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Divorce proceedings require spouses to make complicated decisions and agreements about almost every aspect of their life. They need to work out child custody arrangements if they have children, figure out if either will be paying spousal support, and devise a plan for dividing their assets. Some assets are a simple matter to divide. An amount of money can be divided up easily. Other assets, like your home, can be more complicated. If you are headed toward divorce and unsure what to do about your home, a DuPage County, IL divorce lawyer can help you weigh your options and choose a path forward.
An easy scenario is if one spouse wants to keep the home in the divorce and the other does not. If that is the case, the spouse keeping the home might compensate the other spouse for stepping away from the property. Another fairly uncomplicated scenario would be if neither spouse wants to keep the home. If so, they can sell the house, split the money, and go their separate ways. If the spouses are unsure what would be in their best interest or if they both want to stay home, things become more complicated. To help figure out how to resolve this, several factors should be taken into consideration:
Illinois allows parents to come up with their own parenting plan, which includes a parenting time schedule, to maximize parenting time with their children. However, a judge can intervene if they feel a different schedule would fit the children’s best interest more. There are many examples of parenting time schedules that parents or a judge can choose, but some are more common than others. For a more in-depth look into parenting plans and schedules, consulting an attorney could be beneficial.
A very typical parenting schedule involves a one-week on, one-week off approach. Alternating weeks where one parent has the child in the first and third weeks or second and fourth weeks of the month can work out great if it fits into both parents and the child’s schedules.
Similar to alternating weekly, except in this scenario, one parent gets back-to-back weeks with their children before dropping them off at the other parent’s house for their two weeks of parenting time.
Are you unhappy with your current parenting time arrangement? Perhaps you feel you are not getting enough time with your children, and something needs to change. On the other hand, maybe something has changed, such as procuring a new and more lucrative job. Now you have the time and money to take your kids to do things you have always wanted to do with them. However, the order for parenting time has you barely getting a weekend with your children. It may be time to consult an attorney to see what can be done to get you more time with your children.
The key to all changes is what is in a child's best interest in terms of parenting time and decision-making. Unfortunately, you are at the mercy of a judge's decision unless you and your former partner can come to a more suitable agreement. For the latter to take place after an order has already been entered, a two-year waiting period will be required from when the order was entered to filing a petition for modification. The two years can be waived only in extreme circumstances, such as:
Adoption is a beautiful thing. You are choosing to take on a child who is not biologically your offspring and promising to love them as if they were. In Illinois, there are four different types of adoption. Which one you choose is entirely dependent on your situation, circumstance, and preference. A family law attorney can help prepare you for legal adoption so that you can navigate the complexities often associated with the process.
Related adoptions are where the adoptive parents are already related in some way to the children being adopted. Stepparents looking to adopt the child of their significant other will want to select related adoption. Other related adoption candidates may include biological siblings and grandparents.
Most adoptions that people are familiar with often involve minor children. However, adult adoption is when a petitioner wishes to legally adopt a child who is older than 18 years of age. Instead of the need for the biological parent’s consent, as is required in related adoption, the adoptee will need to provide consent. If the petitioning parent is not related biologically, the adult child must have resided with the petitioning parents for at least two years before an adoption can occur.
Restrictions can be imposed on parents who have a history of, continue to engage in, or threaten domestic violence to other members of their household. The restrictions can include the allocation of significant parental responsibilities, which could have the alleged abuser receiving supervised parenting time, limitations on child rights, or a complete revocation of parent-child interaction until a judge deems them no longer a threat to a child’s well-being. A skilled attorney with experience in family law is perfect for providing necessary instruction on where you can seek help while representing you during trial.
Courts determine parental responsibilities based on the best interest of the child. One of the factors a judge will consider is a parent’s history of abuse against the child or other members of the household. Illinois law finds domestic violence to be considered abuse and, as such, is weighed into the final decision on significant decision-making responsibilities and parenting time. However, abuse is only one factor in a long list of factors a judge can use to determine a child’s best interest.
Social media is paramount to many people’s lives in the digital age. It helps you stay connected to family and friends, allows you to network with colleagues and peers, and offers a place to post silly images of cats wearing bread helmets. However, during a divorce, social media can work against you if you are not careful. A knowledgeable attorney can provide all the necessary information to help guide you through your situation.
Posting the wrong thing at the wrong time can have legal consequences. Boasting about purchasing something expensive or displaying images of you partying and drinking could lead to financial issues and impact your future relationship with your children.
Your spouse’s attorney can use social media to their advantage by digging up older images or posts as evidence of being an unfit parent or just to make you appear in a less favorable light. Social media can also cause problems already apparent in the marriage much worse. Issues of jealousy, abuse, or mistrust can be pulled from images to point the finger at you.
Every pet owner will, more often than not, consider their pet one of the family. However, in the case of a divorce, the family dog is seen as more like marital property. Thankfully, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act does provide some provisions for custody regarding companion animals. A divorce lawyer can review this and more with you during the consultation.
Marital property and marital assets are property you and your spouse have acquired throughout your marriage. Even things solely in your name alone, if created, received, or acquired during the marriage, are then subject to division in court. The only exception is gifts or inheritance received specifically awarded to one spouse. This is considered personal property. So long as no personal assets are commingled with marital assets, it can remain the owner's sole property even in a divorce.
Spousal maintenance can be modified at the discretion of an Illinois judge should they find that a substantial change of circumstances has occurred after the original order was entered. Depending on the judge’s assessment, the amount can be increased, decreased, or terminated. A skilled lawyer can help you determine if modifications to spousal maintenance are possible.
Typically, only three major situations will terminate currently court-ordered spousal maintenance: Cohabitation, getting remarried, or death. Any of these three to terminate spousal support payments will require having a motion to terminate maintenance filed with the court. Here is what those situations mean:
Both parents have financial obligations to their children. The non-custodial parent is legally required to continue supporting their children with the court-appointed amount of child support. Failure to do so can result in wage garnishment, contempt of court, a driver’s license suspension, and a possible criminal conviction. To avoid these penalties, you must continue to pay what is owed. It can also be beneficial to bring in an experienced divorce attorney to help modify court-ordered child support if you are having difficulties making timely payments.
An employer can withhold a certain amount of your earnings to pay back child support. Doing this would require the owed parent to enter a request through the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). The employer must withhold the requested amount or be liable for the accumulated amount that should have been withheld.
No two cases for the allocation of parental responsibilities are exactly alike. Each is unique in its way, and as such, the outcomes will vary. Though there are consistencies among cases, there are also many misconceptions about how the results of some cases come to be. An attorney experienced in divorce and parental rights cases can better help you understand the truth and cut through the endless array of myths.
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