Posted on June 28, 2021 in Property Division

When you file for divorce in Illinois, you are required to disclose all of your assets. However, some people may feel that they deserve a bigger share than their spouse, so they attempt to conceal their assets. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make during the divorce process. If you get caught, you may face legal trouble.

Different Ways Spouses Hide Assets

The division of assets is one of the most difficult battles couples face in divorce court. When people believe that they deserve more than they will actually get, they may try to conceal the assets in several different ways, such as:

• Pursuing shady business deals - Some individuals who are getting ready to divorce may enlist the help of business partners to conceal their assets. For example, a person may ask a business partner to withhold commissions until the divorce is finalized.

• Creating accounts in a child’s name - People attempting to hide assets may try to put their assets in their child’s name. Since these accounts will not show up on either parent’s financial statements, the court may sometimes overlook them.

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 Posted on June 17, 2021 in Child Custody

When a couple gets divorced, it can affect everyone surrounding them -- not just themselves. The effect of a divorce on the rest of the family can sometimes be the biggest thing holding an unhappy couple back from simply just pulling the trigger and filing for divorce. Fathers, in particular, face additional obstacles during a divorce that the mother does not, especially when dealing with child-related issues. If you are a father who has been contemplating or has filed for divorce, you should speak with an Illinois divorce lawyer to discuss your options.

Helping Fathers Through Divorce

Even though your role as a mother or a father should not affect your standing in the divorce, it often does. In many cases, fathers are the ones who pull the short straw during a divorce. If you are a divorcing father, here are a few things that you should keep in mind during your divorce:

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 Posted on June 15, 2021 in Child Custody

Determining child custody can be a messy experience for many families. This can be especially true when parents live in two different states, or if a parent even lives in a different country. In the first part of this two-part blog series, we looked at how jurisdiction is initially determined for child custody proceedings when parents do not live in the same state using the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA.) In most cases, the custody proceedings which determine parenting time and decision-making responsibilities will take place in the child's home state. However, there are some situations in which the child may not have a home state or another reason may exist why the home state will not hear the child’s case.

Exceptions to the Home State Rule

As previously discussed, the home state rule is typically enough for courts to determine which state has jurisdiction over a child custody case. However, circumstances may exist that make it impossible or imprudent to use the home state rule. In these cases, different rules apply when determining jurisdiction. If the home state rule does not apply, the following rules will apply in order of application:

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 Posted on June 07, 2021 in Child Custody

When two parents get divorced or are no longer in a romantic relationship, it is not uncommon for one or both parents to make other life changes, such as relocating. While a fresh start can be a good change for the parents, this can complicate proceedings for child custody. Any proceeding that concerns parenting time and/or decision-making responsibilities for the child must be filed with the correct court. In this series of blogs, we will discuss the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and how it is used to settle interstate child custody issues. Simply because a parent has moved does not mean that the parent’s new location is the place to file custody proceedings. In most cases that involve parents living in different states, the first thing you will have to do is determine which state has jurisdiction over your case.

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 Posted on May 28, 2021 in Divorce

When a couple cannot come to an agreement on the terms of their divorce, the first step is to attend mediation services. If they are also unable to come to an agreement through mediation or if mediation did not make sense for the situation, then the case is usually sent to be heard before a judge who will make the final decisions. One of the first pieces of information that the judge will require from both spouses is a financial affidavit. These documents will enable the judge to have a better understanding of the couple’s financial situation before he or she makes any decisions about property division, spousal support, or even child support.

What Information is in a Financial Affidavit?

A financial affidavit is a document that details nearly every aspect of a person’s finances. The affidavit will contain information such as how much each spouse makes, how much they spend each month, what assets they own, and what debts they have. In the state of Illinois, information included in the affidavit includes:

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 Posted on May 24, 2021 in Collaborative Law

Many people who go into a divorce do so thinking that it will be a difficult and stressful process. While it is true that divorce has the potential for stress, it does not have to be as troublesome as people are led to believe. In Illinois, any couple has the option to choose what type of process they use to end their marriage. In recent years, collaborative divorce has risen in popularity. As the name suggests, a collaborative divorce is one in which both spouses work together to achieve the type of divorce resolution that they want. Instead of having a “me versus them” type of attitude, a collaborative divorce encourages spouses to be cooperative so they can both be content with the outcome.

