Posted on December 00,0000 in Collaborative Law

It is no secret that divorce is difficult. What some people do not know is that there is more than one way you can get a divorce. From DIY divorces to mediated divorces, there is a process that fits almost everyone’s situation. One type of divorce -- a collaborative divorce -- can be beneficial to the entire family. A collaborative divorce is one in which both spouses sign an agreement stating that neither of them will go to court and will instead determine solutions to their problems through meetings with attorneys, financial advisers, child specialists, and other professionals. There are many reasons to choose a collaborative divorce over a traditional litigated divorce, but here are just a few:

1. You can actually end up saving money with a collaborative divorce. Traditional litigated divorces can end up costing you four times as much as a collaborative divorce would cost. While you do end up hiring more people to help you complete your divorce, the trained specialists actually help you complete your divorce quicker and with less arguing. Plus, you are saving on countless hours of lawyers fees and court costs.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

In divorce cases that are less-than-amicable, things can get heated and they usually get heated quickly. While most divorce cases involve children, those cases can often be the most stressful to deal with. Each parent truly wants what is best for their child, but because of the situation, thoughts on what is best for the child may become skewed or muddied with all of the other feelings that the parent may be feeling toward their spouse. In situations like these, the judge or either of the parents is allowed to request a guardian ad litem (GAL) to be a part of any child-related decisions.

What Is a Guardian ad Litem?

In Latin, guardian ad litem literally translates to “guardian for the lawsuit.” In modern-day divorce cases, a guardian ad litem is typically assigned to cases when they are ordered by the judge, but either spouse of the divorce can request a guardian ad litem for their child. The guardian ad litem is a guardian appointed to your specific case and is tasked with the role of protecting the interests of the child.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce

Divorce is already stressful enough for the entire family. When you are dealing with a spouse who has it out for you, it can become even more difficult and it can make dealing with even the smallest issues a lengthy process. Adding children into the mix makes everything even more difficult, especially when your spouse insists on settling things in the courtroom when they could just as easily be settled outside of the courtroom. Dealing with a toxic spouse is emotionally draining, so here are a few tricks you can use to cope with your spouse during your divorce:

Make Sure You Document Everything

When it comes to toxic spouses, they will often bend the truth, change what they said previously or lie altogether. Do not allow your spouse to make you rethink events that happened in the past. You should not have to question your own memories, so making sure you document everything is key. If you communicate about something important, make sure you either record the conversation or get it in writing, that way you have hard evidence of the conversation that actually took place.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

In the United States, the traditional family unit has been changing more and more with each passing year. Families only comprised of a married mother and father and their biological children are now not the only “acceptable” form of a family. With the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. in 2015, more families are composed of same-sex couples with adopted children. With divorce becoming more common and more socially acceptable, blended families have also become more common. Sometimes, to complete a blended family, step-parents may want to adopt their spouse’s children. This is called stepparent adoption and it is the most common form of adoption in the U.S.

Special Considerations

Related and unrelated adoptions are very similar in some ways, but also very different. Related adoptions can often be easier to complete than unrelated adoptions, but they do come with their own specific set of factors that should be taken into consideration. These include:

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Paternity

In the state of Illinois, a man is only legally presumed to be the father of a child if the mother was married or in a civil union with him when the child was born or within 300 days before the child was born. If the mother was not married when the child was born, the man she names as the father of the child is then referred to as the alleged father. That man will only become the legal father after one of three things happens:

• Both parents complete and sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity form when or soon after the child is born;
• An administrative paternity order is entered into by a child support agency; or
• An order of paternity has been entered in court by a judge.

If the father contests the paternity of the child, the mother will then have to file a paternity suit that seeks to establish a parent-child relationship between the father and the child. Once you enter into a paternity suit, the judge will more-than-likely order the mother, the alleged father and the child to submit to genetic testing.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce Finances

Getting a divorce makes many things in your life far more complex than usual. Your children’s living arrangements become more complicated, managing your time becomes harder and even having your work life and home life balanced becomes more difficult. One of the things that can be the root of much stress is your finances and if you are not careful, your divorce can wreak havoc on them. If you are getting ready to file for divorce or you are currently in the process of a divorce, these four tips can help you keep your finances organized and simple:

Close Your Joint Accounts

Once you have filed for divorce, you should make sure you close your joint accounts, whether they are checking accounts, savings accounts or credit accounts. By splitting the amounts of both your checking and savings accounts, you can begin the separation process for marital property. You should also make sure to close your joint credit accounts so you do not rack up any more marital debt.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Division of Property

When you are married for a long period of time -- even if it is just for a few years -- you are bound to have many shared assets that you have accumulated over time. Dividing your assets during a divorce can be messy and complicated, especially if both of you want the same things. Illinois courts prefer for couples to try to divide up their assets on their own before the responsibility goes to a judge, but sometimes a judge is very much needed to settle disputes. When they say everything must be split up, they mean everything -- even unusual assets that you may not think about much.

Marital vs. Non-Marital Property

Before you can divide anything in your marriage, you must first determine what property must be divided. In Illinois, only marital property is subject to division. Non-marital property remains with the spouse whose property it is. Marital property is any property, including debts and other types of obligations, that either spouse acquires during the marriage. The exception to that rule is non-marital property, which includes:

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

Most people experience an influx of stress during the holiday season, but for divorced couples and their children, it can be even more stressful than usual. When you have kids, this time of year is filled with holiday parties, gift exchanges, school plays, recitals, concerts, and holiday celebrations. Divorced families feel the stress when they try to manage all of this out of two households. Traditionally, this time of year is very family-oriented and if you have recently gone through a divorce, or this is the first holiday season as a divorced couple, your kids might be feeling the loss of their family. Here are a few ways you can help your kids cope with the holiday season and enjoy the new family situation:

Remember: It Is Not About You

Even though you want to have a good time during the holiday season too, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. One of the most important sacrifices that you could make for your children is putting your own happiness aside so that they can be happy. If you and your spouse are fighting about who gets the children on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, give in this year and let them have the kids. Next year, you will get your turn and your children will not have to feel the stress of multiple houses on multiple days.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Parenting Time

When it comes to children of divorce, Illinois courts are not really concerned with either of the parents. The courts’ first and foremost concern is the children themselves and their well being. It is of the opinion of Illinois courts and Illinois law that children are best off having a close and loving relationship with both of their parents. This is why the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act states that “it is presumed that both parents are fit and the court shall not place any restrictions on parenting time.” But because the courts’ primary concern is the children, they will, in fact, place restrictions on parenting time if they find that the child’s overall well being would be endangered by spending time with one or both of his or her parents.

Getting the Court to Place Restrictions on Parenting Time

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce

You can never be 100 percent certain that a marriage will end in divorce. There are so many mitigating factors that contribute to a divorce but a divorce does not happen overnight. It can take years or even decades for a marriage to degrade down and finally break, resulting in a divorce. There are certain behaviors that couples do that can be warning signs a divorce is in the future, but not all couples are created equally. What can mean trouble for one couple is perfectly normal for another. Here are a few things that could mean your marriage is on the rocks:

You and Your Spouse Are Constantly Criticizing One Another

Though it is something that we all do to everyone, criticizing your spouse should be done with care. When you criticize your spouse, you tend to criticize their personality or character, making your spouse feel like there is something inherently wrong with him or her. When you do this, you elicit a defensive response from your spouse, leaving you both unhappy.

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