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How Will My Small Business Be Addressed During My Illinois Divorce?
Typically, the more complex a divorcing couple's assets, the more complex the property division process will be. Dividing bank accounts and personal property like vehicles and household furniture is often much more straightforward than dividing a small business. First, the business must be classified as either marital or nonmarital property. Next, the business must be properly valued. Divorces involving businesses are often complicated, so getting guidance from an experienced divorce lawyer is crucial.
Is The Business Considered Part of the Marital Estate?
You and your spouse have the option to design your own property division arrangement during divorce. You may be able to negotiate property distribution concerns with help from your prospective attorneys or you may be able to reach an arrangement during family law mediation. If you cannot reach an agreement, the court will intervene and make property division decisions on your behalf. In Illinois, courts make property division decisions based on the theory of “equitable distribution.” Marital property, meaning property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, is divided in an equitable, or fair manner. Nonmarital property includes property acquired before the marriage, gifts, and inheritance. Nonmarital property is not divided and is instead assigned to the spouse who owns the property. If you acquired your business during the marriage, it will most likely be treated as a marital asset. If your business was inherited, received as a gift, or was obtained before you got married, it will likely be classified as nonmarital property.
How Is Child Support Calculated for More Than One Child?
When a couple with children divorces, child support is often ordered to ensure that the child receives financial support from both of his or her parents. Child support can be a major expense in the paying parent’s life as well as a valuable resource for the recipient parent. If you are a divorcing parent who already has a child support obligation from a previous relationship, you may be concerned about how any additional child support requests will be handled. Read on to learn about how child support is calculated in Illinois when the parent has multiple obligations.
Income Shares Method for Calculating Child Support
Illinois child support orders entered after July 1, 2017 are calculated based on the Income Shares model. Instead of child support being based entirely on the payor parent’s income, this calculation method takes into account both of the parent’s incomes. In order to determine the amount of child support that a parent pays, the court combines both parent’s net income and then uses a statutory formula to determines the total amount of support for which both parents are collectively responsible. This total is called the “basic child support obligation.” The basic child support obligation is then divided between the parents based on each parent’s income. If each parent has the child for at least 146 nights a year, this is called a shared parenting arrangement. Because both of the parents are responsible for a large percentage of the total parenting time, the child support obligation is reduced in cases involving shared parenting. The courts may deviate from the Income Shares formula if doing so is in the child’s best interests.
Top Reasons to Consider Mediation During Your Custody Dispute
Divorcing and unmarried couples with children often struggle to reach an agreement about child custody and visitation, called “the allocation of parental responsibilities” and “parenting time,” in Illinois. Divorcing parents are asked to create a “parenting plan” that addresses how the parents intend to share child-related duties. The plan contains information about which parent the child will spend time with and when, how parents will make major decisions about the child’s upbringing, transportation arrangements, and more. When parents cannot agree on one or more elements of a parenting plan, one option that may help them reach a resolution is family law mediation.
Parents May Be More Likely to Comply with Parenting Plans They Helped Create
During child custody litigation, the court considers arguments from each party and then decides on a parenting plan that is in the child’s best interests. During family law mediation, parents are encouraged to negotiate the unresolved issues and find solutions that both parents can agree to. This means that if the parents are successful in creating a parenting plan during mediation, the plan will contain input from both parents. It is much more likely that a parent will comply with a parenting plan that he or she helped create than a plan that was decided by the court.
What Are Some of the Most Common Ways Divorcing Spouses Hide Assets?
Divorce is not only a romantic separation; it is also a financial separation. Determining how assets and debts should be distributed to divorcing spouses is often one of the most complicated parts of the divorce process. Division of assets is made even more problematic when a spouse is not willing to be transparent about his or her financial circumstances. Spouses may attempt to conceal assets, understate income, overstate debts, or use other strategies to gain an unfair advantage during property division. If you are planning to divorce and you have reason to believe that your spouse may be hiding assets or otherwise lying about financial resources, an experienced divorce lawyer can help.
Financial Deception During Divorce
In order for a divorcing couple to fairly divide marital assets during divorce, each spouse must be honest and forthcoming about his or her financial resources. However, some spouses purposely lie about their financial circumstances in an attempt to manipulate property division, child support, or spousal maintenance determinations. Typically, the more complicated a spouse’s financial circumstances are, the easier it is for him or her to hide assets during divorce. If a person owns multiple bank and brokerage accounts, trusts, rental properties, vacation homes, stock options, deferred compensation, retirement plans, a business or professional practice, or other complex assets, there are many opportunities for him or her to be deceptive. However, spouses with simple financial portfolios may also lie in order to gain a financial advantage during divorce.
When Do Illinois Courts Deviate From Income Shares Child Support Guidelines?
Illinois child support payment amounts are typically based on the “Income Shares” model. This model uses each parent’s net income, the amount of parenting time each parent is responsible for, and a specially designed formula to determine how much child support an obligor parent must pay. However, this child support calculation method may not be reasonable or appropriate in certain circumstances. Illinois law gives courts the option to deviate from the Income Shares guidelines if the court finds that a deviation is in the best interests of the child.
