Posted on June 13, 2020 in Divorce

During your divorce, you will want to be sure you are working with an attorney who is the right person for your case. In some situations, you may have personality conflicts with your divorce lawyer, or the trust or confidence in your attorney may have broken down. If you are not receiving the legal help you need, you may ask yourself if you should change divorce lawyers. However, before ending your relationship with your lawyer and hiring someone else to represent you, you should be aware of some important considerations.

Reasons to Look for a New Lawyer

There are many reasons you may want to change the divorce lawyer who is working on your case. These include:

• Lack of consideration: Your attorney should try to understand your goals and make sure you know the best steps you can take to achieve them. Unfortunately, some lawyers do not fully consider their clients’ needs or goals. If your attorney has failed to help you understand the strategy you should take in your case, you may want to find a new attorney who is more attentive to your needs.

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 Posted on May 27, 2020 in Divorce

Property division is often one of the most contentious aspects of a divorce, particularly when it comes to the family home. You and your spouse will need to determine who will own your marital home, and many factors may come into play when making that decision. To help you decide what to do with the family home in your divorce, you can ask yourself the following questions:

Is the Home Separate or Marital Property?

In many situations, a husband and wife will purchase a home together after they have gotten married. If this is the case, the home is marital property, and it must therefore be included in the property division process during divorce. Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means the home’s equity is subject to being divided between spouses. In some cases, one spouse will keep the home, while the other will receive other property of similar value. In other cases, the home may be sold, and the proceeds will be divided between the spouses.

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 Posted on April 29, 2020 in Divorce

After English singer-songwriter Adele divorced her husband in 2019 without a prenuptial agreement in place, many wondered what would happen to her amassed wealth. Ultimately, the divorce settlement was worth 140 million English pounds, which is more than 175 million dollars in the United States. Some people have stated that the fact that Adele did not have a prenup in place was a mistake. However, there are other mistakes many people make when going through a high net worth divorce. If you are about to go through a divorce, and you or your spouse have a high net worth, you will want to understand how you can protect yourself financially. Here are some common mistakes that you will want to avoid:

1. Hurrying the Divorce Process

No one wants to go through a lengthy divorce, but high net worth divorces are rarely over quickly. Multiple professionals often have to get involved, including attorneys, financial advisors, forensic accountants and others. These professionals can provide valuable insight into how to resolve the legal and financial issues involved, and they can help divorcing spouses reach a fair settlement. If you try to rush the divorce process, you may end up making hasty decisions that will cost you in the long run, and you may regret these mistakes for years to come.

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 Posted on April 24, 2020 in Divorce

No couple gets married thinking that they are going to divorce. Traditionally, the top reasons marriages fail have been considered to be mishandling money, marrying too young and suffering a loss of identity; however, a recent study found that those are no longer the most common reasons for divorce. Below are the three most common reasons why modern couples choose to end their marriage, according to the study:

Lack of Love and Intimacy

No matter how passionate a relationship is at the beginning of a marriage, this passion tends to diminish over time. This is normal and happens to many couples. However, intimacy is still an important part of marriage and includes much more than just what happens in the bedroom. When couples reach the point where they experience fewer acts of affection, including holding hands, kissing or even calling or texting just to express one’s love, this may be a sign that divorce is on the horizon.

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 Posted on April 17, 2020 in Child Custody

Summer is quickly approaching, and some divorced parents may have vacation plans that include their child. Whether these plans include taking lengthy trips or having children stay with a parent for a whole week instead of a weekend, summer schedules are often quite different than they are during the school year. Parents who share child custody may struggle to address these changing schedules and ensure that they can spend time with their children as planned. To make it easier, here are some tips on what you should and should not do when addressing issues related to summer vacations.

How to Co-Parent in the Summer

There are a variety of ways to make co-parenting easier during the summer months when parents and children may be able to spend more time with each other. During this time, it is important to:

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 Posted on April 08, 2020 in Child Custody

Even when certain issues, such as child custody, have been finalized in a divorce settlement, parents and children may experience changes that affect these matters. That may never be more true than during these uncertain times in which we deal with the threat of the coronavirus. First and foremost, parents should know that the Governor of Illinois has stated specifically that parents are allowed to transport children to carry out court-ordered parenting time schedules. After all, families need each other more than ever right now, and children will need to maintain close relationships with both parents. However, there are some uncertainties and safety issues that parents may need to be aware of when addressing child custody.

Steps to take When a Child Is Endangered

While many of the courthouses in Illinois have closed and will not reopen until the coronavirus crisis dies down, courts will be available to deal with emergency situations. If a parent feels that allowing their child to spend time with the other parent would put the child in danger, they may pursue an order of protection that will ensure that they and their child will be safe from harm. As soon as courts are back in session, a parent may file a petition to modify the child custody order.

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 Posted on March 31, 2020 in Divorce

Divorce can be extremely hard on the children involved. That is certainly not a myth. However, there are other myths surrounding divorce and children that are not true, and parents going through the divorce process should be prepared to address concerns about how their children will be affected. Four of these myths, and the truth behind them, are outlined below:

Divorce Is Easier for Younger Children

Divorce is not easy for any child, but some people believe that the younger a child is, the easier the divorce process will be for him or her. This myth seems to stem from the belief that when a child is a toddler, he or she is unable to form sufficient memories, and if a child cannot properly remember a divorce, it cannot cause as much trauma. Unfortunately, this is not true. Fighting and tension between parents can be extremely difficult things for a toddler to deal with, and these conflicts can impact a child’s development. As such, it is important for parents to try to address divorce disputes as amicably as possible when children are involved, regardless of how old those children are.

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 Posted on March 30, 2020 in Divorce

There have been reports that divorce rates are increasing in China now that the spread of coronavirus has settled down. Typically, disasters tend to bring people together, so this current trend has many wondering why the virus seems to be tearing some couples apart. After an in-depth look, it is not difficult to understand why the coronavirus has caused the breakdown of some marriages.

Self-Isolation

While “social distancing” may be helping to slow the spread of the disease, it can cause a great deal of difficulty in a household. When spouses and family members are forced to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week together, they may begin to argue over a variety of issues. These fights may escalate into more serious disagreements, especially if a couple has unresolved issues or resentments that have been building for years. If remaining constantly together in close quarters has caused the cracks in a couple’s relationship to deepen, and resolution of these issues seems unlikely or impossible, divorce may be the best option.

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 Posted on March 26, 2020 in Child Custody

Child custody always has the potential to become an extremely complex issue. However, when parents are not married, it can become even more complicated. While married couples will make decisions about child custody as part of their divorce, unwed couples may need to take legal action to address issues related to their children. In some cases, paternity will need to be established before decisions can be made about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time.

Establishing Paternity in Illinois

In Illinois, married spouses are presumed to be the parents of any children born during the marriage, unless there is documentation that says otherwise. However, when the parents of a child are not married, the same assumption is not made. In the case of unwed parents, the paternity of the father must be established. There are three ways to do this:

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 Posted on March 23, 2020 in Divorce

In many cases, people going through a divorce find themselves in a difficult situation simply because they did not fully prepare for their situation and take steps to protect themselves. If you know that divorce is in your future, there are a few steps you can take to help the process proceed more smoothly and ensure that you are able to achieve a fair settlement that will meet your ongoing needs.

Copy Important Documents

Before filing for divorce, you will want to make copies of all of the important documents pertaining to your finances. These may include tax returns, wills, mortgage documents, life insurance policies and statements for bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts or investments, as well as any other documentation related to your marital property. This will allow you to have a full understanding of the financial issues you will need to address during your divorce.

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