Recent Blog Posts
The Emotional Effects of Divorce
Divorce is one of the most stressful life experiences. People going through divorce may withdraw from social circles, feel disappointment and rejection, and lose self-esteem. All of these feelings, when coupled with financial and child custody issues, create an extremely stressful time for someone going through a divorce.
On the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory Scale, divorce ranks second only after the death of a spouse. Stressful events ranking lower than divorce on the scale include detention in jail, the death of a close family member and major illness or injury. Stress affects mental and physical health in a pronounced way.
Physical Health Effects
As to physical effects, divorced or widowed people have 20 percent more chronic health conditions than married people. Chronic health conditions include heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Debt Division in Divorce
When a couple decides to divorce, it is not only assets that must be divided during the proceedings, but also any marital debt that has accrued. Like with assets, a family court will generally divide debts along equitable lines, meaning that the person who makes more or who has more assets will often be tasked with managing more debt, whether they originally incurred it or not. It may set your mind at ease to better understand the rationales judges use to make such determination, so you can know if you are being unfairly saddled with too much debt.
Illinois Courts’ Common Rationales
When discussing marital assets and debts, equity is the watchword - Illinois is an equitable distribution state, as opposed to a community property state, which means that the courts will divide both marital assets and debts according to each spouse’s ability to pay and the income they make. Generally, it is the fairest approach, as it ensures that each debt is assigned to the person who is most likely to pay it.
Premarital Agreements in Illinois
If you andy your partner are soon to be married, you may want to consider the option of taking a proactive approach by getting a premarital agreement. In the state of Illinois, a prenup is an agreement made by a couple before they get married that concerns the ownership of their respective assets if their marriage were to fail for any reason.
How to Get a Prenup in Illinois
Before you take the steps it takes to get a prenup you may want to speak with your future spouse about moving forward with the idea. You can explain to your partner that a prenup can protect both of your interests and can be mutually beneficial.
How a Prenuptial Agreement Can Help Your Marriage
A prenup may save substantial time and money by eliminating the need to go to court to settle any disputes, can determine who is responsible for the financial duties, they also can organize who will inherit your property, assets, and money.
Child Custody Laws in Illinois
There have been a number of changes made to Illinois family law that went into effect January 2016. The reasoning behind these changes dates back to spring of 2015 when the Illinois state legislature passed a measure that looked to update the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) on multiple areas of focus. After Senate Bill 57 was signed by the governor in August 2015 adjustments to the laws were expected to begin at the start of 2016. Whether you are going through a divorce, just went through one, or are considering having a divorce, these key revisions to Illinois family can change the way you have been parenting based on the previous laws of 2015.
Child Custody Then vs. Now
Last year at this time, Illinois law provided two options for parenting situations. Divorced or separated parents had the option of either sole custody or joint custody. Sole custody was when one parent would be granted the authority for important decision-making regarding their child, while joint custody meant that both parents would have to share responsibilities. At the beginning of 2016, the law went into place that states that parents must work together in raising their child and each parent’s rights will be fully respected and protected.
Do Cohabitating Couples Have Rights under Illinois Law?
Despite the changes in society’s norms, as well as the federal legalization of same-sex marriages, the Illinois Supreme Court is still standing by a 1979 ruling regarding the rights of unmarried domestic partners when it comes to any property their former partner owns.
In Hewitt v. Hewitt, the Court had to decide whether or not Illinois marital laws applied to a couple who had lived together as husband and wife but who were never legally married. The couple, who had three children together, lived in a “family-like relationship” from 1960 to 1975. When they split, the woman (the plaintiff) filed for divorce, which was eventually dismissed based on the fact that no legal marriage license was ever obtained, nor did the couple ever have any kind of marriage ceremony.
The Basics for Divorced Parents and the New School Year
It is that time of the year again – summer is winding down and children are heading back to school. This time of year can be hectic enough, with shopping for new school clothes, school supplies, arranging for before and/or after-school care. However, for divorced parents, there can often be the added stress of not only ensuring your child has a great school year but also of dealing with your ex. Even in the friendliest of breakups, there can be some contentiousness that develops over back-to-school issues. Following these tips can help the school year go more smoothly.
