Posted on June 10, 2020 in Divorce

When there is trouble in your marriage, you and your spouse have to work together to try to overcome the issues that you are experiencing. In some situations, both spouses may not be on the same page or willing to cooperate with one another. No matter the situation, making the decision to end the marriage involves tons of difficult and conflicting emotions. This conversation is likely going to be one of the most stressful and heartbreaking conversations you will ever have with your spouse. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when you break the news of divorce to your spouse:

1. Think before you make your decision. Before you tell your spouse that you want to get a divorce, you should make absolutely certain that this is what you want. Once you bring up the “D-word,” you cannot take it back. You should take your time to think your decision through before you say anything.
2. Plan how you will break the news. Once you are certain that you want to get a divorce, you should begin thinking of how you should set up the conversation. Think about everything from what kind of mood they are in when you tell them to the location that you have the conversation. If you have children, you should ideally wait until there is a time that your children are not home.

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 Posted on June 05, 2020 in Child Custody

When you have children with another person, you will forever be connected to that person, whether you like it or not. Divorcing couples who have minor children must figure out some sort of agreement for how they will divide their parenting time and how they will allocate their parental responsibilities. Most parents will opt to agree to co-parenting, meaning you work together with your child’s other parent to raise them. However, co-parenting requires a specific degree of communication and cooperation, which not all couples have. For some high-conflict couples, a parallel parenting agreement is a much better option.

What Is Parallel Parenting?

In a normal co-parenting relationship, both parents are able to communicate and are willing to cooperate with one another as they raise their children. In some situations, however, that is not possible. Couples who have exhibited an inability to get along with one another may do better in a parallel parenting situation. Parallel parenting is similar to co-parenting, but with parallel parenting, the parents are disengaged from one another and have limited communication with one another. This style of parenting is meant to reduce the conflict between the parents and the tension that the children may feel.

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 Posted on May 29, 2020 in Child Support

Parents and caregivers alike can agree that children are expensive. This is why it is generally agreed that both the mother and the father have an obligation to provide financial support for any children they have. When the parents are not married or they are getting a divorce, a child support order can be entered to ensure both parents contribute their fair financial share. Child support is calculated using a formula that incorporates both parents’ income, amount of parenting time, and whether or not they have other child support or spousal maintenance obligations.

However, monthly child support obligations do not always cover all costs associated with raising a child. There are expenses that will appear that are not accounted for in the monthly child support obligation. You are not required to address them in your parenting plan or support order, but doing so can save time and stress in the long run.

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 Posted on May 27, 2020 in Division of Assets

For many people, the largest asset they own is their home. Real estate can make for some tricky situations when it comes to the asset division process of divorce. Everything must be divided, including real estate, like your family home. While cutting your home down the middle will not help you out, there are three viable ways you can deal with your marital home during your divorce: keep the home under joint ownership, sell the home or have one spouse own the home in their name only.

To Appraise or Not to Appraise?

Getting an actual appraisal for your home is an important step in the process. You may think you are able to estimate how much your home is worth, but it is actually in your best interest to get a home appraisal so you have a legitimate figure of how much you are working with. There are many reasons why someone would want to have their home appraised, which include:

• Ensuring the estimated value of your home is accurate

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 Posted on May 22, 2020 in Child Custody

For many couples who are divorcing with children, much of the stress present during the divorce accumulates because of child-related issues. It can sometimes feel like you are fighting tooth and nail to ensure your children are getting what is best for them. The issue is that your spouse also thinks that he knows what is best for the children and most of the time, that idea does not line up entirely with yours. Most parents will have some sort of an argument or disagreement at some point during the process, but when the situation gets too out of hand, the judge might intervene and order you and your spouse to work with a parenting coordinator.

The Role of a Parenting Coordinator

A parenting coordinator, also known as a PC, is a highly-trained professional who helps parents that are separated or divorced settle their disputes about child-related issues. PCs are used in situations in which the parents of a child just cannot seem to get along or cooperate with one another. The PC’s main task is to help couples make decisions without having to make multiple court appearances. A PC may also:

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 Posted on May 20, 2020 in Division of Assets

When you first begin the divorce process, you will likely be advised to come up with a list of issues that matter the most to you -- the ones that you are adamant about fighting for. What is on that list? For some people, their finances are at the top of their list of concerns. The way your finances are handled during your divorce could significantly impact your financial situation after the fact and for years to come.