Child Support Calculations
By law, Illinois courts must follow the Income Shares guidelines for determining child support unless the court finds that a deviation would be more beneficial to the child. Courts consider the following factors when determining whether or not to deviate from the guidelines:
- The child’s financial resources
What Is the Purpose of a Guardian Ad Litem in an Illinois Divorce Case?
When divorcing spouses share children together, the divorce process is often much more involved than divorces not involving children. This is especially true if the spouses are not able to reach an agreement about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. In some divorce cases involving child-related disputes, a guardian ad litem (GAL) is appointed to act as a child representative. The judge may assign a GAL to the case or a spouse may request for a GAL to be assigned. The opinion of a guardian ad litem can have a major impact on the outcome of a child custody case.
Understanding the Role of a Guardian Ad Litem
Unfortunately, in many custody disputes, one or both parents are more interested in “winning” the case than working toward a custody arrangement that is in the child’s best interests. During a contentious divorce case, the wishes and needs of the children can become obscured. A guardian ad litem is a lawyer who represents the child’s best interests. He or she is tasked with investigating the facts of the case and eventually developing an opinion about what type of child custody arrangement is best for the child. This may be accomplished through evaluating the child’s residence as well as interviewing parents, siblings, teachers, daycare workers, and other people involved in the child’s life. The GAL will also look for evidence that suggests a living environment may be unsafe for the child. He or she may analyze criminal records, health records, school records, and any past or present Child Protective Services cases. The GAL then shares his or her findings and overall opinion with the judge. Although the judge is not required to follow the GAL’s recommendation, this recommendation will most likely carry substantial weight.
What Are My Adoption Options in Illinois?
If you are thinking about adopting a child, you probably have many questions about what the process entails. The steps involved in an Illinois adoption vary dramatically depending on the type of adoption being pursued. Whether you are interested in adopting a relative such as a stepchild, an infant through an adoption agency, an international child, or you are interested in another adoption avenue, getting quality legal support is essential.
Types of Adoption
Relative adoptions: In some cases, a person or a couple may want to adopt a child who is related to them. Many relative adoptions involve a stepparent who wishes to adopt his or her spouse’s child. A child can only have two parents according to the law, so some relative adoptions may require the child’s biological parent to give up his or her parental rights. If the parent is unwilling to do so, the court may involuntarily terminate the parental rights if the parent is found to be “unfit” due to abuse, abandonment, or other issues.
Illinois Spousal Support Calculation: What Is Considered Income?
One of the biggest concerns people have when considering divorce is how the split might affect their finances. Not only will getting a divorce result in the loss of your spouse’s income and/or nonfinancial contributions to your household, you may also be expected to pay child support or spousal support. Illinois spousal support payments are calculated using a number of factors, but the obligor’s income is typically the most influential factor. Before support payments can be calculated, the obligor’s income must be defined.
Determining Illinois Spousal Support Payment Amounts
There are a few different ways that a divorcing spouse may be obligated to pay spousal maintenance. If the spouses had previously signed a valid prenuptial agreement that dictates a spouse’s maintenance obligations, the court will typically uphold the directions contained in the agreement. Spouses may also be required to pay spousal support if there is a large discrepancy in the spouses’ income and assets. The standard of living established during the marriage, each spouse’s health and age, any impairment to the recipient spouse’s future earning capacity, and several other factors are also assessed during spousal maintenance determinations.
Tips for Reducing Divorce Stress
Ending a marriage is considered by many experts to be one of the most stressful experiences a person can have. Even if you were the spouse who suggested the split, the divorce process can be extremely emotionally burdensome. You may have worries about how divorce will affect your finances, your children, your career, and your lifestyle. Fortunately, there are a number of tips that mental health experts say can help you reduce the strain associated with formally ending your marriage.
Make Your Health a Priority
Many busy adults end up putting their own wellbeing quite low on their priority lists. Experts suggest that one of the best things you can do during divorce is to make a conscious effort to keep yourself healthy both mentally and physically. Exercise has shown to have remarkable benefits to both overall health as well as mood. Eating a balanced diet and avoiding the temptation to binge on junk food will also strengthen your body and help you get through this difficult time.
What Types of Protection Orders Are Available in Illinois?
Domestic violence is surprisingly common both in the state of Illinois as well as around the country. Sadly, many victims of abuse stay silent because they do not realize that there are programs that can help them leave an abusive relationship. In Illinois, victims of abuse and stalking have the ability to get a legal court order called an “order of protection.” Protection orders, also called restraining orders in some states, may prohibit the subject of the order from contacting certain protected individuals or going to certain locations. If you have suffered from domestic violence or you are worried that a family or household member may attempt to harm you or your children, you may want to consider obtaining an order of protection.
Emergency Orders of Protection
A protection order can be customized based on your unique needs. It may protect you, your children, anyone who lives or works in your house, adults with disabilities, and your pets. An Emergency Order of Protection (EOP) can include many different types of provisions. The EOP may prohibit the abuser from contacting the victim(s) of the protection order including calling, emailing, or texting them. It may also require the abuser to stay a certain distance away from the victim(s) and their home, school, or workplace. Depending on your situation, the protection order may also result in the revocation of the abuser’s Firearm Owner Identification Card which takes away his or her legal right to possess a gun. An EOP can be obtained without the abusive person’s presence and lasts up to 21 days.
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