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Divorce Basics - What is the Cost of an Illinois Divorce?
Divorce can be expensive in any state or situation, but the complexity, exact circumstances, and exact location of a divorce are all significant factors in determining the final price. In respect to location, one study recently determined which 10 states were the most expensive when it came to divorce costs.
Illinois, though not found on that list, has seen some high-profile divorce cases over the years. It also regularly processes simple divorce cases, where there are few assets and no children. How might these additional factors impact the cost of your Illinois divorce, and how can you avoid excessive fees and expenses during your case? The following explains.
In Respect to Divorce Costs, Complexity Usually Trumps Location
Location can be important in determining the overall cost of a divorce, but a better price indicator is the complexity of the case. Still, it is important to remember that even complex issues can be mitigated against. For example, high net worth divorces can be extremely costly, but parties can often save a significant amount of money if they divorce amicably and settle quickly. Cases involving children can become extremely complex, resulting in costly legal fees, or they can be peacefully negotiated. Interestingly enough, such methods are often child-focused, which can help to ensure the child’s best interest and bond with each parent are preserved.
3 Important Steps to Take While Preparing for Your Illinois Divorce
Divorce is not a decision that comes easily. In fact, most people spend months, sometimes even years contemplating whether divorce is the next best step in their life. Regardless of where they are in the decision-making process, it is important that parties take immediate steps to protect their wealth and future well-being. At worst, the divorce never happens and they gain a better understanding of their finances and emotional health. At best, they are prepared and well-situated for the road ahead, which can increase the chances of a favorable outcome in their Illinois divorce.
Start Paying Attention to Your Finances
Although many couples share a bank account, credit card, and other debts, not everyone is aware of their family’s finances. For example, you may know about how much you and your spouse earn each month, but are you up-to-date on the amount in your spouse’s retirement account? Are there any undisclosed debts that your spouse may not have discussed with you? Do you know what monthly bills are associated with the home, and which are personal expenditures? What is the worth of any businesses, stocks, bonds, or real estate held in either your name or your spouse’s?
Divorce Basics - Does It Matter Who Files for the Divorce First?
When the clear and inevitable path for a marriage becomes a divorce, the parties are encouraged to carefully contemplate their next steps, as many of the impending decision impact the direction, dynamics, and outcome of the case. As an example, one might consider both the positive and negative consequences of being the first one to file for divorce. By doing this, parties can decide whether they should take swift action and file right away, or if they should or can wait to file (knowing that their spouse may file first) because it is a better strategy for their unique situation.
The Pros and Cons of Being the First to File for an Illinois Divorce
Filing first for a divorce can lead to both positive and negative consequences for the deciding party. By weighing them out, cognitively, and not allowing yourself to be emotionally-driving in your decisions, you can take a major step toward improving the outcome of your case.
Five Behaviors That Suggest Your Spouse May Be Planning to File for an Illinois Divorce
Intuition can be a wonderful thing; it can be what encourages you to complete a project sooner than its due date, only to learn that you wrote down the date incorrectly but still had it done on time, or it could be the reason you end up having a much-needed item at exactly the right moment. Intuition can also feel like a bit of a curse sometimes - like when that tiny voice in your head is trying to tell you that your spouse is contemplating a divorce. If you have that nagging feeling, the following five signs can tell you whether your intuition may be correct. You shall also learn how to prepare for an Illinois divorce, should you or your spouse decide to file for one in the immediate future.
Five Clues That Indicate Your Spouse May be Planning a Divorce
Although there are many behaviors and actions that can indicate a divorce may be on the horizon, five specific clues are almost always present in impending cases. These include:
Loving Parents Can Prevent Unnecessary Suffering for Their Children During Divorce
Divorce can be a painful and difficult process for all involved parties, but children are said to be at an exceptionally high risk of experiencing long-term consequences. Child experts believe their heightened risk of complications could be attributed to the sense of powerlessness that children often feel during the divorce process.
Children typically have no say over whether their parents’ marriage continues. In fact, most are unaware that a divorce is even happening until the proceedings are well underway. They are also rarely given a say over the decisions that are made during the divorce process, yet many of them affect the child’s day-to-day life. Examples include where the child will live and go to school and the amount of time that they get to spend with each parent once the divorce has been finalized.
Thankfully, it is possible for loving parents to mitigate many of the issues that children may experience during and after the divorce process. The first (and perhaps most important step) is to ensure that you put your child at the center of every decision you make - especially if it will directly affect them in the months and years to come.
Is a “Bird-Nesting” Divorce a Positive Parenting Time Solution for Kids?
