Posted on December 09, 2015 in Divorce

You probably know at least one person, if not many people, who emerged from a divorce and jumped almost directly into a new romantic relationship, often before the ink even dried on their paperwork. Depending on the situation of your marriage and divorce, you may find the idea of new romantic partner extremely appealing. However, you may want to take a step back and consider if you are truly ready for a new commitment so soon.

Divorce and Grief

Mental health experts regularly suggest that the psychological and emotional effects of a divorce are very similar to those associated with the death of loved one. As with death, grieving the end of your marriage is a process and not an event that is over after a specified amount of time. Every person grieves differently, and there is not right or wrong way to move through it. This means that while some people may be ready to date again right way, others may not be emotionally prepared for months or even years.

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 Posted on December 02, 2015 in Spousal Support

A common question among those preparing for divorce involves the possibility of spousal maintenance. Previously known as alimony, spousal maintenance is intended to help alleviate the financial impact of a divorce to one spouse or the other. It is important to understand, however, that there is no presumed right to receive spousal support after a divorce. Instead, except for a valid agreement between the spouses, it is up to the court to determine if support is appropriate.

Statutory Considerations

To say that spousal maintenance is only appropriate for an economically disadvantaged spouse is an oversimplification. In reality, there are a number of factors the court must take into account when deciding whether or not to order an award, including, but not limited to:

• The age, health, and earning capacity of each spouse;
• Each spouse’s contribution to the marriage and the earning capacity of the other spouse;

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 Posted on November 30, 2015 in Divorce

One of the parts of the divorce process that many people find the most distasteful is the discovery process. However, if you and your lawyer fail to do thorough job of discovery it can harm your current case and even affect your options for years to come.

What is Discovery?

Discovery is the process of finding out about the other side's case. In a divorce case this usually mostly involves understanding the finances. The basic tools of discovery include:

• Depositions- This is when you testify under oath to the questions asked of you by the other side’s lawyer before a formal hearing or trial.
• Document Requests- These are written requests for all relevant papers and records to the divorce. They will include things like account statements, bank balances, and lists of all assets.
• Interrogatories- These are written questions that are answered under oath. They may sometimes be used instead of a deposition or prior to a deposition.

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 Posted on November 27, 2015 in Child Custody

As you may be already aware, beginning in 2016, the excessive use and abuse of drugs and alcohol will no longer be separately recognized as grounds for divorce. The dissolution process itself must be based on irreconcilable differences, essentially making every divorce officially a no-fault situation. However, even without making drug abuse the basis for the divorce, a large number of couples, and parents, in particular, are affected by the destructive, chemical-related behavior of one party. It is important to understand that drug abuse can and will continue to impact, arrangements regarding parental responsibilities and parenting time.

Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Following a divorce or the break-up of unmarried parents, you and the other parent will be expected to reach a workable agreement regarding the parental responsibilities for your child. Before it will be approved, however, the court must examine the terms of the agreement and determine that they are reflective of the child’s overall best interests. If the agreement is not approved, or if you and the other parent cannot develop one together, the court will decide how parental responsibilities will be decided. In doing so, the court must take into account the various factors at work in the relationship and establish an arrangement that will meet the child’s needs.

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 Posted on November 25, 2015 in Divorce

While marriage and divorce are very personal decisions, social trends regarding the two are often tied to a large number of other factors. While an individual couple may be taking into account their own circumstances, the economic strength of the country as a whole may play a fairly significant role as well. In fact, according to recent studies, since the 2008 recession in the United States, the overall divorce rate has dropped by about 3 percent.

Marriage Rates Slightly Up Too

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the divorce rate fell again slightly in 2014 from 3.3 divorces per 1,000 total population in 2013 to 3.2 per 1,000. While the divorce rate spiked slightly between 2009 and 2011, it has since been steadily falling from its 2008 rate of 3.5 per 1,000 people.

For the first time in 15 years, however, 2014 saw a rise in the marriage rate as well, bumping up from 2013’s 6.8 marriages per 1,000 people to 6.9. The increase, while not particularly large, represents a reversing of a long-term downward trend.

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 Posted on November 18, 2015 in Child Custody

With Thanksgiving about a week away, and the winter holidays just around the corner, it is time to begin making plans. In most families, such plans may include which family member is bringing what dessert, and who is hosting dinner this year. For divorced or unmarried parents subject to a custody or parenting time agreement, however, the preparation process often includes some additional elements. If your child splits his or her time between your home and that of the other parent, the holiday season probably requires a level of cooperation, but with reasonable communication, the experience can be positive for all involved.

