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Recent Blog Posts
What Should I Do if a Guardian ad Litem Has Been Assigned to My Illinois Divorce Case?
Many divorcing parents in Illinois find themselves locked in a seemingly intractable dispute about issues related to their children. Maintaining objectivity during divorce can be very difficult, and hostility between parents can spill over into the children’s lives, negatively affecting them and making it very difficult to compromise about parenting time and parental responsibilities.
In the most contentious divorces, it may not be immediately obvious to a judge which custody arrangement would most benefit a child and so he or she may appoint a professional known as a guardian ad litem. If you are getting divorced or modifying a parenting agreement and have had a guardian ad litem assigned to your case, read on.
The Role of a Guardian ad Litem in Illinois
A guardian ad litem’s job is, essentially, to determine the best interests of a child during a very specific period of time - usually, during a divorce or custody dispute. Guardians ad litem in Illinois are licensed attorneys with special training that prepares them to do the appropriate investigation, fact-finding, and data collection necessary to determine a child’s best interests.
These Occupations in Illinois Have Higher Rates of Divorce
Certain jobs correlate with divorce so frequently that they create a bit of a chicken-or-egg question. Which came first - the job or the likelihood of divorce? Does a person who is more likely to get divorced pursue certain professions, or do some jobs really interfere with a marriage? Although each marriage is unique, research suggests that some jobs are correlated with much higher rates of divorce. And while financial stability and life satisfaction influence marital happiness, a higher salary is not necessarily correlated with lower divorce rates. Here are some of the jobs in Illinois with the highest divorce rates.
Casino Managers and Bartenders
Almost tied at roughly 52 percent, casino managers and bartenders are in a line of work that exposes them to late hours, alcohol consumption, and fresh new faces on a regular basis. Add to that an unpredictable income, holiday work schedules, and a relentless people-pleasing personality, and you might have a combination for marital trouble.
Four Important Things to Include in Your Illinois Divorce Planning Checklist
The prospect of getting divorced can be understandably frightening and overwhelming. So many things need to be dealt with and it can be difficult to know where to start. The fear of the unknown keeps many couples from planning around their divorce, but this is a mistake; meeting your divorce challenges head-on and creating a plan can help your divorce go much more smoothly. Here are four important things to consider as you create your pre-divorce planning checklist.
Collect Documents and Keep Track of Everything
From the moment you decide to get divorced, start collecting financial, medical, and educational documents for you, your spouse, and your children. Bank statements, deeds, health insurance information, and grade report cards will all be necessary for your divorce. Sometimes, spouses will drag their feet when providing information; if you can manage to get the information yourself, you can save a lot of time.
Six Issues Family Counseling Can Help With During Your Illinois Divorce
Making the decision to end a marriage, especially when there are children involved, is a serious choice. Because there are so many changes, and these changes can be so stressful for everyone involved, many Illinois couples choose to get the help of a family therapist as they move through the divorce process. Family therapists can work with everybody, including the children, to process the divorce and the changes it brings. Having a neutral therapist can help with many different issues and most families who use family therapy feel as though they benefit tremendously. In this blog post, we will look at how family counseling can help a family dealing with divorce.
What Are the Benefits of Family Therapy in an Illinois Divorce?
Children often have a very difficult time dealing with divorce. They are often too young to understand why their parents are separating, and, if they are old enough to understand, they are usually still conflicted and angry about the loss. A family counselor can help children process their feelings about the divorce, and can also help parents communicate more clearly so the children are not caught in the crosshairs of parental conflict.
Five Tips for Couples Who Want an Amicable Illinois Divorce
Divorce perhaps carries an unfair share of negative connotations; while many Illinois divorces are painful, hostile, and expensive, divorce also frees people to take a path that better suits their needs. Modern divorcing couples are encouraged to work things out together and avoid the harsher methods of the past, using mediation instead of litigation whenever possible. For couples who want to get divorced amicably, here are some tips to help.
Try to Be Emotionally Objective
Usually by the time a couple decides to get divorced, years of pent-up hurt and frustrations can make reasonable negotiation difficult. But if you can manage to take care of your emotional wounds outside of the divorce process, a commitment to objectivity can help you pursue a reasonable compromise that suits you both. This is especially important if you have children, because while it may feel good in the moment to get the better of your spouse, you will likely have to deal with them for many years to come.
