Posted on November 21, 2022 in Divorce

A divorce is already a complex event in a person’s life. Depending on your situation, you can have an amicable and relatively simple divorce arrangement, or you can have a more complex divorce process such as one where high assets and disputed child-related issues are involved.

At the Andrew Cores Family Law Group, we understand how difficult a complex divorce can be for our clients and we work hard to ensure their rights and interests are protected. Our divorce attorneys have the resources and the experience you need to achieve a favorable outcome, no matter how complex your divorce may be.

High Asset Divorces

Dividing marital assets during the divorce process is never easy, but it becomes even more contentious and challenging when wealthy couples attempt to divide their assets equally after their marriage.

Some of the factors that will determine how assets will be divided include:

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 Posted on November 15, 2022 in Asset Division

Considerations about money and property are frequently among the most challenging aspects of divorce. Depending on the contents of your marital estate, dividing your assets can be both very complicated and profoundly emotional.

At the Andrew Cores Family Law Group, we are aware of how challenging divorces may be when a company or professional practice is considered to be a component of the marital estate. If you are getting divorced, it is important to understand the process of business valuation and your rights to your marital assets. 

Three Ways to Value Your Business During a Divorce

There is no one-size-fits-all method for valuing a business during a divorce, and an experienced lawyer and forensic accountant will often select one of the following three approaches:

• The Market Approach - With this approach, an appraiser looks at previous sales of comparable firms and uses those prices as a benchmark. 

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 Posted on November 10, 2022 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

It is smart to think about the advantages of a prenuptial agreement if you are getting married or considering asking your significant other to marry you. Contrary to common misconception, signing a "prenup" is not only a way to "get ready for divorce," and in many circumstances, having an established agreement throughout a marriage will be advantageous for both parties. 

Without the help of an experienced attorney, it can be challenging to secure the legitimacy of a prenuptial agreement because the rules governing them are continuously changing. Our attorneys at the Andrew Cores Family Law Group keep up with case law developments and adapt any new knowledge to the issues and circumstances of our clients. We will help you ensure that your prenuptial agreement complies with all current legislation to avoid having it declared void.

What Can a Prenuptial Agreement Cover?

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 Posted on November 08, 2022 in Alimony/Spousal Support

In the state of Illinois, the law calls alimony "spousal maintenance" and it could potentially be long-term if the receiving spouse is unable to make a living or if the marriage was also long-term. Despite whether or not someone feels they should have to support their spouse financially, a judge will apply the law and both parties will have to follow the guidelines in the law.  

It is possible for a couple to get divorced without involving spousal maintenance, but if a judge orders it in their particular divorce case, alimony must be a part of the conversation regarding finances during the divorce process. Because it could be a requirement in divorce proceedings, it is important to understand the four kinds of alimony.

Temporary Alimony

A spouse who is granted temporary alimony (otherwise known as "temporary maintenance") receives money while the divorce is still proceeding. Temporary alimony is typically granted in situations when the couple has made the decision to live apart, or when the receiving spouse does not have the ability to pay for their own cost of living and attorneys’ fees, and is meant to fund the recipient's living costs throughout the divorce. While it is possible to file a request later on during the divorce process, a spouse who wants temporary alimony should include the request in his or her divorce petition. Once the divorce is finalized, all interim alimony payments cease.

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 Posted on October 28, 2022 in Asset Division

Dividing marital assets is always a difficult aspect of divorce, but it gets even more acrimonious and difficult when couples with high net worths try to share their assets evenly after their marriage.

If you are a part of a high-asset divorce, you need an attorney who will pay attention to your worries, assess your case, and clarify these three challenging problems while giving you advice on what makes sense in your particular circumstance.

Division of Assets in High Asset Divorce

The division of assets is a crucial factor in any divorce, but it is especially vital in a high-asset divorce. Spouses may negotiate a division of assets that leaves each party with assets of relatively equal worth. One partner may, for instance, receive the majority of the stock and liquid assets, while the other may receive the majority of the real estate or retirement benefits. The necessity for spousal maintenance payments might be reduced or even eliminated in some situations if significant real estate and assets are divided. Spousal support may be the key issue in other situations with extremely high incomes.

