Getting a divorce can be a challenging process that will involve many complex concerns that must be addressed and resolved. Many of these issues are financial in nature, and they may be related to the property you own, the debts you owe, and the income earned by you and your spouse. As you work to negotiate a settlement, you may focus on your immediate needs and desires, including determining how living arrangements will be handled, making sure you have the resources needed to support yourself, and working out child custody arrangements. In the midst of addressing complicated legal issues and emotional concerns, tax-related concerns may be overlooked.

While few people want to think about taxes, it is important to make sure they are considered properly during the divorce process. The decisions made during the end of your marriage can have a significant impact on your financial future. To ensure that you are properly prepared to address tax issues, you can work with a divorce attorney at Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC. With our experience representing clients in complex divorce cases, we can advise you on the tax concerns that may affect you and the options you may have for resolving these issues and protecting your financial interests.

Tax Filing Status

One of the first issues to address during your divorce will be related to how you will file your annual tax returns. While it may be difficult for you and your spouse to cooperate, it may be beneficial for both of you to continue to file taxes jointly prior to finalizing your divorce. Married couples who file jointly may be able to utilize a higher standard deduction and lower the total amount of taxes they will be required to pay.

Getting a divorce is rarely easy, and for many people, it can be a highly stressful and difficult experience. The breakdown of a couple's relationship and the end of their marriage can cause a variety of strong emotions, including anger, sadness, betrayal, or guilt, and this can make it harder for spouses to cooperate and resolve the various legal issues involved in their case. To make matters worse, one spouse may find out that the other has engaged in actions that may have led to financial losses, such as wasting money or other assets. These cases may involve mismanaged investments, squandered inheritances, and even property that has been intentionally damaged. Since these issues can play a significant role in matters related to the division of marital assets, it is important to understand how they will be addressed during the divorce process.

As you proceed with your divorce, you will need to make sure all legal issues will be handled correctly, and you can do so with the help of an experienced attorney. At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, we understand the importance of ensuring that marital assets can be divided fairly and equitably. We can advise you of your rights as you work to negotiate a property settlement, and if you have any concerns about the misuse of money or property by your spouse, we can make sure this issue will be raised in court and addressed properly. Our goal is to help you achieve an outcome to your divorce that will protect your financial interests and ensure that you will have the resources you need in the future.

Understanding Dissipation of Assets Under Illinois Law

In Illinois, the division of assets between divorcing spouses is based on the principle of "equitable distribution." This means that marital property should be divided in a way that is fair, but the division does not necessarily need to be equal. You should be able to retain ownership of a fair share of the assets you and your spouse have acquired while you were married. This will ensure that you will be able to reap the benefits of the work you have put in to your marriage and that you will be able to meet your needs after your divorce has been finalized.

 Divorce is an unfortunate reality that affects many couples in Illinois. While couples who get married usually intend to stay together for the rest of their lives, a marriage can fall apart for a variety of reasons. In some cases, disagreements about money or other issues can result in the end of a relationship, while in others, a couple may have children and find that they are unable to put enough energy toward their relationship while also managing parental responsibilities. Even if a couple has the best intentions, they may find that they simply are not compatible. Regardless of the reasons for the end of a marriage, there are certain steps that will need to be followed during the divorce process, and understanding these procedures can help anyone in this situation navigate through a divorce successfully.

When approaching the divorce process, it can be difficult to separate one's emotions from the legal, financial, and practical issues that will need to be addressed. The stress involved in ending a relationship that was meant to be permanent, dividing money and property, making adjustments to living arrangements and schedules, and ironing out all of the legal details of dissolving a marriage can be hard enough on its own. However, this process can become even more difficult when also dealing with sadness, anger, betrayal, guilt, or other emotional issues. For parents, adding the many child-related issues that will need to be addressed on top of everything else can make things even more difficult. With everything that will need to be considered, the divorce process can seem like a series of obstacles that may be nearly impossible to surmount.

Fortunately, if you are in this situation, you do not have to go through the divorce process alone. With the right divorce lawyer on your side, you can understand the legal concerns that will affect you and the methods you and your spouse may be able to use to resolve disputes and reach agreements. At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, we understand the difficulties you are facing, and we are here to guide you through the divorce process, sharing our knowledge and providing valuable advice while also representing you in negotiations and court proceedings and working to help you achieve the best possible outcome in your case. We will walk you through each step of an Illinois divorce, including:

Family law cases involving child custody can be difficult and stressful, even in situations where there is little conflict and parents are in agreement about how various issues should be handled. However, these cases can easily become contentious. In some cases, parents' negative feelings toward each other may affect how they interact with their children, and one parent may act in ways that could cause harm to the relationship between the children and the other parent. These actions and behaviors are often referred to as parental alienation, and they can not only affect matters related to child custody, but they can cause children to suffer emotional harm.

In situations where parental alienation has occurred or where a parent suspects that their former partner is attempting to alienate their children against them, it is important to address this issue correctly. At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, our divorce and family law attorneys know how harmful parental alienation can be, and we work to help our clients respond to this type of behavior and ensure that they can maintain good relationships with their children. We always work to protect the best interests of children in these matters, and we do everything we can to protect them against harm and advocate for solutions that will allow for positive parent/child relationships.

Understanding Parental Alienation

Parental alienation is a form of emotional abuse that can have long-lasting effects on children. It involves actions or words that can cause a child to turn against one parent and take the other parent's side in a divorce or child custody case. In some cases, parental alienation may be unintentional, and it may arise out of high levels of conflict between parents, children being exposed to arguments, or a parent expressing anger or frustration about issues related to the end of a marriage or long-term relationship.

The divorce process will involve numerous complex issues related to your finances, your living situation, your relationships with friends and family members, and your personal affairs. Reorganizing your life as you separate from your spouse, establishing new living arrangements, determining how to cover various expenses, and changing your routines can be very stressful. As you work out all the details related to the end of your marriage, one issue that can easily be forgotten is the change to your name.

A name change can represent a new beginning after a divorce, and it can help you put difficult times behind you as you establish a new life for yourself. However, understanding the steps you will need to follow when changing your name is not always easy. In addition to completing the requirements to legally change your name, you will need to update multiple different types of documents and notify various organizations. By understanding the steps you will need to follow, you can make sure you will be prepared to move forward after your divorce is complete.

At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, we can advise you on the best ways to address all of the legal issues you are facing during and after your divorce. We will provide you with strong, effective representation to ensure that you can achieve a positive outcome for your case, and we will also provide you with guidance on how to address any ongoing legal concerns. In addition to assisting with name changes, we can help you take steps to modify your divorce decree when necessary or enforce the terms of court orders put in place during your case.