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Marriage Basics: How to Get a Marriage License in DuPage County Illinois
If you are planning on getting married, you will need to obtain a marriage license in order for it to be legally recognized. Different states have different laws and rules regarding who, how, and when marriage licenses can be obtained and signed. It is important to fully understand some of the rules in DuPage County, Illinois regarding getting married. Before you get married you may also want to talk to an attorney about how marriage will impact your rights and obligations.
Where?
To get a marriage license in DuPage County, both of the future spouses must appear at the County Clerk’s office. The DuPage County Clerk’s office is located at 421 North County Farm Road, in Wheaton. The clerk’s office is open from 8-4:30 Monday through Friday. If you get your license in DuPage County then you must be married there. You cannot use this license to get married in other locations. If you do plan to get married somewhere else you will need to find out the marriage license laws of that locale.
Grandparents’ Rights in Illinois
The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can be mutually beneficial and rewarding. However, sometimes family relationships can be complicated and grandparents can be left out in the cold and are unable to visit their grandchildren. Conversely, there may also be times where a parent does not want their child to be around a grandparent who is seeking visitation.
What Rights Do Parents Have?
Parents have extensive rights when it comes to decisions made for or on behalf of their kids. It is up to each parent to decide the parameters of the relationship between his or her parents and the child, and generally the courts do not want to interfere with that relationship.
The courts assume that a parent will protect the rights of their own parents to see the child. Grandparent’s rights cases come up when one of the parents is deceased, disabled, incarcerated, or otherwise unable to assert his or her rights. For example, if there are two parents and the father dies, grandparents’ rights become relevant if the mother denies visitation to the grandparent/set of grandparents who are parents of the deceased father.
Postnuptial Agreements 101
Most people have heard of prenuptial agreements—legal documents that a couple draws up before the wedding regarding division of assets in the case of divorce. What many people do not know is that there are also postnuptial agreements. These are similar to prenuptial agreements except they are drafted and signed after the couple is married. Postnuptial agreements are governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
Why Would I Want a Postnuptial Agreement?
Couples have several different reasons for deciding to enter into a postnup. Some couples decide to draft a post-nup when they are going through a rocky time in their marriage and want to figure out property division beforehand to get a sense of what divorce might look like. Other couples may agree that a postnup is the way to go if one of them wants to try a new business venture. Finally, some may regret not signing a prenup and therefore choose a postnup as plan B. Whatever the reason, it is important to make sure you go into the postnup with your eyes open so that you understand the legal consequences of signing one.
Tips for High Asset Divorces
Divorce is a complex emotional and financial event. This is true for couples regardless of their financial status. Wealthy couples with high assets will face a unique set of challenges and stress during their divorce. You and your spouse will need to work through the emotions of a divorce and defend the financial assets you have built. You will also have the difficult task of sorting through your stocks, property, IRAs and 401k accounts. Additionally, in many cases, you will need to investigate your spouse's finances to ensure that you have identified all available assets to divide in the divorce. In many high asset divorces, property division can become the central issue.
Protect Assets with a Prenuptial Agreement
While prenuptial agreements are not just for the wealthy, it is probably a good idea for wealthy couples to consider drafting such a contract. Under Illinois law, couples can use a prenuptial agreement to make decisions about their assets and other issues that may arise in a divorce. Issues that you can incorporate in your prenuptial include:
Do Illinois Relocation Laws Apply to Me?
After a divorce you may soon find that you would like to move. The reason for the move could be to advance your career or to simply restart your life after the divorce. Making the decision to relocate can become complex if there are children involved—the court requires custodial parents to seek approval for a move.
Recent changes to Illinois family law have attempted to simplify relocation rules and allow parents to relocate without seeking court approval. If you are considering a relocation, then you should understand how these new laws may or may not impact your relocation.
Moves Between 25 and 50 Miles
The idea of seeking approval for every move may seem daunting. However, there is no need to worry. The relocation law does not apply to every move you may want to make. Whether the law applies depends on the child's primary residence and where you may want to move.
