Posted on September 21, 2022 in Domestic Violence

It is estimated that more than one in three women and one in four men in this country will experience physical violence, stalking, and/or rape by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence affects more than 12 million people every year. When domestic violence is part of an intimate partner relationship, it can be very difficult for the victim to leave, but when the couple is married, it can be even harder because leaving usually involves legally ending the marriage.

It is important to remember that not all domestic violence involves physical injuries. There are other forms of domestic abuse that one spouse can inflict on the other and these types of abuse sometimes continue long after the divorce has been finalized.

Emotional Abuse

When one spouse inflicts a steady stream of harsh insults and threats, this is considered emotional abuse. Insults and threats are obvious types of emotional abuse, but other types can be just as injurious to the victim. It is not uncommon for the abusive spouse to use manipulation and guilt to get the victim spouse to do what they want. Threats of leaving or taking the children away – when they have no intention of doing either – are examples of the tactics an emotionally abusive spouse may use.

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 Posted on September 15, 2022 in Child Support

While there are many issues in a divorce that can cause major disagreements, most people will agree that it is the issues surrounding the children that often result in the most fighting. Even long after the divorce has been finalized and child custody and child support decided, fighting can still – and often does – occur.

It is no secret that child support causes angst for many parents, no matter what side of the payment they are on. Many receiving parents complain that the amount the other parent is paying does not come close to covering the actual expenses of raising the child, while many paying parents complain they are handing over too much money to their ex each month. This can lead to resentment and even refusal to pay the amount the court has ordered them to.

When this happens, the custodial parent often wonders if they can legally stop parenting time for a parent who has stopped paying child support.

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 Posted on September 12, 2022 in Divorce

There are different areas of the Illinois divorce process that can have a significant impact on how a divorce turns out. One of those areas is discovery. Discovery is the process that is used to help both sides gather evidence to ensure that both spouses have the same financial information in order to be in a better position to negotiate a fair divorce settlement.

Discovery is considered a legal process and there are rules that both parties are required to follow, both in the gathering of evidence and the supplying of evidence that is requested. Failure to adhere to these rules can result in sanctions from the court. The following is a brief overview of some of the tools your attorney or your spouse’s attorney may use during the divorce.

Interrogatories

As part of the discovery process, attorneys may send the other side a set of interrogatories. These documents are a list of questions that the other side is required to respond to under oath. Generally, these questions are about the spouse’s background and often include questions about their education and work history. There are also often questions about any income, financial accounts, assets, and debts the spouse may have. The goal of interrogatories is to determine whether or not the spouse is hiding assets in order to avoid including them in the marital estate and equitable distribution.

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 Posted on September 07, 2022 in Finances and Divorce

If you have decided to end your marriage, there are important steps you should take in order to protect your financial interests. Even if you think that your divorce will be a friendly one, the reality is that all it takes is one disagreement over what may seem a minor issue and your divorce can quickly turn into a remake of the old movie The War of the Roses, in which a divorcing couple’s possessions become the focus of a contemptuous divorce battle.

Dividing the Marital Estate

Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means that all of the assets and property the couple owns will be divided between them in an equitable manner. In order to make sure this division is equitable, it is important to have an accurate accounting of how much the marital estate is actually worth.

Unfortunately, this can sometimes result in one spouse trying to hide assets. This can be especially easy to do if one spouse leaves the handling of all of the couple’s finances up to the other spouse.

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 Posted on August 31, 2022 in Child Support

Child support is a topic that can easily make emotions run high, especially in the context of an already embittered divorce. While most parents are happy to financially support their children, making payments to a disliked ex who may not be raising your children the way you hoped can be a challenging process. Being the parent who receives child support is often no easier, especially if you feel as though you are under constant scrutiny regarding how you handle the support payments.

Regardless of personal differences between parents, and unlike other parts of negotiating a divorce, child support payments in Illinois are generally not negotiable and are established according to a formula known as the "income shares" model. Understanding which factors can affect this model and the overall support payments is important for parents who are approaching child support for the first time.

