Posted on March 10, 2021 in Divorce

A contentious divorce can be incredibly difficult when you have been accustomed to relying on your spouse for financial support, and this is especially true if your spouse has cut off your support in the time leading up to the divorce. Illinois divorce and family law statutes include provisions to protect financially disadvantaged spouses when it comes to the division of marital property and the allocation of spousal maintenance and child support in the final divorce decree, but a spouse with few resources of their own may find it difficult to support themselves and secure quality legal representation before the divorce is finalized. In such cases, it may be necessary to pursue temporary relief.

Temporary Relief Options During the Divorce Process

As your divorce approaches, there are a few legal options to protect your finances if you fear that your spouse might cut you off or if your spouse has already done so. These options include:

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 Posted on March 03, 2021 in Divorce

When your marriage has devolved into destructive conflict, divorce is often the best option for you to remove yourself from a bad situation and start working toward a better and healthier future. However, before you can get to that point, you will need to make it through the divorce process, which can often be incredibly difficult in a high-conflict situation. As you prepare for your divorce, it is important to know how you can protect your rights and avoid a divorce resolution that leaves you at a disadvantage.

Taking Action to Protect Your Interests

If you are concerned about the damaging effects of conflict with your spouse during the divorce process, there are several important steps that you can take to create a more favorable situation for yourself:

• Hire an attorney. It is rarely a good idea to attempt even an uncontested divorce without the assistance of an experienced attorney. In a high-conflict divorce, an attorney is especially important to help you stand your ground and prepare to make your case for your desired outcome in court.

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 Posted on February 26, 2021 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Talking to your partner about creating a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may feel uncomfortable or unnecessary. However, considering that arguments about finances are one of the strongest predictors of divorce, there is clear value in openly discussing finances with your spouse and creating a mutually beneficial, legally binding document that addresses each spouse’s financial and property interests. If you chose to forgo a prenuptial agreement before getting married, it is important to know that it is not too late to secure the same benefits through a postnuptial agreement.

Reasons to Pursue a Postnup in Illinois

For many couples, the time before their marriage may seem too early in their lives and relationship to be worried about what happens to their property in the event of a divorce, especially if neither spouse has significant assets to their name. However, much can change throughout the course of the marriage when it comes to the couple’s financial situation and their outlook on life. With these changes often comes a more clear need to work together on a postnuptial agreement.

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 Posted on February 23, 2021 in Paternity

Whether or not a child’s parents are married, the child often benefits from having both parents involved in his or her life. Many parents are also invested in securing and maintaining a relationship with their child. Unfortunately, for unmarried fathers, such a relationship is not necessarily guaranteed. However, there is a legal process that unmarried fathers can follow to secure the basic rights of parentage, along with an allocated share of parenting time and parental responsibilities in many cases.

Establishing Legal Paternity

Before an unmarried father can ask for parenting time or parental responsibilities, he will need to be recognized as the child’s legal parent. In Illinois, there is more than one way for a man to establish legal paternity. First, along with the child’s mother, he can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) and file it with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Provided that there are no objections or competing claims from other alleged fathers, this is usually the most simple method of securing parental rights.

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 Posted on February 19, 2021 in Child Custody

As a parent, one of your biggest concerns in the divorce process is likely how the divorce will affect your relationship with your children, especially if they will not be living with you full-time. Fortunately, in most cases the court will try to establish an arrangement that allocates substantial parenting time to both parents, provided that doing so is in the children’s best interests. However, there are circumstances in which parenting time can be restricted, and it is important to understand whether they may apply to your case.

Reasons for Restricting Parenting Time

The primary reason an Illinois court will order restrictions on parenting time is a finding that time with a parent is likely to put the children’s physical, emotional, mental, or moral health in danger. The decision to restrict parenting time is not taken lightly and requires substantial evidence of dangerous behavior on the part of a parent. Possible behaviors that may be considered to endanger a child’s health include:

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 Posted on February 16, 2021 in Divorce

Not all Illinois couples who are getting a divorce will have to resort to litigation to reach a resolution, but those who do will need to prepare for an often lengthy process with multiple steps. One of the most important steps that takes place before a divorce trial is the discovery period. As you prepare for your divorce, you may have questions about what discovery entails, especially if you have not been involved in any civil court proceedings in the past.

A Structured Exchange of Information

The purpose of the discovery period is to allow both spouses, along with their legal representatives, to obtain important, relevant information before the trial begins. Usually, this information pertains to each party’s finances and helps to provide a more complete picture to inform decisions regarding the division of marital assets, spousal support, and child support. There are a several ways in which information may be acquired during discovery, including:

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 Posted on February 10, 2021 in Divorce

Under any circumstances, it is important to thoroughly prepare for the divorce process so that you have a plan to achieve the best possible outcome. In the past year, uncertainty associated with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has made preparing for a divorce more difficult, but also more important. If you are looking to end your marriage, you should be aware of the ways in which the ongoing public health emergency can affect both the process and outcome of your divorce.

Important Considerations for Divorce During COVID-19

Almost every major decision related to the divorce process may be impacted in some way by COVID-19. You should carefully consider your needs and preferences related to each of the following as you prepare:

• Divorce resolution methods and communication - In-person proceedings are limited or restricted in many Illinois courts, which means that you may need to anticipate delays in the divorce process, especially if you are resolving your divorce through litigation. If you and your spouse are open to other options, you may be able to help the process move forward by working out an agreement through virtual mediation or settlement conferences.

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 Posted on February 03, 2021 in Child Support

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people struggling financially, including parents who pay and receive child support. If you are the receiving parent under the terms of your child support order, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do if your child’s other parent is unable or unwilling to continue making payments during this difficult time. Fortunately, you do have options, and a family law attorney can help you determine the course of action that has the best chance of success in your case.

Options for Pursuing Court-Ordered Child Support Payments

The first thing to note in a child support case is that an order issued by the court is legally binding, and it is never acceptable for a parent to simply stop making court-ordered payments. That said, the way in which you go about resolving the situation with the other parent may depend on your relationship with them, your willingness and ability to work together, and the reasons why they have stopped paying.

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 Posted on January 29, 2021 in Spousal Maintenance

In an Illinois divorce, spousal support may be ordered when one party has a financial need or limited means of providing for oneself. However, these spousal maintenance payments usually are ordered for a fixed duration, after which the receiving party will be expected to support him or herself without the assistance of the former spouse.

Under normal circumstances, it may be possible for the receiving spouse to attain financial independence before support payments end, but the economic stresses and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have made this much more difficult for many people, especially now that they have lasted for nearly a year. If your spousal maintenance order is set to terminate soon and you are concerned about your ability to support yourself, you may be able to petition for a modification that extends the duration of payments.

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 Posted on January 25, 2021 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

A prenuptial agreement can help both you and your spouse enter your marriage with peace of mind regarding your finances, and if your marriage later ends in divorce, a prenup can make the process much easier by laying out the terms for property division and spousal maintenance. However, in order for the agreement to take effect and be upheld by the court at the time of your divorce, it must be legally valid. There are a few things that you can do when creating your prenup to make sure that this is the case.

Establishing a Legally Valid Prenup in Illinois

As you prepare to draft your prenuptial agreement, consider these suggestions to ensure the agreement is enforceable:

• Make sure the agreement is written and signed. A valid prenup must exist as a written document. Verbal prenups are not legally binding, nor are written prenups that have not been willingly signed by both partners.

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