Posted on November 08, 2022 in Divorce

The process of divorce can be a long, complex, and arduous process. It is not uncommon to feel incredibly relieved once the whole process is over. However, people's lives and needs can change drastically as the years pass. You may wonder, is it possible to change the terms of your divorce years after it took place?

In the months and years following your divorce, different situations may arise that require your divorce decree to be altered or modified. For your divorce decree to be changed, court approval must be given. If you are looking to modify your divorce decree, consult with a knowledgeable divorce attorney who understands the modification process and can assist you in making any changes you feel are necessary.

Divorce Decree Modifications

Under Illinois law, former spouses can seek to modify their divorce terms by agreement with each other or through a court order. Notably, not all decisions made during a divorce are eligible to be changed once the divorce is completed. For example, the division of marital property is final and cannot be modified once the divorce is finalized. However, there are terms of your divorce decree that can be changed. This includes:

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 Posted on October 26, 2022 in Divorce

No matter the circumstances surrounding a divorce, the process is often riddled with overwhelming feelings of heartbreak, loss, and fear of the future. In addition, divorce proceedings can be complicated if a spouse has a mental illness or is battling a substance abuse problem. In cases where one or both of these factors are at play, securing legal representation from a skilled Illinois family law attorney who understands how to navigate a rocky divorce can be invaluable in ensuring your concerns are heard and your rights are protected.

Addiction and Mental Health Issues in a Divorce

In today's society, we are becoming more cognizant of how prevalent mental health and addiction issues are for many people. Mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse issues with drugs or alcohol can, unfortunately, be significant reasons why a marriage ends up deteriorating. To get divorced, it is not required to demonstrate why the marriage failed. Under Illinois law, "irreconcilable differences" is when the court determines that attempts at reconciliation between spouses have failed and that any future attempts would also likely fail, which is a sufficient reason to divorce.

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 Posted on October 19, 2022 in Divorce

As is often the case, divorce can be a long and challenging procedure riddled with heartbreak, anger, and resentment toward your estranged spouse. An area that can become highly contentious during divorce proceedings is if there are considerable assets involved. The dividing of these assets can certainly be emotionally strenuous. If high value assets are relevant to your divorce case, there are several practical and monetary concerns that both spouses will need to be aware of. Much can be at stake in a high-asset divorce, and to make sure your rights are protected, contacting a knowledgeable Illinois divorce attorney can make all the difference.

Legal Matters in High Asset Divorces

When dividing property between spouses who are getting divorced, the state of Illinois engages in the principle of “equitable distribution.” This means the marital property does not need to be cut exactly in half between the divorcing parties. Instead, equitable distribution means that each spouse is supposed to receive a reasonable and rightful portion of the marital property owned by the couple.

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 Posted on October 12, 2022 in Child Custody

If you and your partner have already decided to pursue a divorce, you have begun what can become a long, complicated, and intimidating process. It should be no surprise that things can quickly become contentious when children are involved in divorce cases, as they often are.

Every parent wants the best for their child. But unfortunately, the truth is that divorce can often be the hardest on the children involved. To ensure that your child's best interests are kept at the forefront of all the decisions you and your ex-spouse make, consider contacting an experienced family law attorney with extensive experience in helping clients determine the proper allocation of parental responsibilities.

Illinois Law Concerning Parental Responsibility and What It Entails

Throughout a divorce case, when children are involved, they are typically highly affected by whatever decisions are made between their parents. Under Illinois law, the court will allocate parental responsibilities to correspond with whatever the child's best interests are - unless the parents can agree between themselves,  in writing, about what the allocation of significant decision-making responsibilities will be. Nothing in the law states that parental decision-making will be automatically granted to each parent.

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 Posted on October 05, 2022 in Divorce

Getting a divorce can be an exceptionally emotional and turbulent time for all parties involved. To make matters worse, the experience of going to court to resolve your and your spouse's legal issues can be an expensive, upsetting, and intimidating experience. In addition, parties may fear that placing essential decisions in the hands of a judge may result in their needs or their family's needs not being considered. Luckily, if both parties believe they may be able to reach a compromise through a mediation process, they will be able to wield more power over the outcome of their case.

According to Forbes, the average divorce in the United States costs $7,000. However, this number can fluctuate spectacularly depending on the case's variables. Often, spouses may choose mediation to help limit the potentiality of an expensive divorce.

What Is Mediation?

