Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce

The only way for two spouses to end their marriage is by getting a divorce. But, what many people do not realize is that common law marriages also require a divorce before either spouse is free to marry someone else. How do you know if you have a common law marriage?

Illinois and Common Law Marriage

The state of Illinois does not recognize common law marriage. The only way to get married in Illinois is to obtain a marriage license and have a legal ceremony. Common law marriage, however, is recognized in many other states.

In states with common law marriage, a couple is considered to be legally married when they hold themselves out to be married and have lived together for a certain amount of time. Each state is permitted to create its own requirements regarding exactly what constitutes such a marriage. Some, like Illinois, have no criteria under which a common law marriage is assumed to exist.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

A Michigan judge made headlines earlier this summer when she ordered three children – ages 14, 10, and 9 – to spend time in a juvenile correctional facility when they refused to have lunch with their father. Such an extreme case of parental alienation syndrome is quite rare, but PAS is common in most DuPage County child custody disputes, to one degree or another.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca issued the order in a six-year-old divorce case between a General Motors engineer father and a pediatric eye doctor mother. Much of the rancor in the case stems from an August 2010 incident at a West Bloomfield park; the township is an upscale Detroit suburb. Apparently, the mother locked two of the children in a car to “protect” them against their father; a third child climbed to the top of a piece of playground equipment to escape his father who, according to the child, threatened to kill him if he did not come down.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Collaborative Law

The term “collaborative divorce” has been popping up more often in recent years, with many more lawyers claiming collaborative divorce as one of their practice areas. What is collaborative divorce? It can mean several different things, but usually it means the two sides work together to find a settlement instead of having a contested divorce and hurling accusations at each other.

How Does Collaborative Divorce Work?

Most of the time a collaborative divorce starts before any paperwork is ever filed with the court. Instead, the lawyer from one side sends a friendly letter explaining that his or her client has chosen to pursue a collaborative divorce where the sides work together to settle all the issues.

If both sides agree, each spouse and their lawyer negotiate a settlement regarding all of the issues in the divorce. Once an agreement is reached, the clients usually sign a contract stating the terms and perhaps even penalties for breaking the agreement. Then the required paperwork is filed with the court. Illinois requires that a judge approve all divorce agreements. However, judges rarely object to anything the parties have worked out.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Spousal Maintenance

When a divorce leaves one spouse economically disadvantaged, courts in Illinois are granted the discretion to award spousal maintenance, or alimony, for a period of time following the dissolution of marriage. The purpose of such an award is to provide an opportunity for the spouse receiving maintenance to regain financial independence, if possible, or, if not, to help maintain some semblance of the lifestyle to which he or she was accustomed during the marriage.

Making a Maintenance Determination

In deciding whether or not maintenance is needed or appropriate in a given situation, the court must look at a number of relevant factors regarding the marriage. According the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, these considerations include, but are not limited to:

• Each party’s needs and individually-owned property, including that being allocated in the divorce;
• The needs and earning capacity of each party;

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Division of Property

Everyone knows that when you get divorced, your ex-spouse gets half of everything—unless you have a prenuptial agreement. That is just the way it works, right? Well, not exactly. Not in Illinois anyway, along with about 40 other states. The idea of an equal 50-50 split applies only to the nine states that maintain a standard known as community property in divorce. The remaining states, including Illinois, use what is called an equitable distribution standard, which may vary slightly from state to state, but generally requires a more in-depth consideration of a divorcing couple’s property and circumstances.

Determining and Valuing the Marital Estate

The equitable distribution guidelines in Illinois are contained in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The process begins with establishing which assets belong to the couple and which belong to each individual spouse. Those that belong to the couple include all property acquired by either spouse during the marriage with limited exceptions for gifts, inheritances, and judgments. Assets owned by either spouse prior to the marriage, along with the exceptions to marital property, are non-marital property and not subject to division. The value of the marital estate must also be determined, which may require the assistance of various experts, including real estate appraisers, financial advisors, and other professionals.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce

When you and your spouse have decided that your marriage is over and that divorce is the best option, you may be tempted to handle the situation on your own. You are both reasonably intelligent people and the process is pretty straightforward, right?  While you and your spouse may be intelligent, such an assumption is flawed for several reasons. First, the laws surrounding divorce and related concerns are not always as clear as they may seem, and, more importantly, it is impossible to predict all of the potential obstacles and roadblocks that may arise before the divorce is finalized.

