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What Happens to Real Estate in an Illinois Divorce?
During the Great Recession, many savvy investors jumped into the housing market - and a decent percentage of them hit it big. Their success, paired with popular house-flipping television shows, caused many “average” people, who had no real investment experience, to jump into the market as well. What happens to these investors when a divorce occurs? Learn more about how real estate is divided in an Illinois divorce, and discover what our seasoned Wheaton divorce lawyers can do to assist you with the process.
Dividing Real Estate with a Prenuptial Agreement
Ideally, investors would have a prenuptial agreement in place before a divorce, as this is the easiest way to ensure a straightforward division of the marital assets. Granted, there are situations in which a prenuptial agreement may not be honored (i.e. a prenuptial agreement signed under duress), but these are fairly rare. Just note that investors are highly encouraged to seek legal assistance when drafting their prenuptial agreements, as this decreases the risk of legal issues in the division of the marital estate.
Financial Issues to Consider in Your Illinois Divorce
Money can cause numerous issues in a relationship. In fact, it is one of the biggest reasons that couples argue and divorce. It can also be an especially contentious matter in divorce. Thankfully, there are some steps that you can take to protect your financial future in an Illinois divorce case - and it starts with knowing which financial issues may impact your case. Learn more in the following sections, including how a seasoned divorce lawyer can assist with the process.
Know the Value of Your Marital Estate
Every couple handles their money differently. Some couples share financial knowledge and information. Others have just one party managing marital finances. In either scenario, complications can arise. The biggest risk is hidden money or debts, which is far more common than most people think. In fact, one in five parties admits that they have undisclosed money or debts in their relationship. As such, it is critical that parties obtain the assistance of a seasoned lawyer to ensure they have a clear understanding of their marital finances.
Protecting Your Business in an Illinois Divorce
Just as married people do not usually enter into marriage, one day planning to divorce, business owners do not typically start their companies, expecting to one day divide it with their ex-spouse. As a result, there are many business owners who do not have a prenuptial agreement in place to protect their company.
Unfortunately, the lack of pre-planning can put the business and its owner at risk for significant financial loss - perhaps even to the point of closure. Thankfully, with some precautionary measures and the guidance of a seasoned divorce lawyer, business owners can still protect their companies in a divorce. Learn more with help from the following.
1. Keep Your Plans for Divorce Under Wraps
If you own a business and are planning to initiate a divorce, hold off on telling your spouse until after you have had the chance to speak with a divorce lawyer. Divulging your plans to your spouse takes away your ability to prepare and plan ahead.
Divorce and Kids - Who Claims the Dependents on Your Taxes?
Claiming dependents on your taxes is usually a pretty straightforward process, but if your family has recently been through a divorce, things can be a little more complex. Given the significant impact that dependents can have on one’s tax status, it probably comes as no surprise that the matter can cause a great deal of strife between recently divorced parents.
Normally, a divorce decree dictates who claims the dependents on their taxes, but disagreements and discrepancies can and do sometimes occur. There are also situations in which one parent may attempt to deprive the other of their right to claim the dependents on their taxes. Learn what can happen in these scenarios, and discover how our seasoned DuPage County divorce lawyers can help to clear up confusing matters involving your divorce.
What Happens When Two Parents Try to Claim a Dependent?
If a divorce decree dictates who is supposed to claim the children, and both parents attempt to claim them, the matter is usually resolved by supplying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with proper documentation. However, if a decree does not exist, then the IRS has a series of tie-breaker rules that they use to determine who gets the credit. In order, these rules are:
Validating the Feelings Children During a Divorce Can Improve Their Ability to Cope
Loving parents will do almost anything to ensure their children feel happy and safe. Sadly, not even the best efforts can save some marriages - and when a child’s parents go through a divorce, they are bound to be impacted. Thankfully, there are many strategies that a parent can employ to minimize the negative effects of a divorce. Next to pursuing an amicable separation, validating the child’s feelings is one of the most effective and critical.
Why Validation Works
Everyone experiences feelings of anger, sadness, and grief; children are no exception. However, children do not always know how to verbalize their feelings. Because of this, their feelings may come out in the form of negative or undesirable behaviors. Examples can include meltdowns or temper tantrums, separation anxiety, withdrawal from family and friends, poor academic performance, and extreme sensitivity.