The first step in successfully managing your finances during your divorce is taking an actual inventory of everything that you and your spouse own. This includes both physical items such as vehicles and jewelry and immaterial items, like bank accounts or retirement funds. Ensuring you have an accurate picture of your financial situation before any decisions are made is crucial. Here are a few tips to help you inventory your assets:

Make a List of Common Assets

Firstly, make a list of any assets that you and your spouse both have ownership to. This should include both physical and immaterial items that are considered marital property and subject to division during the divorce. Physical items can include things such as real estate, vehicles, artwork, or other important and/or expensive assets. Other items that you will want to include on the list are things such as bank accounts, retirement accounts, gym memberships, airline miles, or other immaterial items.

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 Posted on May 15, 2020 in Legal Questions

In a divorce, you end up having to make a lot of compromises. The divorce process involves a series of negotiations, many of which you might leave feeling as if you did not get what you wanted, but it has been said before: a good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied. Compromise can indeed sometimes feel as if you have lost, but when it comes to your divorce, you should do everything you can to adhere to the compromises you agreed to. If not, the court may end up holding you in contempt.

Understanding Contempt of Court

Contempt of court occurs when a person does something that a judge or a court order has prohibited them from doing or required them to do. In most cases of contempt in family court, people are held in contempt because they have not obeyed or have violated an official order, such as a custody arrangement or support order.

If a person believes that their spouse is purposefully disobeying a court order, they can ask the judge to hold their spouse in contempt of court. A hearing will then be held to determine whether or not the spouse was actually in contempt and what consequences should be applied. For a person to be held in contempt, it must be proven that they:

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 Posted on May 13, 2020 in Child Custody

Even though a divorce technically just involves you and your spouse, the two of you are not the only ones who will be affected by the divorce. Getting a divorce affects the whole family, especially if you have children. Having children also means there is likely a greater chance that there will be disagreement during your divorce proceedings. When it comes to child-related issues, it is not uncommon for parents to be unable to see eye-to-eye. In cases in which there is extensive disagreement, a judge may appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) to your case to help your children’s voices be heard.

What Is a GAL?

In Illinois, the default procedure is to encourage parents to come to an agreement on child-related issues. The court will try to get the parents to use various methods of negotiation, including mediation, to settle disagreements. If the judge determines that the parents are unable to work together or put their children’s needs ahead of their own, they may appoint a GAL to help keep the children’s best interests in mind. A GAL is a highly-trained professional, often an attorney, who is appointed to basically be the attorney for the children and protect their best interests.

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 Posted on May 08, 2020 in Family Law

Unfortunately, domestic violence is something that is present in millions of families throughout the country. Domestic violence occurs when a person commits an act of abuse or violence toward a family or household member. Sometimes, it can be a stressful event that triggers the beginning of the violence, such as a separation or divorce. Other times, violent tendencies that were already present are just exacerbated by the divorce. Whatever the situation, there are remedies available to you to help you protect yourself and your children. The most common form of help for these situations includes the issuing of an order of protection.

What Is an Order of Protection?

An order of protection is a legally-binding court order that can help protect you if your spouse is being violent or abusive. An order of protection can contain provisions that your spouse must adhere to or face further penalties, with the most common requirement being to stay away from the petitioner. An order of protection can be brought against a person by any of that person’s family or household members, including spouses, former spouses, parents, children, roommates, people who are dating and adults with disabilities, and their caregivers.

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 Posted on May 06, 2020 in Division of Assets

Getting a divorce brings about all kinds of issues that you must deal with, both emotionally and financially. Though the emotional side can be difficult to manage, the financial side has a lot of bearing on how your life will turn out in the future. Financial issues can be especially important for older couples who are nearing the age of retirement. Retirement accounts are assets that are usually quite valuable to both spouses, setting the stage for disagreements over how the assets will be divided. Ignoring or forgetting your retirement accounts during your divorce could spell disaster for your financial future. If you are getting a divorce, be sure to take these necessary precautions to help protect your retirement plans.

Understand What You Are Working With

Before you make any decisions, you should fully understand what type of retirement accounts you and your spouse have and the rules that govern each account. Common retirement accounts include employer-sponsored plans such as a 401(k) and individual retirement accounts such as an IRA. Each type of plan has its own rules, especially when it comes to dividing and distributing the funds.

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