Posted on September 17, 2018 in Divorce

When you are preparing for a divorce, parental responsibilities proceeding, or any other matter of family law, the attorney you choose can absolutely affect the outcome of your case. You need a lawyer who is not only knowledgeable and well-versed in the law, but also shares your values and who can incorporate them in advocating on your behalf. To find the right attorney, you will need to consider a number of factors. Before making a final decision, interview several potential candidates and do not be afraid to ask lots of questions such as:

What is your experience?

Does the attorney practice primarily family law or is he or she a personal injury lawyer that sometimes handles divorce cases? The level of commitment you can expect is often evident in the answer to this question.

How many cases do you handle and how many go to trial?

Some attorneys thrive on litigation, while others see the courtroom as a battlefield of last resort. A high rate of litigated cases can mean one of two things: the attorney accepts a large number of clients who stubbornly refuse to negotiate; or the lawyer may struggle with finding mutually acceptable solutions.

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 Posted on September 14, 2018 in Child Custody

When you are involved in a dispute over parental responsibilities or other concerns related to your children, it can be difficult to maintain objectivity, especially if the relationship between you and the other party is not ideal. Divorce situations are especially prone to acrimony and contentiousness, and unfortunately, the best interests of the child can be somewhat lost among the myriad of other considerations. A court-appointed attorney known as a guardian ad litem, however, can help refocus the proceedings on the child’s well-being, thanks to provisions offered by Illinois law.

What is a Guardian ad Litem?

Unlike other types of guardianship, such as those covered by the Illinois Probate Act, which provide far-reaching authority over another person’s interests for an indefinite period of time, the guardian ad litem, or GAL, is appointed for the specified proceeding. In fact, the Latin phrase "ad litem" translates to English as "for the suit." While GALs may serve similar purposes in other areas of law, they are most commonly utilized in family law situations on behalf of a child’s interests. In Illinois, a GAL is required to be a licensed attorney, properly trained and qualified to serve in such a capacity.

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 Posted on September 11, 2018 in Divorce

If you and your spouse are at the point where divorce has transformed from a possibility to a near-certainty, it is time to start thinking about the road ahead. Obviously, it is important to consider your post-divorce life, including where you might live and restructuring your household budget to account for your changing financial circumstances. However, the divorce process itself requires a significant amount of planning and consideration, and being intentional about it can help reduce your stress and confusion.

Deciding to Work Together

A divorce does not need to be nasty and chaotic. In fact, Illinois law includes a number of provisions that encourage divorcing spouses to negotiate, cooperate, and develop workable agreements. If you hope to do so, you and your spouse will need to decide early on that this is what you want. By committing to cooperation, your informal conversations can start right away, and the conclusions that you reach can be later captured in your formal agreement. Of course, your initial commitment is just the first step. You might need to remind yourself repeatedly that cooperation is better than months of drawn-out bitterness.

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 Posted on September 10, 2018 in Child Support

There are many different reasons that a child may require additional financial support from a parent. If a child’s parents were not married or together when the child was born, child support helps distribute the child’s expenses between both parents. This helps safeguard against one parent being saddled with the entirety of the financial burden associated with raising a child.

Child support also acts as a way of holding parents’ accountable for paying their fair share of costs like tuition, child care, housing, food, clothing, and others. The courts can help parents reach a child support arrangement which is reasonable and fair for both parents. The court also has the authority to intervene when a parent is not living up to the agreed upon child support commitment.

Some unmarried parents try to arrange an informal child support plan. They exchange money intended to help support the child outside of the rules and regulations of the courts. Unfortunately, this often results in unreliable child support payments, support nonpayment, ineffective parent-to-parent communication, and a generous amount of stress for everyone involved.

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 Posted on September 04, 2018 in Child Custody

Prior to 2016, the excessive use or abuse of alcohol or illegal drugs by one spouse was a valid grounds for divorce in Illinois. When all fault grounds were eliminated in the state in 2016, irreconcilable differences became the only official reason for which a couple could seek a divorce. The reality, however, is that substance abuse is a real problem in many marriages, especially if the couple has children together. In the wake of a divorce, drug abuse can and may continue to affect parental responsibilities and each parent’s right to parenting time.

Dividing Parental Responsibilities

When you, as a parent, get divorced, you and the other parent are expected by law to come up with a reasonable agreement regarding parenting your child. Before your agreement will be approved, the court will read it over and decide whether the terms reflect the child’s best interests. If the court does not approve the proposal, or if you the parents cannot reach an agreement, the court will determine how parental responsibilities will be allocated. In doing so, the court must consider many different factors and create an arrangement to meet the needs of the child.

