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Although most people are aware that assets are equitably split during an Illinois divorce, few couples stop to think about their debts. However, this too is divided – and it can lead to financial ruin for one or both parties if mishandled. Learn how you can protect your finances during a divorce, and discover how paying off your credit card debt may ease the overall process. You shall also learn what an experienced attorney can do for you.
What No One Tells You About Debt in Divorce
The real problem with debt in divorce is not that it is divided. Instead, it is that the original debtor is still held accountable, regardless of the decree. For example, one party may agree to pay on a joint credit card, but if that party defaults on their payments, both may face legal action from the creditor. The same holds true for other forms of debt, such as student loans, vehicle leases, and mortgages.
Of all the assets that a couple must split in divorce, the family home is typically the most valuable. Parties may also have an emotional attachment to their family home (which makes sense, considering it is the place where families make some of their fondest memories). Sadly, when these two issues are combined, the asset division process becomes exponentially more difficult.
To make matters worse, arguments and disagreements about the fate of the family home can quickly turn even the most amicable divorce into a contentious one. Learn more about your options for the family home in a divorce, including how to determine which one may be most appropriate for your situation, and discover how an experienced divorce lawyer can help.
Examining Your Options
There are three options when it comes to the family home – keep it, sell it, or rent it out. When the house is kept by one spouse, they become responsible for the payments, maintenance, and insurance. The other spouse will then typically receive other assets to ensure they receive their fair share of the marital estate. When the house is sold, the proceeds are typically added to the estate, and each party receives their fair share. Renting the home can be frustrating, and it can complicate the asset division process, but sometimes this is the most favorable option for divorcing couples. For example, if the mortgage is underwater, renting may give the parties income as they wait for the market to improve.
Bankruptcy may be an arduous process, but it can give debtors a clean slate. Unfortunately, if that debtor then fails to make the most of their fresh start, they can find themselves right back where they started. Learn how creating and sticking to a budget can help you avoid this issue after a bankruptcy filing, and discover how an experienced bankruptcy attorney can assist with your case, even after the process is complete.
Start by Tracking Income and Expenses
Most people start a budget by cutting back on all their expenses – everything from entertainment to necessities. Unfortunately, this is not the most effective way to create a budget. Instead, financial experts encourage consumers to spend some time tracking their income and expenses. Start by checking your after-tax income for each pay period over the next two months, then examine bank and credit card statements to determine when and where you are spending money. Each expenditure should then be categorized (i.e. clothing, food, etc.).
Divorce can take a toll on everyone’s mental, emotional, and physical being, but it is children who are typically the most vulnerable to long-term issues. As such, parents are encouraged to do everything that they can to protect their children from the effects of divorce. Learn more, including how an experienced family law attorney can help with the process, using the following information.
Keep the Child Out of the Middle
Parents do not typically place their child in the middle of the divorce intentionally. Instead, they typically make a series of small, seemingly unimportant decisions that can compromise their child’s emotional well-being. They may overshare details about the divorce or the reasons why the relationship failed. Some may find themselves asking about the other parent’s personal life, or they may lean on their child while struggling through the divorce process. All these actions – and any others that place the child in the middle of the relationship – can cause severe and irreparable emotional or mental damage to the child, even if the acts are unintentional.
Long-distance relationships are never easy, but those that involve children can be especially trying. In fact, parents and children who have gone through divorce or separation may experience a disconnect – one in which the parent feels left out of the child’s day-to-day life, and the child feels the absence of a parent that is far away. Thankfully, it is possible to develop a parenting plan that satisfies all parties and reduces the risk of mental and emotional distress. The following information can help you learn more about drafting a long-distance parenting plan, and it explains how an experienced family law attorney can assist with the process.
Make Time for Regular, In-Person Visits
Long-distance parents are encouraged to have regular, in-person visits with their child – not just because it gives you and your child physical contact, but also because it can help to ensure that your child knows you are there for them, as much as you can be. Plan to travel out for school concerts and special occasions or request that your child come and stay with you for a weekend every month. Also, consider whether it would be feasible for your child to spend holidays or school breaks with you.