Make Routines Routine
Children thrive on routine. Having a consistent schedule of dinner, homework, and bedtime – whether they are at Mom’s house or Dad’s house is much healthier, as well as a lot less stressful for a child, who may be also be dealing with the emotional effects of the divorce.
Commonly Forgotten Assets in an Illinois Divorce
In an Illinois divorce, one of the major decisions that the judge needs to determine is just how the property that the couple has acquired during the marriage should be divided. When most people hear the words “property division,” the items that usually come to mind are the family home and any other real estate a married couple might own; the family vehicles; and savings, checking, retirement and other financial accounts.
There are several other assets that couples tend to overlook as they are making their property lists, and these items can be just as valuable, as well as being a good negotiating tool during divorce negotiations. These assets often include:
Pets
Although many people consider their pets as family members, the courts do not. Pets are considered property and unless a divorcing couple can agree on where and with whom the pet will live with, a judge will make that decision as part of the property settlement.
Divorce Better for Children?
While the stigma surrounding the social implications of divorce has certainly lessened in the past few decades, there is still the question of whether or not divorcing when you have children is better or worse for the kids themselves. Most psychologists agree that staying in an unhealthy marriage is not good for children, but some argue that it is not better for a child to grow up without both parents, no matter what their relationship is like. These psychologists believe that a child is more apt to grow up stable if he or she has the structure of a two-parent home, and sees two adults working together in some capacity to raise him or her, regardless of the inner workings of their very personal relationship. Yet staying in an unhealthy marriage just for the kids may do damage not only to the children when they are young, but can also have lasting effects.
Cooperative Examples
Infidelity as a Reason for Divorce and the Consequences
Though extramarital affairs hardly carry the same weight of negative connotation that they did a half century ago, infidelity is still among the leading causes for divorce in American marriages. Marital infidelity is also serious issue when it comes to the process surrounding the dissolution of a marriage in court. The projected numbers as to the frequency of extramarital affairs are staggering: an estimated 45–50 percent of all married women and an estimated 50–60 percent of all married men in America have been unfaithful to their spouse at one point during the marriage, suggesting that a whopping half of all marriages in the country have, at some point, been affected by infidelity.
Not a Marital Death Sentence
This is not to say that all people who face the issue of infidelity in a marriage are destined for divorce. An estimated nearly two-thirds of all couples affected by infidelity choose to work through the issues and not to divorce as a direct result of the affair. To be fair, statistics that estimate how many couples stayed together initially but were unable to ultimately work it out are unavailable. Not all of the reasons for a couple staying together after one spouse is unfaithful are necessarily good ones, and not all marriages are truly worth saving, sadly. Many couples stay together because they are more afraid of being alone, are nervous about the impact on divorce, or because of financial implications.
What You Need to Know About Grey Divorce
Divorce is difficult. It can be even more difficult later in life, particularly when approaching old age. The number of these so-called grey divorces has skyrocketed in recent years. In addition to the more challenging emotional aspects of divorcing later in life, there are financial and medical considerations to make. Not only will there be retirement accounts to consider, but any financial mistake that a person makes while going through a grey divorce can be more challenging to overcome. Whether you were the primary earner in the marriage or not, the most important step is to speak with a qualified attorney.
Retirement Accounts and QDROs
If you have a joint retirement account with your soon-to-be ex and do not have a similar account in the name of the non-account holder, you will need to open one. If the retirement account is to be divided, you will need to directly transfer the money from one account to another so that neither account holder is taxed for the transfer. Any money deposited into a joint retirement account during the marriage will be subject to equitable distribution laws. If the owner of the account is younger than 59 ½ and the money is withdrawn before the divorce is finalized, he or she may be subject to a withdrawal penalty; money transferred during divorce proceedings or during separation will be subject to taxes. A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is required to make this type of transfer when holding a traditional workplace retirement account. Using a QDRO when transferring from a retirement account ensures that the transfer will not be taxable.
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