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 Posted on August 28, 2018 in Divorce

Infidelity is a common cause of marital stress and can contribute to the decision to end a marriage through divorce. Of course, affairs do not always involve secret meetings in hotel rooms or even any physical contact at all. Emotional affairs, meaning infidelity without a sexual or physical component, can develop when married spouses form close, intimate relationships with others outside of their marriage. It can be extremely difficult to determine when a friendship becomes an emotional affair. It is up to every married couple to make their own boundaries and decisions regarding what behavior constitutes infidelity. That being said, emotional infidelity often escalates into a full-blown affair. Many marriages have met "the beginning of the end" due to emotional affairs.

Deceit is Often the First Sign of an Emotional Affair

With the proliferation of social networking websites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter it is easier than ever to connect with others. Twenty years ago, when high school sweethearts split up, they would generally only meet again if they happened to stay in their hometown. Today, most of us stay in constant digital connection with friends and ex-lovers from our past. It can be hard to know when a friendship becomes too friendly for a married person. One telltale sign that a relationship is bordering on an affair is when a spouse starts to hide information about the relationship from his or her spouse. If your significant other has a relationship with a person whom they are very secretive about, this could be a red flag that an emotional affair is evolving.

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 Posted on August 24, 2018 in Divorce

You did not get married in the hope or intention that, one day, you would get divorced. If you and your spouse are like most people, you almost certainly walked down the aisle with fantasies of a happy life together, no matter what obstacles life put in your way. The reality, however, is that the “happily ever after” ending is not always possible for a given couple—at least not together. Fortunately, it may be possible for you to re-establish yourself in the wake of your divorced and to find the happiness you never dreamed possible, especially as you struggled through an unhappy or unhealthy marriage.

Free to Be You

When you entered into your marriage, you likely gave up some of yourself. Many spouses sacrifice party of their identity in order to forge a new one as a couple. Investing in the marriage is not always a bad thing, but when the relationship goes south, it can make you feel like you lost a part of yourself. During and after you divorced, take some time to discover who you are now, who you wish to be in the future, and how you might get there. Give yourself the liberty to look into new hobbies and ideas—maybe even career choices. It is no longer important what your spouse thinks or wants. This time is about you. Regaining a sense of yourself can help you acclimate to your post-divorce life.

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 Posted on August 22, 2018 in Child Custody

One of the most challenging aspects of being a divorced or unmarried parent is the idea of sharing parental duties with your former partner. Each person often has an idea of how a should be raised, and these ideas may vary—even when both parents are reasonable and have good intentions. Conflicting parenting ideas can lead to confusion and uncertainty on the part of the child, so it is important for parents to cooperate in creating a parenting plan that lays out each parent’s role in regard to making significant decisions that affect the child.

Defining Significant Decisions

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), significant decisions include those related to “issues of long-term importance in the life of the child.” The IMDMA offers several examples of concerns that are considered to be significant decisions, including:

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 Posted on August 15, 2018 in Divorce

While the "half of all marriages end in divorce" idea is not entirely accurate, divorce has become a common enough occurrence that many people look to keep their costs down by using do-it-yourself legal websites and filing their own documents. In some cases, this approach may work out fine, but most couples will save time, stress, and yes, even money by working with a qualified divorce attorney. There are many reasons to partner with a skilled lawyer during your divorce, including these most common ones:

1. Experience Matters

A family law firm handles divorce cases every day. This means even relatively young lawyers quickly gain experience with all types of circumstances and unique challenges. Lawyers understand the law, know the local court systems, and are often familiar with the judges themselves. Legal professionals can also bring up important issues that a divorcing couple may not think about when managing a divorce on their own.

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 Posted on August 13, 2018 in Asset Division

In the movies and on television, casual references to divorce and property division seem to promote the idea that divorcing spouses will automatically split their assets down the middle, with each person getting an equal share. While there may be some level of truth to that assumption in certain states, the reality in Illinois is often much more complex. Divorce and property division statutes in the state require the equitable distribution of marital assets, which means fair and just, not necessarily equal.

Negotiated Agreements

As with most aspects of divorce, there is no requirement that all decisions must be left up to the court. You and your spouse are able to work out a property division agreement that is reasonable and meets the needs of all involved parties. If the resulting agreement is not unconscionably one-sided and you and your spouse voluntarily agree to its terms, the court is very likely to approve it and incorporate it into your divorce settlement. Such an agreement, however, is not always possible; in which case, the court must intervene and make a determination.

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