Posted on April 14, 2021 in Child Support

Prior to filing for divorce, you may not have given much thought to maintaining health insurance coverage for your children and covering these costs. Health insurance is a somewhat controversial topic in the United States that also has the potential to lead to disputes during a divorce. One of the important elements in your parenting plan for your children will be the terms addressing your child’s medical information. You and your spouse must come to an agreement on several issues pertaining to your child’s healthcare, including how decisions will be made. One of the most important elements involves how you and your spouse will split the costs of your child’s medical care.

Maintaining Health Insurance for Your Child

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) provides the formula that is used to calculate the basic child support obligation that both parents are responsible for. This formula takes into account various factors, such as the parents’ income and parenting time. The IMDMA states that the basic child support obligation is meant to be used toward a portion of your child’s out-of-pocket medical expenses. However, the court has the discretion to order either or both parents to initiate health insurance coverage for your child. If neither parent has health insurance coverage, or if their child is not eligible for coverage, the court may require the parents to seek state-sponsored health insurance for the child.

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 Posted on March 30, 2021 in Child Custody

In Illinois, child custody is now referred to as the allocation of parental responsibilities. Regardless if a married couple with children was married and decided to divorce or they never tied the knot, they must determine who is going to care for their kids in the future. Typically, Illinois courts favor both parents staying involved in their child’s life after a divorce or a breakup if they were unmarried. However, there are situations where one parent may be abusive or neglects to properly care for his or her children. In these cases, a parent may be deemed unfit by a judge and his or her custody terminated involuntarily.

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 Posted on March 28, 2021 in Divorce

When a couple is married, they often share many things, including property and assets. However, if their union sours and they decide to divorce, they will have to decide how to divide all of these items. Marital property consists of anything that is acquired during the marriage. Nonmarital property is anything that one spouse obtained prior to the marriage. According to Illinois law, any debt that spouses accumulated together falls under marital debt, so it is, therefore, subject to division. Determining who is required to pay off certain debts can be challenging to say the least.

Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Debts

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 Posted on March 23, 2021 in Family Law

When two people enter into marriage, they may not consider what would happen if the relationship sours. However, a prenuptial agreement that is signed before the wedding can outline how certain issues are addressed and assets are divided in the event of a divorce. A postnuptial agreement is a legal document that is drafted after a couple gets married or enters into a civil union. Similar to a prenup, the provisions in a postnup commonly account for the division of property and spousal support in a divorce, or the death of a spouse. In many ways, a postnuptial agreement provides a sense of security and trust by clarifying how certain issues will be handled in the future if the two spouses go their separate ways. It can also save time and money since the parties do not have to go to court to hash out the details of their case.

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 Posted on March 10, 2021 in Divorce

Coming to the decision to divorce can take months and even years before you decide to take the necessary legal steps to end your marriage. Perhaps you and your spouse slowly grew apart or you have been unhappy for a long time. Regardless of the details of your union, getting divorced can be a very challenging process, even if both of you were willing to compromise. If you and your spouse have a great deal of conflict, this only exacerbates the legal proceedings. If children are involved, emotions can run even higher, so managing this situation requires strategy. An experienced divorce attorney can help protect your rights every step of the way.

Managing the Stress of it All

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 Posted on February 28, 2021 in Divorce

Many married couples stay together “for the sake of the kids” even though they are unhappy in their marriage. However, studies show that children do not benefit from living in a household filled with anger, resentment, or tension. They do, however, thrive when both parents are involved and engaged in their lives. This type of parental relationship can be accomplished even when parents decide to legally end their marriage and divorce. Although co-parenting after divorce can be challenging, an alternative option is a parallel parenting plan, which can provide a shared parenting arrangement that benefits everyone.

Illinois Parenting Time

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 Posted on February 23, 2021 in Division of Property

Pets are often considered special members of any family. For those couples who do not have children, their dog or cat can seem like a child. According to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA), 67 percent of American households, or approximately 85 million families, own a pet. There are many different types of pets one can have, and some of the most common include dog, cat, rabbit, turtle, hamster, guinea pig, lizard, bird, or snake. When a couple decides to part ways and gets a divorce, a common question is what happens to the family pet or pets? Understanding how asset and property division, as well as child custody work in Illinois, can help determine where a pet will reside post-divorce.

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 Posted on February 17, 2021 in Divorce

Often found in the business world, commingled assets refer to mixing personal funds with business funds or using business assets for personal reasons. Commingling of funds or assets can also occur between two spouses, making it difficult to determine which funds and/or assets belong to whom in a divorce. For example, it can be hard to distinguish when one spouse’s separate property is mixed with the other spouse’s marital property. However, this is crucial to ensure that each party receives his or her fair share of the marital estate.

Equitable Distribution

Under Illinois law, marital property is divided using the equitable distribution method, which means items or assets are not necessarily split in half, but rather in a fair way. Marital property is generally considered property that was acquired during the course of the marriage. Non-marital or separate property is that which one spouse owned prior to getting married or acquired during the marriage through gift or inheritance. Separate property is not subject to division in the divorce settlement.

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 Posted on February 05, 2021 in Divorce

The decision to divorce can be a long and winding road, often taking a couple many years to come to terms that their relationship is not working. Part of the anxiety of divorcing involves the fear of the unknown. The transition from being married to being single may seem daunting and overwhelming. If you have children, that can further complicate matters, and you may worry about the toll the divorce will take on them. You likely have a million thoughts running through your head and a long to-do list as you start the next chapter of your life. Disregarding your physical and emotional health during this tumultuous time can be easy to do. However, make it a priority as you navigate this new future for you and your children.

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 Posted on January 29, 2021 in Divorce

In the wake of your divorce, the thought of rejoining the dating scene may seem unappealing and unrealistic, but as the months or years go by, you may find yourself longing for the companionship that you once had in past relationships. Many divorcees find a new partner without even looking through work, friends, or their involvement in the community. But just because you meet someone does not mean that you feel the need to get married again. Whether it is a result of trauma from your past marriage or simply a sense of content with your current situation, you may opt to be a lifelong partner rather than taking on the title “husband” or “wife” again. You may think that your dating life no longer concerns your former spouse; however, your new relationship can affect the details of your divorce agreement.

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