Posted on February 13, 2015 in Property Division

A recent divorce case made headlines when a billionaire’s wife alleged that her marriage started under coercive circumstances. Since then, reports have gone back and forth, with both sides demonstrating their perspective of the failing marriage. Now, new details have surfaced that might threaten the husband’s interests.

According to the media reports, the wife claims her husband made it difficult for her to visit their homes in New York, Aspen, Hawaii, and Miami. She also claims that he limited access to her credit cards.

One of the trickier aspects of the ongoing battle is that the wife did, in fact, sign a prenuptial agreement. However, that has not stopped her from trying to convince the court to throw out the document.

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 Posted on January 20, 2015 in Spousal Support

As more women tend to work outside the home and lead independent lives outside of their husbands, the issue and necessity of alimony — or spousal support — has come into question in recent years. Many states have recently passed alimony reform laws; some abolish the practice of lifetime alimony payments, others make it more difficult for ex-spouses to prove the need for financial support. In Illinois, for example, ended lifetime alimony and passed legislation that ends alimony payments when the ex-spouse receiving alimony begins to cohabitate with a new partner. Other states, Massachusetts for example, caps the number of years or months during which alimony should be paid based on the duration of the marriage. According to Forbes, this is dangerous water to tread for many women facing divorce.

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 Posted on January 14, 2015 in Property Division

With most estimates putting the divorce rate just below 50 percent, plenty of American parents have gone through the stress of child custody battles. However, what many divorcing couples do not consider is the controversy that can result from fighting for the custody of pets.

According to reports, disputes over pet custody are becoming more common. In fact, one organization has introduced a prenuptial agreement that outlines who keeps the family pets in the event of a divorce.

Who Keeps the Pet in Illinois?

 While any pet-loving family is bound to view their precious dog, cat, or other kind of pet as a member of the family, the state of Illinois views them as a form of property. Therefore, it is important to understand the laws concerning property division.

Generally, there are two types of property: separate and marital. If the pet was the “property” of one specific spouse prior to the marriage, that person will have the legal rights to own the pet after the divorce completes. If the couple acquired the pet after marriage, however, the courts will consider the animal to be marital property.

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 Posted on January 07, 2015 in Guardianship

Child custody disputes are never easy. They are often laborious and lengthy, and they may involve a number of heated disagreements and emotions.

Custody disputes may become even more complicated when they involve more than one child. Divorcing spouses with children often have a very difficult conflict ahead of them, but many wonder what happens when neither parent is capable of — or wants to — take care of the children?

Because every divorce and child custody dispute is unique, it is wise to seek help from a legal professional to review your case. Marital, divorce, and custody law is a complex field for those who are inexperienced, so it can be incredibly beneficial to consult a lawyer. This is true for both parents and potential guardians.

Why Might Parents Be Unable to Receive Custody of the Child?

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 Posted on December 05, 2014 in Paternity

For whatever the reason, your quest for establishing paternity is both a personal and legal right awarded to those residing in Illinois under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 (750 ILCS 45). The law establishes this action for both married and unmarried parents and is established by presumption, consent or judicial determination. The quest to determine paternity can be initiated by the natural mother, a father presuming he is the child’s father or in some instances when the child is requesting clarification of paternity.

According to Illinois Legal Aid, an agency dedicated to assisting Illinois residents with legal guidance, paternity is defined as the relationship between a father and his child. Once legal paternity has been established, the father is entitled to rights as well as responsibility for the child, often including visitation rights, custody and child support.

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 Posted on December 02, 2014 in Property Division

According to the latest numbers provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, married couples share ownership 3.7 million businesses in this country. When couples who own a business together have a good working marriage, that positive relationship usually carries over into their business as well. But if the marriage begins to erode and the couple files for divorce, it can be disastrous for the business, especially when that business becomes part of the divorce settlement.

The assets of the business become part of the marital estate that will be part of the divorce settlement and are subject to property division, just like the couple’s marital home, personal bank accounts, stocks, etc., and can involve complex negotiations.

