Recent Blog Posts
I Want to Change My DuPage County Divorce Decree. Is This Allowed?
Most divorced couples never want to see the inside of an Illinois courtroom again. But life changes over time, and the circumstances that necessitated certain arrangements in a divorce decree may no longer apply. If you are divorced and have recently experienced a significant change in your circumstances, you may want to petition an Illinois court for a divorce decree modification. Modifications are only approved in specific circumstances; for more information about whether you may be able to request a modification, read on.
When Can a Divorce Decree Be Modified in DuPage County?
A divorce decree usually permanently settles all the issues in a divorce. Property division, child custody arrangements, and spousal support are all described in detail in a divorce decree and courts will not usually modify the terms unless certain requirements are met.
Can a Parent Relocate With a Child After an Illinois Divorce?
A divorce under any circumstances can be difficult, and when a couple has a child, that can further complicate the process. Typically, parents do not want to give up time with their child once the marriage ends, but changes to children’s and parents’ schedules are a reality of divorce. One parent may be allocated the majority of the parental responsibilities. However, the other parent does have a right to parenting time, which can be addressed with a parenting plan. In some cases, one of the parents may wish to move out of state to be near family members or due to a job transfer or new career opportunity. Depending on the circumstances, child support or parenting time may need to be modified. Therefore, it is important to ensure that parental rights are not violated in any way.
What if My Spouse Is Hiding Assets During Our Illinois Divorce?
When a couple reaches the point where their marriage is irretrievably broken, they will likely seek a divorce. The process of legally ending a marriage can be complicated, especially if there are a lot of issues to resolve. If spouses are argumentative or bitter, this may only further complicate matters. Part of the divorce proceedings involve dividing any marital property or assets. In some situations, one of the spouses may try to hide monetary funds or other valuable possessions. A study by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 31 percent of spouses with combined assets report they were deceptive about money, and 58 percent of those people admitted to hiding money from their partner or spouse. In divorce cases involving hidden assets, it is imperative to hire professional legal assistance to uncover such deception.
What You Need to Know About Prenuptial Agreements in Illinois
Prenuptial agreements are often associated with very wealthy individuals, and people who seek a prenup may be seen as believing that their marriage will not last. Because of this, a stigma was attached to these agreements, but this has changed over time, and prenuptial agreements are becoming more and more common.
When Is a Prenuptial Agreement Appropriate?
Nowadays, it is routine for marrying couples to discuss, agree to, and sign a prenuptial agreement before they exchange marriage vows and seal their marriage. A prenuptial agreement may be appropriate in a variety of situations, including:
-
One spouse has significantly more assets than the other spouse. In this case, it behooves the spouse with significantly more assets to have a prenuptial agreement in place to protect against the incidental or deliberate inclusion of their assets as marital property in a potential divorce. Ordinarily, assets obtained before a couple’s marriage are considered non-marital property and therefore not subject to division or sharing after divorce.
How Are a Couple’s Assets Divided in an Illinois Divorce?
While some people who get married may be doubtful that the marriage will last, the expectation for nearly all couples who marry is that their marriage will last a lifetime.
However, the reality of marriage in America is that more than 22 percent of first marriages end in divorce within five years, and 53 percent of marriages dissolve by the 20-year mark, according to the latest available data from the government. No matter the length of a marriage, one common issue that often arises during divorce is how to handle the division of marital property.
What Constitutes Marital Property?
The first question to determine when addressing property division is what is considered marital property as defined under Illinois law. The law defines marital property as "all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage." Examples of common marital property include physical possessions such as homes, automobiles, and other assets of value. Marital property also includes monetary assets such as retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs, pensions, stocks and bonds, and life insurance benefits.
Financial Abuse is an Often-Overlooked Type of Domestic Violence
When we think about domestic violence, what often comes to mind is the physical and emotional abuse that domestic violence victims sadly experience. However, financial abuse is also a type of domestic violence which abusers use to control and overpower their victims. Read on to learn about the warning signs of financial abuse.