Gray or Silver Divorce: The Impact of Divorce on Social Security Benefits and Retirement Accounts
Late-in-life divorces, often referred to as “gray” or “silver” divorces, are becoming more common in the United States. While these divorces are more common and acceptable, many senior Americans do not realize the impact that divorcing or remarrying may have on their retirement and Social Security benefits. It is an important issue since Social Security is the primary source of income for many senior Americans. Understanding the impact divorce may have on your retirement future can help you navigate your divorce and avoid making costly errors.
Divorce May Impact Your Social Security Benefits
The impact of your divorce on Social Security depends on how long you were married to your spouse and whether you decide to remarry.
- Married 10 Years and Spouse Paid Social Security: If you were married at least 10 years and your spouse paid into the Social Security system, then you are eligible for benefits. This is true even if you have divorced and you did not pay into the system. Similar to regular Social Security benefits, the amount of the benefit will be reduced if you retire early and decide to access the benefits.
Divorce Procedures: How Do I Serve My Spouse?
When a couple finally decides to divorce, one spouse may be anxious to start the divorce and move on with his or her life. In the spouse's haste to start moving on he or she may move out and not provide his or her soon-to-be former spouse information about their new address. He or she may do this and not realize that Illinois law requires each spouse to provide legal notice about the divorce. This may be frustrating for the spouse who has not moved, and may be additionally concerned that he or she will need to put his or her divorce on hold.
How Do I Notify My Spouse About Our Divorce?
In most divorces, the spouse seeking the divorce will need to provide his or her spouse with a copy of the divorce petition and any support documents. These documents must be served, or delivered, to the non-filing spouse. Service is usually completed by a local sheriff or a private process server. Most likely, you will need to pay a fee to the process server before he or she will serve your spouse. Once the fee is paid and your spouse has been served, your spouse will have a certain amount of time to respond to your divorce petition.
Divorce Basics: How Do I Pay for My Divorce?
Funding a divorce can be very difficult for a couple. This is especially true if one spouse is a stay-at-home parent and depends on the other spouse for income. Some spouses come up with creative ways to fund their divorce, like a Geneva, Illinois woman who went to a crowdfunding site to fund her divorce.
Making sure you are able to pay for your divorce is important. If you are considering divorce and concerned about paying for your divorce, it is important that you understand the variety of options available to you before proceeding any further.
Strategies to Pay for Your Divorce
If your divorce involves serious issues such as spousal support, property division, or child custody, you will likely need legal representation. When spouses head to court to begin the divorce process and one spouse has legal representation, the spouse who has an attorney has an advantage during any legal battles. Of course, if you need an attorney, you may not know how to fund it; in this case, consider the following options:
Advanced Child Support: Understanding College Contributions
Decisions about child custody and child support are two of the most difficult issues with which divorcing parents must grapple. Deciding where your children will live and how best to support their needs is emotionally stressful for divorcing parents.
While making these critical decisions it is important that parents also understand that child support can also include college contribution payments. These payments, designed to help fully or partially cover the cost of your child's education, are just as important as child support payments.
What is a College Contribution Payment?
College contribution payments are payments from parents to help a student pay for the costs of some college expenses. Typically, college contribution payments begin when child support payments end. Recent updates to Illinois law were designed to help divorced parents support their child through college. The law makes several requirements and sets standards, which include:
Will a Court Award Me Attorney’s Fees?
Most divorcing spouses simply want the divorce to be over as soon as possible. Oftentimes a couple will work together to move the divorce forward and finalize the divorce. In some cases, however, a spouse may ask that the court award attorney’s fees to help cover the cost of the divorce.
While it is rare, it is possible that a court may decide to award one party attorney fees. This can be good news for a spouse if he or she does not have a significant amount of money and needs assistance funding his or her legal costs.
Can a Court Award Attorney’s Fees?
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows family law judges the option to award attorney’s fees to a litigant. However, the decision to award, or to not award, fees will depend on the particular facts of the case. Generally, a court will only award attorney’s fees under the following circumstances:
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