Depending on the case, mediation can be ordered by the court and a mediator appointed by a judge. In other situations, both parties may agree to solve their legal problems proactively through the assistance of a mediator. During the mediation process, parties will meet with a third-party mediator to help them pinpoint specific issues that require addressing, ensuring that everyone understands their legal obligations. It is important to remember that the mediator does not make any decisions on behalf of the divorcing parties. Instead, the mediator will help you and your spouse make decisions and compromises that, hopefully, both sides can be satisfied with in the end.

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 Posted on September 29, 2022 in Divorce

As the stigma of divorce continues to lessen and people getting divorced in Illinois are thinking more consciously about how they want to get divorced, one strategy for getting divorced has become increasingly prominent. Collaborative divorce, or the use of a team of divorce experts to help a divorcing couple transition peacefully from married to divorced life, offers many benefits, especially for families with young children. Because of the inherently cooperative nature of collaborative divorce, however, it may not be suitable for people in certain high-conflict situations. To learn more about collaborative divorce, read on and then contact a knowledgeable Ilinois divorce lawyer.

What Are the Benefits of Collaborative Divorce?

Many people who endured a hostile divorce between their parents as young children themselves want to spare their own children from exposure to such a difficult experience. Collaborative divorce offers parents an opportunity to bring experts and specialists on board who can not only help them negotiate a mutually agreeable parenting plan but can also help them understand ways to help their children through a potentially difficult transition.

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 Posted on September 23, 2022 in Family Law

While most fathers are happily involved in their child’s life, not all fathers are or want to be. Furthermore, not all men who are alleged to be the father of a child actually are. Paternity can become a hotly contested issue, especially when one or both of a child’s alleged parents are involved in relationships with someone other than each other. Issues of paternity can become matters of urgent privacy, and men and women both may rightfully fear the impact of having the wrong man labeled as the child’s father.

Thanks to DNA testing, however, mistakes rarely occur when establishing paternity. More children are getting the resources and support they need because fatherhood is much easier to prove now than in the past. If you are trying to establish the paternity of your child - or trying to avoid being wrongfully labeled a child’s father - it is important to understand Illinois paternity law and have an experienced paternity lawyer representing you.

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 Posted on September 16, 2022 in Divorce

After many years of marriage, a couple’s asset portfolio is often complex and made up of both personal and marital property. This is especially true if a couple was married in later adulthood when each partner owned a significant number of private assets and later inherited further assets. While some of a couple’s asset portfolio is likely protected in a prenuptial agreement, this does not typically prevent or proscribe the division of assets a couple accumulated over the course of their marriage, nor will it usually detail what to do with assets that may have become commingled over many years. To learn more about how complex and high-value assets are handled in an Illinois divorce, read this brief overview and then contact an experienced divorce attorney for help.

What Are Complex Assets?

The easiest way to define a complex asset is to define what it is not: Cash, savings accounts, and other liquid assets with a definitive value are not complex assets, even if they are of significant worth. Complex assets, instead, are assets that are made up of many parts: investment portfolios, family businesses, collections, and other assets which need to have more than one component assessed. Valuing these assets takes time and usually requires the help of a specialist.

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 Posted on September 09, 2022 in Child Custody

Parents who are divorced, legally separated, or who have never been married need to create a parenting plan for shared children under age 18. Older children, who are more independent, are often easier to make flexible arrangements for. Younger children require more attention and care, but as long as they have what they need, they can transition well between their parents’ homes. For newborn babies and very young children, however, moving between houses can prove quite difficult. Although Illinois law gives no automatic preference to either parent, there is no question that newborn infants are primarily dependent upon their mother for constant care, especially when it comes to the issue of breastfeeding.

Can a Father Get Shared Custody of an Infant?

When most parents speak of “shared custody,” they mean both decision-making authority and the right to spend time with their child. In Illinois, these terms are distinct as known as “parental responsibilities” and “parenting time,” respectively. While parents of an infant may easily share parental responsibilities, sharing parenting time can prove trickier.

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 Posted on August 29, 2022 in Family Law

As divorced parents all over Illinois prepare to send their children back to school, inflation has caused the prices of many school goods to increase substantially. When backpacks, pencils, and textbooks cost as much as 15 percent more than they did last year, even the basics can be hitting parents’ wallets hard. This might raise an awkward question: Who is responsible for paying for school supplies when parents are divorced?

Does Child Support Cover School Expenses?

During a divorce, appropriate child support payments are calculated using the Illinois income shares method. Using the incomes of both parents, the time each child spends with each parent, and each child’s legitimate needs, child support payments are set and cannot be changed without proving a substantial change in circumstances.

The everyday costs of raising a child are considered part of the child support equation. This includes clothes, food, extracurricular activities, and educational supplies. The parent who has the majority of parenting time should be receiving enough child support to cover the cost of school supplies each year.

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