Help! We Got Married and It Is Terrible. Can We Get an Annulment?
Annulments are often used in an unserious light as the fodder of many alcohol-fueled Las Vegas wedding jokes. Yet the reasons for getting an annulment are important and necessary for many couples who find that their marital arrangement is not what it seemed to be.
To begin with, it is important to note that there is technically no such thing as “annulment” in Illinois. Rather, couples seeking to annul their marriage for specific reasons can ask an Illinois judge to declare the marriage invalid. For some couples, this is an appropriate and available step. For other couples, however, a declaration of invalidity is not an option and a divorce is necessary - even for very brief marriages. To learn more about when a declaration of invalidity of marriage is an option, read on.
When is a Declaration of Invalidity of Marriage an Option?
A marriage can only be declared invalid when it was entered into under false pretenses. Spouses who get married and then quickly find out they are not compatible are usually not eligible for a declaration of invalidity and must instead get a divorce. Invalidity of marriage may be declared only for the following four reasons:
Managing Your Child’s Education in Illinois Child Support and Parenting Plans
Education is a crucial part of a young child’s life and an education that is well-managed early on can benefit a child for the rest of their lives. Although divorce can be disruptive in many areas of a child’s life, it does not have to interfere with a quality education. An important part of getting divorced is creating well-planned child support and parenting agreements. Doing so allows parents a great opportunity to make plans for managing a child’s education and to provide a smooth transition into separate households.
Consider Child Support Deviations
Illinois uses standard formulas when determining child support payments, but a child’s unique academic circumstances can allow for deviation from the norm. Child support typically includes school expenses, like books, supplies, and uniforms, as well as field trips or special events. However, if a child needs more support - like tutoring, one-on-one classroom accommodations, or test prep courses - these can raise monthly child support payments. Parents may also decide to send a child to private school, meaning the cost of a child’s education could be substantially higher, but this must be agreed upon in the divorce decree.
What Do I Need to Know if I Am Leaving My Spouse for a New Partner?
Choosing a spouse is one of the most important decisions we ever make. Unfortunately, however, many people get married when they are young or do not yet understand their values and priorities and end up choosing a life partner they later regret. Sometimes, people realize this only after meeting someone who is aligned with their vision of the future.
If you are planning to get divorced so you can be with someone who is a better fit for you, you are not alone - but there are some important things to consider as you navigate the divorce process. Having an experienced, compassionate Illinois attorney who understands your situation can help ease the transition and help you make smart choices.
Risks of Asset Dissipation Claims
Although Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, meaning couples do not formally give a reason for divorce beyond “irreconcilable differences,” certain behaviors before and during divorce can influence the overall outcome. One important area where this may matter is the division of marital assets. For example, if a husband spends a lot of money on a new partner while the marriage is irretrievably breaking down, the wife may be able to successfully file a claim of dissipation. When the marital estate is divided, that money that was spent on the new partner can be awarded to the wife, diminishing the overall share of the marital estate that the husband receives.
What if I Have to Testify in a Divorce Deposition in Illinois?
Most people getting divorced in Illinois agree on factual matters: How much assets are worth, how much money each spouse makes, how much they have saved for retirement. Although there may be conflict around how to divide assets and allocate parental responsibilities, few spouses disagree about the facts.
However, some spouses do disagree about important facts, especially if one spouse is suspected of being dishonest about finances. When this happens, a judge must hear the arguments from spouses, their attorneys, and even third parties, and then determine what is true. Although spouses can use documents such as employment contracts and bank statements to support their position, divorce attorneys still need to obtain testimony to authenticate or rebut such documents. To avoid having their clients give testimony for the first time in court, attorneys can gather testimony under oath using something called a “deposition.”
How Is Child Support Calculated for High-Income Parents?
Although most parents have their child’s best interest at heart, child support can nevertheless be a source of great contention during divorce. For most divorcing parents in Illinois, child support is calculated using a predetermined formula that uses both parents’ incomes to determine payment amounts, giving parents some measure of predictability.
But for high-income parents whose earnings deviate from the standard formulas for calculating child support, the child support process can be somewhat unpredictable because judges have substantial leeway in setting payment amounts. If you are a wealthy, high-income, or high-net-worth parent in Illinois and expect to be paying child support in the future, understanding how Illinois family law courts tend to treat high-income child support cases may make the process more straightforward.
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