Posted on July 13, 2018 in Child Custody

Warmer temperatures finally seem to be here to stay, and the school year will soon be ending. School-aged children throughout Northern Illinois are already looking forward to fewer responsibilities and more freedom. For their part, many parents may also be ready for days in the sun and away from school-related activities. Summertime, however, can be challenging for divorced, separated, or unmarried parents who share parental responsibilities with their former partner. Increased freedom for the children means an increased need for communication and cooperation between their parents.

Be Self-Aware

If you are subject to a shared parenting plan or child custody order, it is important to be objective about your reality and what options you may have. For example, if you have a contentious relationship with your former spouse (or the other parent), you may not be able to communicate easily and offer concessions to one another. In such a situation, you might need to have your summer schedule prepared well in advance and approved formally by the court.

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 Posted on July 13, 2018 in Child Custody

If you are involved in a dispute with your former spouse or partner over issues related to your shared children, you know how challenging the situation can be. Child-related legal matters are among the most difficult in any area of the law. Disagreements over parental responsibilities and parenting time—which used to collectively be called child custody—can disrupt not only your life but the lives of your child as well.

According to Illinois law, family court judges have the authority to appoint a specially-trained attorney to help during a child-related dispute. The attorney may serve in one of three capacities: attorney for the child, child representative, and guardian ad litem. Of the three, the role of guardian ad litem is the most common.

What Does a Guardian ad Litem Do?

A guardian ad litem, or GAL, essentially serves as the eyes and ears of the court when a child-related legal matter is in dispute. The GAL has the authority to conduct an investigation into the lives of both parents, the child, and any other relevant parties. As part of the investigation, the GAL may interview individuals, review court records and other documents, and visit homes, schools, and other locations. The GAL will use the gathered information to develop a recommendation regarding what he or she believes to be the best possible outcome of the case in question for the child.

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 Posted on July 13, 2018 in Division of Assets

Imagine this scenario: You and your husband have decided to divorce. You assume that there is a certain amount of money in the savings account but are not following the balance closely. You eventually realize that your soon-to-be-ex-husband has spent nearly all the family savings on expensive gifts and vacations for a mistress. You had planned on receiving some of those savings in the final divorce judgment, but now they are gone. Fortunately, in the state of Illinois, there is a legal process for reclaiming money that was wasted by a spouse before assets could be divided in a divorce.

The Legal Definition of Dissipation of Assets

According to Illinois law, there are specific criteria someone must meet in order to be considered guilty of dissipation. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act defines dissipation as “the use of marital property for the sole benefit of one of the spouses for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time that the marriage is undergoing an irretrievable breakdown.” Some incorrectly assume that marital property only refers to mixed assets, but generally any debt, asset, or income accumulated by either party during the marriage is considered marital property. Separate property refers to non-marital property and includes things like gifts, inheritance, and property acquired before the marriage. The phrase “irretrievable breakdown” simply means that the couple has reached a point where they are no longer trying to stay together.

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 Posted on July 13, 2018 in Divorce

Regardless of what else it may represent, a divorce is technically a civil legal action between two parties that is intended to dissolve the marital contract between them. While this definition of a divorce may seem cold and unfeeling, it is important to separate the legal concerns of the process from those that are more personal or emotional. With that in mind, many individuals who are considering a divorce often wonder if it is important to beat their spouses to the proverbial punch. Does it matter who files the petition for divorce? The answer is not definitively clear.

Divorce as a Legal Action

In most civil legal proceedings, there are clear lines between the opposing sides. On one side, there is the plaintiff, or claimant, who initiates the legal action—usually by filing some type of complaint and request for relief. The defendant, or respondent, is the one against whom the complaint is made. Usually, the defendant is accused of having done something wrong or not have done something he or she was supposed to do. The purpose of the action to hold the defendant accountable for his or her actions or inaction and to make the plaintiff whole again, at least to the extent that it is possible.

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 Posted on July 09, 2018 in Divorce

Divorce is common enough in today’s world that many people tend to take the idea quite casually—particularly when it is happening to someone else. Take the 2011 Steve Carell movie Crazy Stupid Love, for example, where the main character’s friends and colleagues celebrate the fact that he is getting divorced and does not, in fact, have cancer as they suspected. This casual approach to divorce encourages the belief that when a marriage experiences trouble, it is easier to end the relationship than to fix the problems. However, people may want to take a step back and make sure divorce is the right choice for them before making the decision to end their marriage.

Illinois Divorce Law

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the court will enter a judgment of divorce if “irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage," that attempts at reconciliation have failed, and that additional efforts to save the marriage are not reasonable or would not serve the best interests of the family.