While some divorcing couples fight and argue until the bitter end, more and more parents are striving for an amicable end to their marriage. One might even go say that the decision to “consciously uncouple” has become somewhat of a trend in divorce. There are even “new” parenting time plans being used by well-meaning parents. One such example is the “bird-nesting” arrangement.
Is this type of parenting time plan a positive one for kids, or is it merely a trend? More importantly, could this type of agreement result in unnecessary harm for children of divorce? The following examines both sides of a bird-nesting divorce, and it explains how you can determine if it may be a suitable parenting time solution for your family.
What is a Bird-Nesting Divorce?
When most parents divorce, one typically moves out of the house. The other may soon follow, or they may opt to keep the family home. In either case, the children may be shuffled back and forth between the two homes. In the midst of all the changes occurring in their lives, such arrangements can be daunting for children of divorce. It can also amp up the discomfort they feel while trying to adjust to their “new life.”
Protecting Your Assets in a Contentious Divorce
While some divorcing couples are able to reach an amicable agreement on the division of their assets and debts, others struggle with reaching a compromise on even the smallest of details. These cases, which are often referred to as “contentious divorces,” can cost couples a great deal of both time and money. Learn how you can protect your assets in such a divorce, and discover what our seasoned Illinois divorce attorneys can do to improve the outcome in your case.
Is Your Divorce at Risk for Contentious Proceedings?
Perhaps the best way to protect one’s self in a contentious divorce is to determine, as soon as possible, if negotiations may turn hostile. First, consider your wealth class.
Marriages with an exceptionally high net worth (typically over $5 million dollars) tend to end with little fighting, as parties recognize that peaceful negotiations are one of the most effective ways to protect their wealth. Of course, parties may still become greedy during the proceedings, or they may feel the need to be vindictive toward their former spouse. As a result, individuals may attempt to either hide or spend (dissipate) assets in order to keep them away from their spouse.
The Benefits of Establishing Paternity in Illinois
When a baby’s parents are married at the time of birth, both are presumed to be biologically related to the child, and each parent automatically reaps the benefits of parentage. Such is not the case when the baby’s parents are unwed at the time of birth. In this situation, the child’s biological tie to the mother is assumed, but their biological tie to the father must be legally established.
Why go through this extra trouble, especially if you are living together and plan for it to remain that way? What if you are no longer together but have an amicable co-parenting relationship and a standing co-parenting agreement in place? Even in these situations (and others), the legal establishment of paternity is highly recommended. Learn more about the benefits of completing this process, and discover how a seasoned family law attorney can assist you while trying to navigate your way through it.
How Paternity is Established in Illinois
Co-Parenting Through the Holidays - What Every Divorcing Parent Should Know
Children often feel the pain of a divorce, no matter what time of year it is, but the holiday season can be especially difficult for those who are trying to adjust to a new way of life. Days previously spent together, happily planning family events, wrapping gifts, or attending holiday parties together can become a sad reminder of all that the child has lost. Not all is lost, however. In fact, parents can help their child find and experience joy during the holidays, even if they are in the throes of nasty divorce. Best of all, divorcing parents can use the following co-parenting strategies, long after the decorations have been packed away, as these tactics can benefit a child of divorce, all year-round.
Focus on Your Child Instead of Your Ex-Spouse
Parents are encouraged to focus their energy on their child, rather than their ex-spouse, during the divorce process. Concerns over your ex’s personal life, fighting over parenting matters or marital assets, and worrying about whether your child misses you while spending time with their other parent can hurt more than just you and your spouse; such behaviors can also cause your child to feel as though they are trapped in the middle of the divorce, or that they must “choose sides.” Focus on celebrating your child’s time with their other parent, keep conversations about the divorce private, and focus on rebuilding and reinventing your own life and not only are you likely to be happier, but your child is likely to be as well.
Is Mediation the Right Option for Your Illinois Divorce?
Once the decision to end a marriage has been made, divorcing parties must determine which path may be most appropriate for their situation. Litigation tends to pit the divorcing parties against one another, which can make it an unfavorable option for those who want to end their marriage in an amicable manner (perhaps for the benefit of their children). Divorce mediation - a process in which the divorcing parties select an unbiased third-party to facilitate conversations that must take place during the divorce process (i.e. parenting time, asset division, etc.) - encourages compromise and a willingness to negotiate matters in good faith.
In short, the two methods are almost complete opposites, each with their own set of pros and cons. Learn how to determine which option may be most appropriate for your situation, and discover how the assistance of a seasoned divorce lawyer can improve the outcome in your Illinois divorce case, irrespective of the divorce path you and your spouse choose.
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