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Illinois Supreme Court Weighs in on Attorney's Fees in High Net-Worth Divorces
The divorce process requires both spouses to accept and expect that a considerable amount of money will be spent to dissolve the marriage. The expense of divorce is especially an issue for couples with high net-worth, and the associated complications often relate to property division and spousal maintenance.
One cost that parties are particularly reluctant to pay is attorney fees. While this cost may seem like a considerable amount, divorce attorneys provide valuable services that contribute to the outcome of Court decisions on pivotal issues, such as child custody and the division of assets. However, which party pays attorney fees is a common negotiating point in divorce settlement agreements between wealthy spouses.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in a case on the issue of attorney fees in a divorce that involved a considerable amount of litigation initiated by the same party. This decision could impact how legal fees are paid in divorce cases going forward, making the exploration of the Court's rationale necessary.
Filing for Divorce: Residency and Venue
The process of divorce, from beginning to end, is different for everyone. Few couples rarely jump to ending a marriage at the first sign of trouble. However, couples who enter divorce must decide at some point that the marriage is not salvageable. Legally dissolving the relationship may be the best decision.
Once the decision to divorce is made, the hardest part of the process may seem over, yet filing a divorce petition and proceeding through the legal system is not as seamless as one may think. First, one must determine where he or she is eligible to file for divorce, and in which specific courthouse to file the papers. Someone seeking divorce cannot simply walk up to any Court in the state to file the necessary documents. At the very least, residency and venue requirements must be satisfied before a Court will accept a person's petition for divorce.
Residency and venue issues are the gateway to starting the divorce process. Yet while these issues are straightforward for most couples, others may have reason to challenge the opposing party's claim. Consider how to establish residency and determine venue for purposes of divorce, as well as when someone may want to dispute these issues.
Who is Eligible to Receive Custody Rights Over a Child in Illinois?
Disputes over child custody and visitation between parents are an unfortunate but common occurrence. Further, when parents separate or divorce, the impact is felt far beyond the core family unit. Relatives and friends often lose valuable and important connections in the aftermath of these decisions, however necessary and well-intentioned. The significance of some of these relationships between a non-parent adult and the child can sometimes be enough to motivate the other adult to explore the possibility of seeking visitation or custody rights if there is a fear that contact will be cut off. However, the law is not especially keen to award parental responsibilities to non-parents, and great pains are taken to limit when exceptions to this policy may apply.
Parents are viewed as the primary and best source to raise a child, and other adults are always considered a last resort. Consequently, non-parent adults are generally unable to receive custody rights over a child, absent extenuating circumstances. A recent example of this policy is evident in the denial of a grandmother's petition for guardianship over her young granddaughter. The child's mother is serving a prison sentence in Bali for murder, but the Court said that even in this situation, the mother's consent to guardianship was necessary. However, Courts are permitted to make exceptions for certain parties seeking custody under specific circumstances.
Valuing Assets in a High Net-Worth Divorce
A complex divorce tends to center around conflict and is related to two key issues — parenting responsibilities and property division. Both parties have a lot at stake and are invested in each matter. Hence, each party has much to lose if the outcome is not in his or her favor.
Specifically, with regard to property division, the number and type of property that is potentially subject to division can require a complicated analysis to determine if the property qualifies as marital and what the likely value is for that property. While one spouse may think he or she has a complete picture of all the property owned by the other party, analyzing and verifying the information listed in the mandatory financial affidavit must serve as the starting point for division.
The issue of property valuation is particularly important in divorces where considerable wealth has accumulated during the marriage. Securing proper valuations of all marital assets is crucial to ensuring that the division of property is fair and will provide the income/financial resources as intended.
Modifying Spousal Maintenance Awards
Transitioning from a two-income household down to one, following divorce, is a large adjustment for most individuals. In most instances, though, each party is able to financially support himself or herself, excluding child support, without contribution from the former spouse. However, maintenance, or spousal support, is sometimes necessary to sustain a former spouse while he or she, for example, gains new skills or training to make him or her more employable.
Illinois amended the laws on spousal maintenance in 2015 to make these awards more predictable by removing any subjectivity on the amount and duration of the maintenance obligation — although, a Court's obligation to first determine if maintenance is appropriate remains the same. A set formula now determines how much and for how long maintenance awards will be, and only marriages of 20 years or more are eligible for permanent maintenance, which is left to the Court's discretion to decide.