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 Posted on June 27, 2018 in Divorce

If you have decided to divorce or are considering ending your marriage, you are probably concerned about several things. If you have children, you have probably wondered what the custody and visitation (officially called allocation of parental responsibility and parenting time, respectively) schedule will look like. You may also wonder which spouse will stay in the marital home or keep the family car. Each person’s divorce will be different, but for many, a temporary order can address many of these concerns before the final divorce decree is entered by the court.

When a Temporary Order Is Beneficial

Illinois divorces can last months or even years—especially if the case goes to litigation. During this period of time, many couples still have to manage shared parenting, property division, and their new financial state. Spouses living apart from each other may need financial assistance in the form of spousal maintenance or child support. Temporary orders can provide legally-enforceable guidelines for spouses to follow until the final divorce order is handed down by the court. If you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse are able to come to an agreement regarding issues of property and custody, you may not need a formal temporary order. However, it is important to make sure and get any agreement between you and your spouse in writing in order to help prevent problems with noncompliance in the future.

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 Posted on June 18, 2018 in Divorce

For centuries, the mere idea of divorce was viewed largely as taboo in most cultures. At the very least, there was a social stigma that was long associated with a couple choosing to end their marriage. A couple who could not save their marriage were often portrayed as failures or, in certain circles, even immoral. While such attitudes may still exist in some communities, most Western societies have accepted the concept of divorce as a part of life.

One good indicator of this trend is the growing popularity of so-called “divorce parties.” A divorce party is exactly what the name implies—a social event that is put on to celebrate the end of a particular couple’s marriage. Event planners and MCs throughout the United States have started promoting their services as available for divorce parties, which are purported to help the newly-divorced get a fresh start on their new life.

Who Hosts Divorce Parties?

It is understandable that a spouse who has been trapped in an unhealthy marriage may be inclined to celebrate a little—ostensibly out of relief—following his or her divorce. However, there are also couples who wish to throw a combined divorce party. Several years ago, the New York Times ran a story about a wealthy couple who invited 100 guests to mark the occasion of their impending divorce and to thank their friends and loved ones for their support over the years.

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 Posted on May 23, 2018 in College Expenses

A 40-year-old law in Illinois gives the court the authority to compel divorced parents to contribute to their child’s college expenses. We have discussed this law in a number of posts on this blog. Earlier this month, however, a judge in Cook County issued a ruling that found the law to be unconstitutional.

The Case in Question

In 2016, a divorced woman filed a petition asking the court to force her ex-husband to contribute to their 21-year-old daughter’s college expenses. The court used the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) to determine that each parent was required to pay 40 percent of the daughter’s expenses and that the daughter was responsible for 20 percent through grants, scholarships, or a job. The daughter reportedly did not do anything to cover her portion, and her mother covered the difference.

The former husband filed a motion to terminate his obligation based, in part, on his daughter’s noncompliance, but the court refused. He filed a second motion on constitutional grounds in 2017.

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 Posted on May 11, 2018 in Divorce

Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. On that day, you and your new spouse will be legally joined so that you can begin building the rest of your lives together. Most people spend their wedding day surrounded by family, friends, and other well-wishers, and the costs associated with the event can be astronomical. A new study suggests, however, that the those who spend a great deal of money on their wedding may be more likely to get divorced than those who spend relatively less.

A Look at the Numbers

According to the Wedding Report, a market research firm, American couples spent $56.2 billion on their weddings last year. That amount is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of about half of the countries in the world. When averaged over the 2.2 million marriages that took place in 2017, the numbers show that the average American wedding costs about $26,000.

For most couples, the largest expense is food, at an average cost of about $4,700. Renting a location and the engagement ring are the next largest, on average, at $3,600 and $3,400 respectively. Add in the costs of photography, drinks, flowers, dresses, tuxedos, invitations, and gifts for guests and the total bill can be staggering.

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 Posted on May 04, 2018 in Divorce

Needless to say, emotions can run high during a divorce. While some couples are able to end their marriages cooperatively and cordially, other marriages have much more dramatic endings. When one spouse is vengeful or resentful of the other, he or she may use certain tactics to get what he or she wants or to hurt the other spouse. Wasting assets is one of these tactics. When a spouse purposely spends marital property recklessly during the end of a marriage, he or she is guilty of something called dissipation.

Dissipation Defined

In Illinois, dissipation is defined as “the use of marital property for the sole benefit of one of the spouses for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time that the marriage is undergoing an irreconcilable breakdown”. “Irreconcilable breakdown” means that the marriage has come to the “beginning of the end.” In other words, the couple is no longer attempting to save the marriage or working toward any reconciliation.

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