Check Your Agreement

Your parenting agreement may already include provisions regarding the holidays. Parenting time orders are often customized based on the traditions and priorities of each family, and there are variety of ways to make such a schedule. For example, your order may indicate that this year, your child spends Thanksgiving with you and Christmas with the other parent, and then next year, the opposite occurs. Alternatively, it may specify that your child spends the morning with you on designated holidays and the afternoon with other parent. If a particular holiday is not traditionally observed by one parent or the other, the agreement may permit the child to stay with parent who does celebrate it for the entire day.

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 Posted on November 13, 2015 in Divorce

Have you ever consulted with an accountant, analyst, or financial planner? For many people, working with a financial professional is something that only the wealthy need to worry about. Of course, there are those who would suggest that it is through working with financial advisors that many are able to become wealthy, but that is a topic for another day. Regardless of your income or tax bracket, however, divorce can be one of the most economically complex processes that you will ever be forced to navigate, and to get through it, the help of a financial professional may prove to be absolutely necessary.

Division of Assets

Allocating marital property is among the most challenging concerns for a large number of divorcing couples. It can be nearly impossible to determine what is fair and equitable if both spouses do not have a clear of understanding of the value of each part of the estate. A real estate appraiser, for example, can provide an accurate valuation of your home, while a retirement professional can help you analyze the current and expected value of pensions, 401(k) plans, and other investments. These considerations must be made before you and your spouse can split your assets, and doing so can allow you both to feel that you have been treated fairly.

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 Posted on November 11, 2015 in Child Custody

Military families are often asked to make tremendous sacrifices in order to provide the armed services with manpower necessary to protect the United States of America. Under the best of circumstances, a lengthy deployment or training exercise can have a dramatic impact on the stability of an affected family. Of course, for separated or divorced parents who serve, the effect can be even more severe, as an order for child custody—soon to be called allocated parental responsibilities—cannot possibly take into account the unpredictability of a deployment situation. Fortunately, the law in Illinois provides a measure of relief for military parents which can help them fulfill their duties without the risk of legal action for non-compliance with a family court order.

Helping Military Parents

In most family-related cases, temporary orders are only used until a permanent order can be negotiated or entered by the court. This is not uncommon, for example, between the filing of a petition for divorce and the entry of the divorce judgment, which may not occur for several months. Temporary orders can be used to create custody and visitation arrangements, as well as interim arrangements for spousal maintenance or child support. Once the permanent order has been entered, however, only court-approved modifications can change it, and such modifications are permanent as well.

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 Posted on November 06, 2015 in Gray Divorce

While the divorce rate seems to be leveling out for most age groups, there is one in particular in which divorce is more common than ever. Depending upon your perspective, it may come as a surprise to learn that the divorce rate among people age 50 and older today is twice what it was a quarter-century ago. For the 65 and older age group, the rate of divorce has more than doubled. During the same period, the divorce rate for virtually every other age group has remained the same or has fallen. So what is causing the increase in older divorce, or, as some call it, gray divorce? While the explanation is probably not to be found in just a single factor, there are a number of things that may be playing a role.

Not the First Time

One of the contributing factors to increase in gray divorce is the idea that second marriages among all age groups fail at a much higher rate than first marriages, and third or subsequent marriages even more so. Just based on pure probability, and with remarriage rates at record-highs, more and more older Americans are in the midst of a second or third marriages, making them at least two and a half times more likely to experience a divorce.

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 Posted on November 04, 2015 in Child Support

In the state of Illinois, along with the rest of the country, it is understood, both statutorily and in the minds of most people, that a child deserves the support of both parents, regardless of their marital status. Most would even agree that a child deserves much more than that, but since it is impossible to legislate love and affection, the most the law can do, in many cases, is to require a parent to contribute financially to the child’s well-being. For most supporting parents, this means making monetary payments until the child reaches age 18 and graduates from high school. The obligation for certain others may extend into college, to provide help with educational expenses. If you have a child with a disability, however, you may be required to continuing providing support for many years to come.

Disability and Eligibility

Beginning in 2016, the law in Illinois regarding non-minor support will contain more specific guidelines than ever before. This is true for both support related to educational expenses and support for an adult child with a disability. A post on this blog a few weeks ago looked more in-depth into educational support, but did not really discuss adult children with disabilities.

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