Common Professionals in Collaborative Divorce

One of the ways in which a collaborative divorce is unique is the presence of more than just your attorneys. A collaborative divorce utilizes various professionals from an array of fields to provide advice and guidance on certain issues. Some of the most common specialists that couples hire are:

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 Posted on May 13, 2021 in Child Custody

When a child is born to parents in Illinois, the mother automatically receives her parental rights. The father, however, is a different story if the parents were not married when the child was born. Paternity must be established for a child if the father wants parental rights. This can be done in a variety of ways, though the most common way is for a couple to fill out a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity (VAP) form in the hospital. In some cases, however, a parent may wish to relinquish their parental rights to a child. In other cases, a parent may wish to terminate the other parent’s parental rights. Either way, this can be done under certain circumstances in Illinois.

Proving the Parent to Be Unfit

In order to proceed with petitioning the court to terminate a parent’s parental rights, you must first have proof that the parent is indeed unfit. During the hearing, which is bound to happen, the judge will determine whether or not there is enough evidence pointing toward the parent that would declare him unfit. According to Illinois law, a parent can be considered unfit if:

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 Posted on May 10, 2021 in Finances & Divorce

Financial planning is always a smart decision, but during a divorce, financial planning can become critical. Developing a financial plan can become an extremely important piece of ensuring your financial health after the divorce. You have likely heard of the old adage that “knowledge is power,” but that is especially true when it comes to a divorce.

Understanding the “In Spouse” and “Out Spouse”

In many cohabiting couples, there is usually a spouse who is more financially savvy and knowledgeable about the household’s finances than the other. This spouse is typically referred to as the “in spouse” because they are the ones who are in the financial loop. The other spouse, referred to as the “out spouse,” usually has little to no knowledge of how the household’s finances are handled. The “in spouse” may handle every aspect of the finances, such as paying the bills every month, keeping track of bank accounts, making investments, and creating and maintaining a budget. Naturally, the “in spouse” would have a bit of an advantage over the “out spouse,” who has not really been involved in the monetary aspect of the divorce. In some cases, the “in spouse” may be controlling or secretive about the family’s finances, making it difficult for the “out spouse” to get an accurate understanding of what they are working with.

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 Posted on May 05, 2021 in Paternity

When a child is born to parents who are unmarried, the father does not yet have any legal rights to the child, unlike the mother. Many parents, especially fathers, do not realize that there are certain steps that they must take to gain their legal parental rights and to ensure the paternity of their child is established. Until the paternity of a child is established, no orders pertaining to parenting time, decision-making responsibilities, or child support will be entered. Paternity can be established in a variety of ways, but the situation is not always as easy as just completing paperwork. A knowledgeable paternity lawyer will be able to help make the process a little easier.

Uncontested Declaration of Paternity

Before a father can establish his legal rights, he must first ensure that his paternity is established over his child. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the easiest way to establish paternity is by using a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) form. This form can be filled out right in the hospital after the child is born and only requires both the mother's and the father’s signatures to be valid. Once you sign the VAP, you are able to have the father’s name put on the child’s birth certificate.

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 Posted on April 30, 2021 in Divorce

When you and your spouse begin to divide your assets during your divorce, issues can often arise over who gets to keep what. During the excitement of determining what happens to your assets, many couples forget the other part of the division process -- figuring out what happens to your debts. Any debt that you or your spouse took on while you were married is considered marital debt, meaning both you and your spouse are responsible for repaying it, even after a divorce. While the idea of figuring out which debts you will be responsible for may seem unappealing, it is a crucial and required step in the property division process.

Marital Assets and Debts Are Divided Equitably

In the state of Illinois, any asset that is declared to be marital property is divided in an “equitable” manner, rather than simply just splitting it in half. The same idea is applied to marital debts; any debt that you and your spouse may have incurred during the marriage will be subject to equitable division. Some of the most common debts that married couples have include things such as mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, student loans, and credit card debt. To ensure assets and debts are actually distributed in an equitable manner, there are a variety of factors that a judge looks at prior to making the determination, which can include a spouse’s current income and earning capacity, and whether one spouse sacrificed being in the workforce to stay home to run the household and take care of the children.

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