Posted on September 29, 2020 in Divorce

If you are going through something as complex and stressful as a divorce, there are so many issues you must come to an agreement with your spouse to settle, such as how you will divide your property, what your parenting time schedule will look like, and whether or not you will receive spousal support. Something like your tax obligation to the government is likely not even an item that is on your list of concerns, but it is something that should be on your radar. There are certain things that you should be aware of before you go to file your taxes for the first time after your divorce.

Which Status Should You Use?

When you are married, you have the option of filing your income tax returns jointly or separately, though the vast majority of couples who can file jointly do so. The filing status that you use depends on when your divorce was finalized. If your divorce was finalized on or before December 31, then you are considered to have been unmarried for the entire year and you cannot file a joint tax return. However, if your divorce extended into the next year, you were considered to be married for the entire tax year.

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 Posted on September 22, 2020 in Property Division

In an ideal world, getting a divorce would only affect you and your spouse. However, getting a divorce impacts everyone in your family, especially your children if you have any. Throughout your divorce, you will face many issues relating to your kids that must be settled, such as parenting time, allocation of decision-making responsibilities, and even child support. What you may not realize is that your children may also influence other areas of your divorce as well, such as property division. If you are going through a divorce, an Illinois divorce lawyer can help you determine your best scenario for asset and property division.

Considering Your Kids’ Feelings When Dividing Assets and Property

When you go through a divorce, you and your spouse are required to divide all marital property equitably among yourselves before you are able to finalize the divorce. While you may think that your children have nothing to do with those decisions, they may influence those decisions more than you think. Here are a few ways your children can influence your property division decisions:

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 Posted on September 14, 2020 in Divorce

When you and your spouse make the decision that it is time for you to get a divorce, you will then have to decide how you want to go about obtaining a divorce. In most situations, both you and your spouse will each hire your own divorce attorneys to provide you with legal advice and help you negotiate a fair divorce settlement. Getting a divorce could likely be one of the most significant financial events of your life because the decisions that you make during your divorce could end up impacting your life for years to come. While your divorce lawyer can help you determine an equitable settlement, they may recommend that you hire a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) to ensure you understand the entire financial implications of your divorce.

What Is a CDFA?

A CDFA is a professional who helps both the divorcee and the divorcee’s attorney understand how certain financial decisions made during the divorce would affect the divorcee’s financial health in the future. A CDFA is typically someone who has a background in financial planning, accounting, or legal background, but to become a certified CDFA, he or she must undergo extensive training. A CDFA may also:

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 Posted on September 08, 2020 in Finances & Divorce

A couple can disagree about many issues during a divorce, but it is no surprise that financial matters are one of them. The decisions that you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse make during your divorce are extremely important because they are decisions that will end up affecting you for quite a long time afterward. When it comes to finances, the decisions that are made could quite possibly affect you for the rest of your life, which is why you want to be sure to protect your assets at all costs. One such way to do this is through the use of a temporary financial restraining order, which can protect your assets from being misused or wasted by your spouse.

What Is a Temporary Financial Restraining Order?

When most people hear the words "restraining order," they think of an order protecting a person from physical violence. However, a financial restraining order functions along those same lines by protecting your marital assets from being transferred, misused, borrowed against, destroyed, or spent by your spouse during your divorce. Temporary financial restraining orders are a common tool utilized by spouses going through contentious high-asset divorces, but any couple could benefit from the order.

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 Posted on September 04, 2020 in Divorce

Being a military spouse is no easy task. Depending on your spouse’s position in the military, he or she may have served time overseas, leaving you to run the household on your own for months at a time. All of the stress and uncertainty that the military life can bring can begin to take a toll on your marriage after a while. The most common question military spouses have when they file for a divorce is, “Will I get to keep my benefits?” These benefits include things such as access to the military base and its facilities, the base commissary and exchange, and eligibility for Tricare, which is healthcare available only to military members and their dependents. If you are a military spouse and you are thinking about getting a divorce, an Illinois divorce attorney will be able to help you figure out what benefits you may be eligible for after a divorce.

Understanding the 20/20/20 Rule

In some cases, if you are divorcing a spouse who was or is in the military, you may be eligible and entitled to certain benefits if you meet the right criteria. Over the years, there have been various rules that have been created to protect the rights of service members while also protecting the rights of their family members. One such rule has been dubbed the “20/20/20 rule.”