By hiring a divorce attorney, even it is only to review your pre-negotiated agreement, you can experience a number of possible benefits. Consider:

• Ongoing training: Most family law attorneys take advantage of continuing education programs and seminars to keep abreast of the latest updates to and interpretations of the law. For example, major changes to divorce and matrimonial law were passed by the Illinois legislature this year, but a quick Google search cannot explain to you how courts will apply the new laws;

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Support

In the state of Illinois, along with the rest of the country, it is understood, both statutorily and in the minds of most people, that a child deserves the support of both parents, regardless of their marital status. Most would even agree that a child deserves much more than that, but since it is impossible to legislate love and affection, the most the law can do, in many cases, is to require a parent to contribute financially to the child’s well-being. For most supporting parents, this means making monetary payments until the child reaches age 18 and graduates from high school. The obligation for certain others may extend into college, to provide help with educational expenses. If you have a child with a disability, however, you may be required to continuing providing support for many years to come.

Disability and Eligibility

Beginning in 2016, the law in Illinois regarding non-minor support will contain more specific guidelines than ever before. This is true for both support related to educational expenses and support for an adult child with a disability. A post on this blog a few weeks ago looked more in-depth into educational support, but did not really discuss adult children with disabilities.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Gray Divorce

While the divorce rate seems to be leveling out for most age groups, there is one in particular in which divorce is more common than ever. Depending upon your perspective, it may come as a surprise to learn that the divorce rate among people age 50 and older today is twice what it was a quarter-century ago. For the 65 and older age group, the rate of divorce has more than doubled. During the same period, the divorce rate for virtually every other age group has remained the same or has fallen. So what is causing the increase in older divorce, or, as some call it, gray divorce? While the explanation is probably not to be found in just a single factor, there are a number of things that may be playing a role.

Not the First Time

One of the contributing factors to increase in gray divorce is the idea that second marriages among all age groups fail at a much higher rate than first marriages, and third or subsequent marriages even more so. Just based on pure probability, and with remarriage rates at record-highs, more and more older Americans are in the midst of a second or third marriages, making them at least two and a half times more likely to experience a divorce.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

Military families are often asked to make tremendous sacrifices in order to provide the armed services with manpower necessary to protect the United States of America. Under the best of circumstances, a lengthy deployment or training exercise can have a dramatic impact on the stability of an affected family. Of course, for separated or divorced parents who serve, the effect can be even more severe, as an order for child custody—soon to be called allocated parental responsibilities—cannot possibly take into account the unpredictability of a deployment situation. Fortunately, the law in Illinois provides a measure of relief for military parents which can help them fulfill their duties without the risk of legal action for non-compliance with a family court order.

Helping Military Parents

In most family-related cases, temporary orders are only used until a permanent order can be negotiated or entered by the court. This is not uncommon, for example, between the filing of a petition for divorce and the entry of the divorce judgment, which may not occur for several months. Temporary orders can be used to create custody and visitation arrangements, as well as interim arrangements for spousal maintenance or child support. Once the permanent order has been entered, however, only court-approved modifications can change it, and such modifications are permanent as well.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Divorce

Have you ever consulted with an accountant, analyst, or financial planner? For many people, working with a financial professional is something that only the wealthy need to worry about. Of course, there are those who would suggest that it is through working with financial advisors that many are able to become wealthy, but that is a topic for another day. Regardless of your income or tax bracket, however, divorce can be one of the most economically complex processes that you will ever be forced to navigate, and to get through it, the help of a financial professional may prove to be absolutely necessary.

Division of Assets

Allocating marital property is among the most challenging concerns for a large number of divorcing couples. It can be nearly impossible to determine what is fair and equitable if both spouses do not have a clear of understanding of the value of each part of the estate. A real estate appraiser, for example, can provide an accurate valuation of your home, while a retirement professional can help you analyze the current and expected value of pensions, 401(k) plans, and other investments. These considerations must be made before you and your spouse can split your assets, and doing so can allow you both to feel that you have been treated fairly.

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