property. The court has jurisdiction over anything that is considered marital property.

The general rule is that anything acquired by either spouse after the start of the marriage is considered marital property. Any increase in value is also considered marital property. There are several exceptions to this rule. The two biggest exceptions are that inheritances and gifts are not marital property as long as they are not commingled.

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