Validation may not remedy all of these issues, but it can certainly go a long way to helping a child heal during and after a divorce. It allows them to feel as though they have a voice, and that their feelings are important. That can be critical for a child who feels like every decision is out of their control. Even better is when a parent can help their child identify their feelings and learn how to put them into words.
Financial Steps to Take Before Filing for an Illinois Divorce
A divorce significantly impacts your relationship, but it will equally affect your financial status. Before delving into the dissolution of marriage, get your finances in order. While it is wise and efficient to do this together, it is not always possible. Regardless, it is essential that your financial status is preserved.
Understanding Uncontested and Contested Divorce
First, it is imperative that you understand the difference between an uncontested and contested divorce.
- Uncontested: The uncontested divorce is where each party is in mutual agreement of the terms of the divorce.
- Contested: When the two parties cannot agree on the terms, the divorce is contested.
You probably have a good idea of whether your divorce will be uncontested or contested. Now that you understand contested and uncontested divorce, you can start compiling documents and get your finances in order through the following steps.
4 Tips for Improving Your Financial Standing after an Illinois Divorce
Going through a divorce will likely have a profound impact on nearly every aspect of your life. This is especially true when it comes to your finances. For most people, a divorce is not only going to take two combined incomes and split them up, but it will also change what financial responsibilities you have.
You may, for example, have to start paying child support or spousal support, which will obviously have to be added into your monthly budget. Even if you are receiving child support or spousal support payments, however, you will need to use that money to cover many new expenses caused by the divorce. The following four tips can help you to put yourself in as strong of a position as possible after your divorce is finalized.
1. Start a Strict Budget Now
Living on a budget is always important, but during and just after a divorce, it is more critical than ever. Do everything you can to minimize your expenses now, and live well under your means. Once the divorce is finalized and you are able to accurately see all your new income and expenses, you can start transitioning into your ‘new normal’ for money. It is much easier to have a little extra money in your budget after a divorce than it would be to be short each month.
Gray Divorce Issues - Are You Entitled to Your Spouse’s Social Security in Retirement?
Statistics indicate that the divorce rate has been on the decline for nearly every age group - but for those nearing retirement age, the rate has nearly doubled in the past decade. This phenomenon, dubbed the “grey divorce” wave, is not specific to the United States either; the United Kingdom, Australia, and other developed nations are seeing rising rates of late-life divorces as well.
Examining the Gray Divorce Trend
Researchers and analysts say the rate of late-in-life divorce has started to climb over the last decade because many couples in the Baby Boomer generation had either put off or not previously considered divorce. Divorce was more than just socially discouraged back then; it was thought to be inherently bad for children. Of course, we now know that the impact of divorce may vary, based on a variety of factors (i.e. the amount of parental conflict and the level of involvement that each parent has in the life of the child after the divorce, etc.), but parents from the Baby Boomer generation did not have this same information.
Coping with Divorce - Support Groups, Therapy, or Both?
Going through a divorce is widely considered to be one of the most painful and difficult experiences that one can go through. In fact, many psychologists and grief counselors have compared the trauma of divorce to that of suddenly losing a close loved one (in terms of the emotional pain that it can cause). With this in mind, a growing number of people are seeking help during and after a divorce to help them to adjust in a healthy way.
Two of the most common options for coping with a divorce are support groups and professional therapy. Determining which one is right for you will help to ensure you are receiving the best possible assistance.
Are Support Groups Right for You?
Support groups are typically comprised of people who are all going through (or have gone through) a similarly difficult event, such as divorce. While there may be someone who is in charge of the group to help keep things progressing properly, the actual support and advice will come from everyone in the group.
Books to Read to Your Children During a Divorce (And Why)
Going through a divorce is hard on parents, but it can be especially difficult for children. They are experiencing a range of emotions, and they might not understand how to deal with those emotions effectively. Reading books to your young children can help them to see that they are not alone, and what they are feeling is normal. Books can also show children how to deal with and express complex emotions. The following books would be a great place to start:
It’s Not Your Fault, Koko Bear, by Vicki Lansky
This sweet story tells of a young bear cub whose parents are getting divorced. Koko Bear goes through a range of emotions, including anger, guilt, sadness, and confusion. The best part of the book is that it offers advice to parents on how to help children with these emotions.
My Family’s Changing, by Pat Thomas
A sweet little picture book that tells about how divorce affects families. It has a “What About You” section that gives parents a number of questions that parents can ask their children. Ultimately, answering these questions can help the child to better understand and express their feelings.
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