When One Spouse is Completely Oblivious to Finances
In many marriages, one spouse is more financially-savvy than the other and therefore does the majority of money management. There is nothing wrong with this scenario. However, sometimes this imbalance of financial responsibility starts to become too extreme. When one spouse is solely in charge of the finances and does not allow the other spouse access to information or funds, he or she could be using money to abuse his or her partner. One major warning sign of financial abuse is when one spouse does not have his or her own debit card, credit card, or checkbook and only pays cash for items. Some abusive partners do not allow their victims access to bank accounts because they do not want them to escape the abusive relationship.
When Should You Introduce Your Children to Your New Dating Partner?
Often times, when a married couple splits they go on to meet new people and might even get remarried eventually. Getting a divorce does not mean that a person is destined to be alone or should never date again. However, dating during or after a divorce can be tricky. If your divorce is not finalized and you meet a new romantic interest, when should you introduce him or her to your children? The answer to questions like these are not always absolute, but experts do have advice for those who have met someone new in the midst of a divorce.
Dating During Divorce Can Affect Court Decisions
There are a few instances when a person might still be technically married but has a new romantic partner. Some marriages are over long before they are legally dissolved, and the spouses may physically separate while the divorce process continues. However, when a divorce is in progress, dating during this time can indirectly affect some decisions made by the court. For example, if your new partner has a criminal record or has been accused of child abuse, the court may limit or place stipulations on your parenting time. Depending the specific circumstances, a judge presiding over a divorce has the authority to take new romantic partners into consideration when making decisions about child custody, spousal support (alimony), and parenting time/visitation.
Protecting the Rights of Non-Marital Children
The most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that approximately 40 percent of all births in the United States in a given year are to unmarried women. While this was formerly a cause for shame or concern, in this day and age, there is often much less stigma, but children out of wedlock do sometimes require additional considerations to ensure their rights are protected. If you are the parent of a child born outside of marriage, it is important to be aware that there may be extra steps you need to take to protect your child legally.
Paternity and Custody
Many of the major disputes over the rights of children occur when custody or parental responsibilities are in question. With marital children, custody arrangements are fairly straightforward, given that Illinois law grants visitation (parenting time) to both parents unless it would endanger the physical, moral, or emotional health of the child. With non-marital children, there are other considerations—namely, the issue of paternity.
How Common Are Divorces in Illinois and the United States?
For many years, people have insisted that there has been a definite trend in which the number of divorces has increased every year. However, the truth contradicts this belief, and that truth is far more complex than most people would imagine. Divorce is often not an easy decision or an easy process, and it takes time and careful deliberation to come to an understanding and acceptance of it. Because of this, it is not something that people take lightly.
Dispelling the Myth That Half of All Marriages End in Divorce
Before getting married, people are often warned that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” and this supposed statistic may be used to suggest that a person should think long and hard before taking the plunge. However, the actual statistics show an entirely different story. These days, the national divorce rate is not 50%; it is actually closer to 39 %. Overall, divorce rates have been steadily declining since the 1980s, which is when they peaked. In addition, the state of Illinois itself has a much lower divorce rate than the national average.
Including Both Parents on School Forms
The return of fall signals back-to-school time for children across the country. A new school year brings a flurry of forms for parents of school-aged children to fill out, such as emergency contact information forms and permission slips for who has a right to pick a child up from school. When a child's parents are not married and share child custody, sometimes school forms cause problems down the road if one parent is not included.
It is usually beneficial to list both parents on most school forms, even if one parent does not have primary physical custody. In fact, most custody judgments require both parents to be listed on school forms. If a non-custodial parent is not listed as a person who can pick a child up from school, the non-custodial parent may not be allowed to get his or her child from school if an emergency arises or during times when he or she has parenting time with the child.
While it may merely be an oversight, the child involved is the one who really loses out, when both parents are not listed on the records as the child has less access to the other parent.