It is estimated that more than one in three women and one in four men in this country will experience physical violence, stalking, and/or rape by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence affects more than 12 million people every year. When domestic violence is part of an intimate partner relationship, it can be very difficult for the victim to leave, but when the couple is married, it can be even harder because leaving usually involves legally ending the marriage.

It is important to remember that not all domestic violence involves physical injuries. There are other forms of domestic abuse that one spouse can inflict on the other and these types of abuse sometimes continue long after the divorce has been finalized.

Emotional Abuse

When one spouse inflicts a steady stream of harsh insults and threats, this is considered emotional abuse. Insults and threats are obvious types of emotional abuse, but other types can be just as injurious to the victim. It is not uncommon for the abusive spouse to use manipulation and guilt to get the victim spouse to do what they want. Threats of leaving or taking the children away – when they have no intention of doing either – are examples of the tactics an emotionally abusive spouse may use.

While there are many issues in a divorce that can cause major disagreements, most people will agree that it is the issues surrounding the children that often result in the most fighting. Even long after the divorce has been finalized and child custody and child support decided, fighting can still – and often does – occur.

It is no secret that child support causes angst for many parents, no matter what side of the payment they are on. Many receiving parents complain that the amount the other parent is paying does not come close to covering the actual expenses of raising the child, while many paying parents complain they are handing over too much money to their ex each month. This can lead to resentment and even refusal to pay the amount the court has ordered them to.

When this happens, the custodial parent often wonders if they can legally stop parenting time for a parent who has stopped paying child support.

There are different areas of the Illinois divorce process that can have a significant impact on how a divorce turns out. One of those areas is discovery. Discovery is the process that is used to help both sides gather evidence to ensure that both spouses have the same financial information in order to be in a better position to negotiate a fair divorce settlement.

Discovery is considered a legal process and there are rules that both parties are required to follow, both in the gathering of evidence and the supplying of evidence that is requested. Failure to adhere to these rules can result in sanctions from the court. The following is a brief overview of some of the tools your attorney or your spouse’s attorney may use during the divorce.

Interrogatories

As part of the discovery process, attorneys may send the other side a set of interrogatories. These documents are a list of questions that the other side is required to respond to under oath. Generally, these questions are about the spouse’s background and often include questions about their education and work history. There are also often questions about any income, financial accounts, assets, and debts the spouse may have. The goal of interrogatories is to determine whether or not the spouse is hiding assets in order to avoid including them in the marital estate and equitable distribution.

If you have decided to end your marriage, there are important steps you should take in order to protect your financial interests. Even if you think that your divorce will be a friendly one, the reality is that all it takes is one disagreement over what may seem a minor issue and your divorce can quickly turn into a remake of the old movie The War of the Roses, in which a divorcing couple’s possessions become the focus of a contemptuous divorce battle.

Dividing the Marital Estate

Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means that all of the assets and property the couple owns will be divided between them in an equitable manner. In order to make sure this division is equitable, it is important to have an accurate accounting of how much the marital estate is actually worth.

Unfortunately, this can sometimes result in one spouse trying to hide assets. This can be especially easy to do if one spouse leaves the handling of all of the couple’s finances up to the other spouse.

Child support is a topic that can easily make emotions run high, especially in the context of an already embittered divorce. While most parents are happy to financially support their children, making payments to a disliked ex who may not be raising your children the way you hoped can be a challenging process. Being the parent who receives child support is often no easier, especially if you feel as though you are under constant scrutiny regarding how you handle the support payments. 

Regardless of personal differences between parents, and unlike other parts of negotiating a divorce, child support payments in Illinois are generally not negotiable and are established according to a formula known as the “income shares” model. Understanding which factors can affect this model and the overall support payments is important for parents who are approaching child support for the first time. 

Both Parents’ Incomes

Rather than placing the financial burden on just one parent, Illinois child support laws expect both parents to contribute financially toward their children’s wellbeing. The incomes of both parents are, therefore, part of the overall calculation.