When and How Parenting Responsibilities May be Restricted
Raising a child is no small task, and includes an incredible amount of responsibility. Most parents try, and have a vested interest in, basing their decisions on what is best for their child. This selfless tendency is part of the reason why the law favors awards of shared parenting time between parents in divorce or paternity proceedings.
Children thrive most when both parents play a large and consistent role in their lives; though in practice, one parent usually provides the majority of the childcare. However, Courts have the authority to deviate from the shared model when circumstances warrant such a decision, including and up to giving one parent sole physical and legal parental responsibilities of the child.
Even if one parent is given sole responsibility, the other is usually granted some degree of visitation and communication with the child to prevent the total loss of a parent. This type of restricted visitation is used when the child's safety or development is threatened, but the parent with primary responsibility for the child cannot impose or deny visitations without a Court order, even if his or her concerns are legitimate.
Enforcing Custody Orders Across State Lines
Balancing work and family following divorce is bound to involve many challenges and tradeoffs, particularly when child custody is shared. The logistics of transferring a child between parents and households is often tricky, especially as the needs of the child change over time. These difficulties exist when parents live in close proximity to one another. However, they are greatly magnified by distance.
Once state lines are crossed, visits may become less frequent. Visits may also last for days or weeks on end instead of just one weekend. When distance is a factor in visitation, one concern that either parent may have is enforcing the terms of the parenting plan. If a parent decides to withhold visitation, limit communication, or refuse to return the child as agreed upon, then the other parent will likely need to initiate legal action to force the other parent to comply. Still, with parents accessing Courts in different states, the possibility exists that Courts could issue conflicting custody orders resulting in the child pinging back and forth between parents. This situation is not in the child's best interest, and 49 states, including Illinois, have passed a uniform law that governs how Courts should treat custody disputes that cross state lines.
Mental Health Issues and Divorce
Divorce is an emotional process that can sometimes bring out negative aspects of a person's personality. However, these behaviors are momentary lapses. When one spouse has a mental health issue, what is already a difficult process becomes exponentially more complicated.
Marriage to someone with mental health issues that manifest as erratic behavior, severe mood shifts and the potential to harm him/herself or others can quickly become overwhelming.
A study conducted in 2011 looked at the impact of mental health disorders on the rate of marriage and divorce found that these issues increased the likelihood of divorce from 20 to 80 percent, varying by the type and degree of disorder present. Mental health issues often result in high conflict relationships that are hard to endure long-term. If a couple shares children, the implications of mental health disorders on a spouse's ability to parent effectively and safely become a major concern that Courts do carefully consider.
How Courts Decide Custody in Illinois
No issue is more important to a parent than the role he or she plays in a child's life. The importance of this active participation in a child's life particularly comes into play during divorce. The process of separating and dividing a household and family brings unavoidable change to a parent's relationship with his or her child. In an ideal situation, parents work out a shared custody arrangement so the child does not lose too much interaction with either parent. Still, parents do not always agree on what is best for the child.
If a Court has to intervene and decide child custody, Illinois has a specific set of provisions that govern how Judges should make these determinations. Currently, Judges have discretion to order the custody arrangement they decide is in the best interests of the child. However, several groups supporting the rights of fathers in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would create a presumption in favor of joint custody, requiring a parent who opposes an agreement to argue why joint custody is not appropriate.
Life Changes and So Can Parenting Plans: The Modification Process
When couples divorce, crafting a parenting plan to regulate child custody is one of the more challenging aspects of the process. The age of the child and the employment of each parent are major factors affecting the type of arrangement that best suits the circumstances of the family. The best interests of the child is the primary motivating factor in these decisions, but discerning what a child needs to ensure the best possible opportunity to develop is likely to change over time. What is best for a child at the age of six is likely to differ substantially from what a child might need at the age of 15.
Further, the circumstances of the parents may change as jobs come and go and other life adjustments are made over time. As a result, allocating parenting time and responsibilities may need to be shifted to address the changing needs of the child and the ability of each parent to adequately fulfill these responsibilities. While each parent is obligated to follow the terms of a parenting plan, Illinois law does allow parents to request modification under certain circumstances.
Introducing The Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson
Nicholas W. Richardson is an experienced divorce lawyer and mediator whose comprehensive legal knowledge, commitment to clients and reputation for results bring lasting solutions to your problems.
The Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C. serves clients in Illinois cities such as Palatine, Schaumburg, Inverness, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, Bartlett, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Mt. Prospect, Niles, Prospect Heights, Skokie, Streamwood, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, and others throughout Cook County, DuPage County, McHenry County, and Kane County.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
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