Back in 2015, a groundbreaking study determined that some 7.2 million Americans are hiding money or lines of credit from their spouses. If you think that statistic is alarming, consider how many of those same couples will ultimately divorce (current statistics suggest a little less than half). Then contemplate whether a spouse is more likely to hide assets in divorce if they did so in marriage. Could you be at risk for asset hiding during your divorce? Learn how to protect yourself from such practices, and discover how an attorney can help you fight for your fair share.
Signs and Symptoms of Asset Hiding
To find hidden assets, you must first determine if you may be at risk. Look for strange business behaviors, secretive practices, evasiveness, and overall defensiveness anytime money is discussed. Also, watch for any signs of overseas travel, new sales or purchases (including strange, odd, or even seemingly low-value items), loans, sudden or frequent business trips, gifts to family and friends, and other uncharacteristic practices or behaviors. Be especially alert if you have a high net worth marriage or are a disadvantaged spouse (meaning you earn less than your spouse or do not earn any of your own money). Couples that have a business as a part of their marital estate (joint, or single-owned) should also be extremely conscious of strange or out-of-character behaviors or practices, including any that may pertain to the business itself.
Most parents know that their child needs to be protected during a divorce, but there are a few that will use their child as a weapon. Unfortunately, such actions can cause long-term damage. The following information can help you learn how to mitigate against the possible effects of parental alienation, and it describes how an attorney can assist with your divorce case.
Signs and Symptoms of Parental Alienation
In the early stages of parental alienation, parents may not notice any signs and symptoms. However, there may be details about the divorce that start to emerge. For example, your child might ask why you stopped loving the other parent, or why it is that you refused to forgive them for a mistake they made. As time passes, additional signs and symptoms may start to surface, including:
Any child can struggle with the divorce of their parents, but children with special needs are often more vulnerable to the changes and stress that often accompany the divorce process. As such, divorcing parents with special needs children are encouraged to go the extra mile to help their child cope. The following can help you learn some strategies to use with your child, and it can help you discover how an experienced divorce lawyer may be able to help.
Discussing the Divorce with Your Child
Divorce is about the parents, and their need to separate. However, children are still greatly impacted by divorce, which is why parents are encouraged to speak to their children before the process starts. Of course, talking to a special needs child is going to be different than talking to a child without special needs.
Honesty is typically the best route, but certain things will need to be considered, such as the developmental age of the child, the coping ability of the child, and the child’s overall understanding of their family’s structure before deciding on discussion points. Also, if possible, both parents should be present at the time of the discussion.
When the bills are piling up and the collectors keep calling, almost any solution can seem like a relief. However, debt relief solutions are not created equally. In fact, some may do more harm than good. Such can be the case with debt settlement. Learn more about this debt relief option, including how it compares to bankruptcy, with help from the following information.
What is Debt Settlement?
Debt settlement is usually done by a third-party entity, which debtors pay for, but it can also be done by the debtor. It involves contacting creditors and then “striking a deal” (usually a lump sum payment) to clear the debt. Once the agreed upon amount is paid, the remainder of the debt is forgiven. Considering all this, debt settlement can seem like a viable alternative to bankruptcy (which it sometimes is), but in most cases, it pales in comparison.
Bankruptcy versus Debt Settlement
Divorce, in and of itself, is a complex and difficult process. However, those that are incarcerated may find obtaining a divorce nearly (if not completely) impossible. They may lack money or resources to hire an attorney or file the paperwork. Transportation can also be difficult to come by, especially since these court proceedings are not related to their criminal case. Thankfully, it appears the Chicago courts may have a solution. Learn more with help from the following information, and discover what an experienced attorney may be able to do for you during your divorce – even if your spouse is currently incarcerated.
Disadvantages of Imprisonment Mostly Impact Women
Although men are certainly at a disadvantage in family courts while they are incarcerated, the biggest impact seems to be on women. They tend to have fewer visitors in court, so they may not have someone on the outside to help them navigate through the red tape of divorce. Also, they tend to have more complex issues when it comes to child-related matters. As such, the program is focusing mostly on incarcerated women wishing to seek a divorce.
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