The first thing that needs to be done is to determine the actual value of the business. There can be a great difference of opinion on the value dependent on whether or not spouses share equal partnership in the business or not. If one spouse owns a larger share of the business, he or she will likely come up with a lower value of the business than the spouse who owns a lesser share. For this reason, it’s best to hire an independent appraiser to come up with the total value of the business.

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 Posted on November 28, 2014 in Spousal Support

Alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in Illinois, is monetary support paid one spouse by the other, to maintain roughly the same standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, after divorce. The court will rule in favor of maintenance in Illinois, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), depending on, among other things: the length of the marriage, disparity in earnings of the two partners, whether there are children, and if so, who will be the primary caretaker, and whether one spouse "has given up career opportunities due to the marriage."  Maintenance will not necessarily ensure that both partners can enjoy the same standard of living after the marriage, because living separately is, in most cases, significantly more expensive than living together.

Maintenance will be paid until the court decides it can be terminated. One major reason that an order for maintenance will terminate is if the party receiving the payments moves in with someone else. According to the AAML, the ex-spouse must be living with someone else on what is determined to be a "resident, continuing, conjugal basis." This type of cohabitation, in regards to spousal maintenance, is currently a challenging aspect of family law, according to a recent report. The court must determine that the person receiving maintenance is in a "supportive relationship," which can be tricky to legally prove.

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 Posted on November 10, 2014 in Divorce

After signing the final divorce papers and completing all other legal responsibilities, it is time to move on to a new life. It will likely be difficult; divorce is an emotional experience, and splitting up a marriage is also a give-and-take situation. Rarely does one side get exactly what they want in a contested divorce, and even the most congenial divorces involve some sacrifices. Dealing with the emotional toll and life after divorce, however, is one that does not have a legal solution.

Divorce Involves More Than Financial Changes

Life after divorce and learning to live as single person after being married is about more than adjusting to a single source of income. Every divorce is different and poses its own set of challenges.

Spouses who have been together for years must cope with being single. Couples who have recently married might feel grief and regret, possibly mourning over "what could have been" had they only had more foresightedness.

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 Posted on October 28, 2014 in Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Signing prenuptial agreements has become a common practice before marriage, especially for wealthier individuals. They ensure a person’s wealth, assets, and property will not go to his or her spouse if the marriage ends in divorce. While it is true that prenuptial agreements are difficult to challenge, there are certain circumstances under which the court may omit certain stipulations within the agreement or throw it out completely.

Divorce cases are notoriously unpredictable. The intricacies of family law tend to make every case unique, and if a person wishes to challenge a prenuptial agreement, the matter becomes even more complex. For this reason, hiring an experienced family attorney may help ensure a more favorable outcome.

There are a number of common reasons for a prenup to be thrown out during divorce proceedings. One of the simplest is proving that the paperwork contains errors that make it invalid. This strategy may involve scrupulous amounts of paperwork analysis and verification, but it is not uncommon to find mistakes in a prenuptial agreement. While simple errors might not label the entire agreement invalid, they may render certain aspects of the agreement void.

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 Posted on October 14, 2014 in Child Custody

Child custody laws and proceedings in Illinois, as outlined by the General Assembly, involve a specific method for the courts to follow while determining which parent ultimately wins custody of the children. These child custody laws also outline specific rights for both parents.

It must be understood that Illinois family courts do not discriminate between the mother and the father on the basis of parental role or gender. Also, Illinois family courts do not consider joint custody the default option.

During custody-rights negotiations and proceedings, both sides are given a voice and a listening audience. The decision is ultimately centered on determining which custody agreement can provide a life that is in the child(ren)'s best interest.

Understanding Physical and Legal Custody

Illinois law discerns between two forms of custody: physical and legal. The former relates to the person with whom the child lives and where the child stays. A parent with legal custody, however, has authority over what schools the child attends, religious affiliation, medical insurance, counseling, and other important factors.

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