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 Posted on October 25, 2022 in Asset Division

You put a lot of effort into earning your money and carefully planned for your future, including retirement. Unfortunately, a divorce can derail such goals. Knowing how your divorce may impact your retirement accounts is the first step in safeguarding them.

The experienced attorneys at Andrew Cores Family Law Group will assist you in getting your future back on track while safeguarding your retirement accounts and settling difficult issues with your spouse.

Dividing Retirement Accounts

According to Illinois law, the percentage of your retirement and investment accounts that you accumulated during marriage may be split between spouses in a divorce, including:

• IRAs and 401(k) accounts

• Investments, stocks or bonds

• Pensions

If one spouse had money in a retirement account before getting married, that money is regarded as separate property. Even if only one spouse made contributions to the account, any money that was added after the marriage is typically regarded as marital property.

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 Posted on October 21, 2022 in Mediation

Mediation can save a lot of time, money, and worry when it comes to your family law issues, including divorce. Because private mediation occurs outside the purview of the court system, it typically benefits everyone involved and assists in maintaining a more peaceful family life, which is particularly advantageous for any children involved. 

Our mediators can help you mediate your divorce or another family law issue. With our experience dealing in these manners, we can help you navigate the procedure in hopes of meeting the requirements of both parties. 

Divorce Mediation Basics

A mediator is typically not an attorney. Therefore, as will be stated during your initial mediation session, he or she is impartial to the interests of both parties. This means that they cannot and will not offer legal counsel to any side throughout the process of discussions.

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 Posted on October 11, 2022 in Family Law

The state of Illinois has acknowledged that grandparents frequently play a significant part in a child's life. If you are a grandparent, you may have questions and concerns about your rights. Can I get custody of my grandchild? What if my grandchild’s parents will not allow me to see him or her? Can I get visitation rights? The rights of grandparents can be complicated and difficult to understand. A family law attorney can help. 

Are You Entitled to Grandparent’s Visitation?

Illinois grandparents may, however, have a legal right to see their grandchildren, especially if the parents are divorced.

In general, the choice of who can spend time with a child belongs to their parents. However, if a child is at least one year old, a non-parent may be able to get a court order compelling the parents to allow them to spend time with the child.

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 Posted on September 30, 2022 in Child Custody

In Illinois, the term “child custody” was replaced with “allocation of parental responsibilities” and “parenting time” several years ago when lawmakers did a complete overhaul of the state’s family law statutes. Regardless of what it is called, the reality is that determining how divorced parents will share in the raising of their child is often one of the most acrimonious parts of a divorce.

It can be difficult enough to come up with a fair parenting time schedule that addresses holidays, birthdays, school breaks, summer vacations, and more. But when there are other issues that impact parenting time, having a skilled family lawyer representing you can make all the difference in the outcome. The following are some of the issues that can make a parenting time schedule even more complex.

When One Parent Has Moved Away

It is not uncommon for a spouse to move a long distance away, even to another state, after a divorce in order to get a fresh start or start a new job. Regardless of why the parent has moved, when there are children involved, a long-distance parenting time schedule is needed. Some of the factors that the court may consider include:

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 Posted on September 27, 2022 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

For decades, the Baby Boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1964 – was the largest generation. But in 2019, the Boomers were surpassed by the Millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996. Now that there are more Millennials than other generations, they are definitely putting their mark on society, including the increase in prenuptial agreements. But unlike Boomers, the issues addressed in Millennial prenuptial agreements have taken a turn.

Finances

One of the major differences with Millennial couples is that more and more of them are choosing to keep their assets separate instead of pooling them together. Commingling assets is one of the issues that can make distributing a marital estate in a divorce difficult. So many Millennial couples are choosing to keep assets separate by drawing up prenups that address who is responsible for major purchases and other debts the couple may have during their marriage.

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