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 Posted on August 26, 2022 in Asset Division

Creative and inventive individuals who get divorced may be surprised to learn that the products of their creativity are considered part of the asset division process in Illinois. Just as physical property must be assessed and divided, intellectual property must be valued and split between spouses as well. Read on to learn more about how intellectual property is handled in an Illinois divorce, and then call an attorney with experience in high-asset and complex divorce who can help.

What is Intellectual Property? 

Intellectual property is a term that describes intangible (nonphysical) assets that are owned by a person or a company and cannot be used without the owner’s permission. Intellectual property rights are covered by laws that provide legal protection to products of human creativity, just as real property rights are protected. Examples of intellectual property include:

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 Posted on August 18, 2022 in Divorce

Generally, when a couple or individual decides to end their marriage, one spouse will file for divorce, and the other spouse will respond. Spouses will spend the remainder of the divorce process negotiating over things like asset division and child custody. However, when one spouse has gone missing, serving divorce papers can be difficult or impossible. Other times, a spouse may simply decide to be uncooperative, refusing to respond to divorce papers or attempt to resolve divorce issues.

People who want to get divorced but do not know where their spouse is are not doomed to stay stuck in their marriage. There are ways to get divorced, even if your spouse is missing or uncooperative, and an experienced Illinois divorce attorney can help.

How Does a Missing Spouse Change the Divorce Process? 

Illinois provides an alternative pathway to divorce for people whose spouses are missing. This is called "divorce by publication." To qualify for a divorce by publication, one spouse must convince a judge that the missing spouse cannot be located, despite making serious efforts to do so.

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 Posted on August 12, 2022 in Family Law

Nearly everyone knows that marriage rates are not what they used to be. Perhaps unsurprisingly, divorce rates are changing, too - but not in the way you might expect. While 83 percent of people born between 1928 and 1945 (dubbed "the Silent Generation") were married by age 37, researchers predict that Gen Z - born between 1997 and 2012 - are marrying far less. While this cohort is still quite young, the expectation is that only 60 percent of white Gen Zers will be married by 40 years old, while black Gen Zers might reach levels as low as 23 percent. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for America? 

Is There a Relationship Between Low Marriage and Divorce Rates? 

Just as the Baby Boomers were married at much greater rates than younger generations, they have made headlines by pursuing divorce in staggering numbers. In recent years, more than 30 percent of divorces were made up of Baby Boomers going their separate ways.

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 Posted on August 05, 2022 in Child Custody

The divorce is finally over and life is easy again. Right? Maybe not so fast. Although you no longer share a house with your ex, if you have minor children, you are likely still dealing with extensive communication around planning for the upcoming school year.  While the kids are probably excited (and you might even be looking forward to having them occupied during the day), preparing for the first school year after an Illinois divorce can take some serious work. Here are five suggestions for how to get ready for school. 

Budget for School Supplies

Generally speaking, the parent with the majority of parenting time is receiving child support that already factors in the paying parent’s contribution towards school supplies and extracurricular activities. This means the parent with the majority of parenting time is usually responsible for school shopping. You can ask the other parent for help paying for supplies, but he or she is not obligated to send more money. 

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 Posted on August 02, 2022 in Finances and Divorce

People getting divorced in Illinois frequently worry about finances and perhaps never so much as when they are on the cusp of retirement. Pensions, investment plans, and savings accounts are the product of many years’ worth of hard work, sacrifice, and painstaking planning. The prospect of dividing assets in a divorce can be devastating. While a divorce attorney cannot guarantee a perfect outcome, having the help of an experienced firm on your side can help you mitigate the financial impact of divorce on your retirement prospects. Here are three questions to ask yourself as you gather your financial information before the divorce.

What Will Your Social Security Benefits Be? 

Spouses who have been working their entire lives often have a healthy amount of Social Security waiting for them upon retirement. But for spouses who have worked only a little or not at all, a spouse’s benefits may be the best option. If you have been married for at least 10 years, you may be eligible to receive up to half of your spouse’s benefits. If your ex-spouse plans on collecting based on your work history, your benefits will not be affected.

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