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 Posted on September 02, 2020 in Divorce

When you first tie the knot, you have this idea of living happily ever after with your new spouse and that a good marriage will come easily and naturally. What many people do not realize, however, is that a strong and happy marriage is the result of years of communication, trust, and a lot of growth. There are arguments and conflict in every relationship; it is not necessarily conflict itself that is the marker of a marriage that will end in divorce. Conflict can be healthy because it can help ensure both you and your spouse’s needs are being met, but that conflict has to be dealt with in a healthy way. Psychologists say that there are four specific behaviors that take place in a matrimonial union that together can be a telltale sign of a broken marriage that is headed toward divorce

Criticism

This refers to the act of attacking your spouse’s character, rather than giving him or her feedback on something he or she did that you did not like. For example, your spouse might have a habit of leaving damp towels laying on the floor after showering. Asking, “Why are you so lazy?” rather than telling him or her that it bothers you and asking him or her to hang them up to dry instead is an example of criticism. Calling your spouse lazy is attacking his or her character and not his or her behavior. This can lead to deeper feelings of resentment and contempt, which is one of the four signs that a divorce is imminent

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 Posted on August 30, 2020 in Child Custody

When parents of a child get a divorce in Illinois, they are required to make certain custody decisions for their child. Before they can finalize their divorce, they must come to an agreement on their own or a decision will be made by a judge on issues such as parenting time and allocation of parental responsibilities. In most cases, the choices that are made during this period are long-term, life-altering choices that could come with unfavorable consequences. In some cases, concerns about a parent’s mental health may have been brought forward by the other parent or another individual involved or familiar with the case. In these situations, the parent whose mental health is in question will likely be required to undergo some sort of psychological test or mental health evaluation.

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 Posted on August 25, 2020 in Divorce

Getting a divorce can seem like you are on an emotionally fueled rollercoaster. One moment you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse are in an ugly argument and you are full of anger and the next thing you know, you are remembering all of the memories you made together and the family you created and you are filled with a sense of grief. It is normal to feel a wide range of emotions during the divorce process, but maintaining a sense of stability is important when working toward a healthy divorce. It is not impossible to have a minimally contentious and agreeable divorce, but there are steps that you can take to make sure your divorce is as healthy as possible.

Begin the Process With a Negotiating Mindset

Throughout the divorce process, there will be many decisions that will need to be made. You and your soon-to-be ex-spouse will have to determine who will keep the family home or how you will divide the value of it and other assets, what you will do with your retirement accounts, how you will construct your parenting plan, whether or not you will receive spousal maintenance payments, and the list goes on. You should be prepared to greet each and every one of these decisions with an open mind and a willingness to cooperate.

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 Posted on August 21, 2020 in Guardianship

Throughout our lives, we all need someone to care for us. When we are babies, we depend on the care and nurture of our parents to thrive and grow into successful adults. As adults, we are able to take care of ourselves and make decisions pertaining to our lives. However, some situations may call for extra care and planning to ensure that the affairs of a person are handled. In Illinois, the law states that a guardian can be appointed to any person who is unable to manage his or her affairs because of mental deterioration, mental illness, developmental disability, or physical incapacity. It can be tough to come to terms with the fact that your loved one may need a guardian appointed to him or her, but an Illinois family law attorney can help.

Determining the Need for a Guardianship

Illinois law states that there are several reasons for which a person may need to have a guardian appointed to him or her to manage his or her affairs. Before a guardian is appointed to a person, it must be proven that the person is not able to make or communicate his or her own sound and responsible decisions about personal affairs. There are a variety of situations in which a person may need to have a guardian appointed for him or her. These scenarios can include:

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 Posted on August 18, 2020 in Divorce

Making the decision to get a divorce is not a small one and should not be taken lightly. In an ideal situation, both spouses would come together to come up with the terms of their divorce agreement so they can bring their marriage to an end peacefully. However, very few situations end up being ideal and most divorces do not involve as much peace and cooperation as the spouses involved in them wish there was. Some divorces are only finalized due to the determination of one spouse because of the unwillingness or unknown whereabouts of the other spouse. In cases such as these, in which your spouse is missing or is unwilling to cooperate with the divorce, it is still possible to get a divorce, but the process will likely be slightly more complicated.

Divorcing an Unwilling Spouse

In most cases, once one spouse brings up the idea of a divorce, the other spouse will follow or at least try to resolve the situation. In some cases, however, the respondent, or the person who is receiving the divorce petition, may shut down or refuse to acknowledge the divorce papers or the other spouse’s desire for a divorce. Once you have filed the divorce petition with the clerk of the circuit court, your spouse has 30 days to respond to the petition and notify the court as to whether or not he or she will be showing up for the initial hearing.

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