Posted on January 25, 2016 in Marital Property

A home can be the most valuable asset a couple owns. Moreover, spouses may also have emotional ties to the marital home. In a divorce, determining who gets the couple's home, or whether to sell it, is one of the most important considerations.

Equitable Distribution

In an Illinois divorce, a couple's marital property is divided under the principles of equitable distribution. This means that the division will be fair, although not necessarily equal. Since only marital property is divided, a house is often subject to division, but not always.

If the home was purchased before the marriage, the property will generally be separate property and will not be divided in a divorce. However, if a home is titled in both spouses' names, or was purchased during the marriage, then the home is considered marital property and is subject to division. If a house was purchased with both marital and separate property, then the spouse contributing the separate property may have a right to reimbursement for that amount.

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 Posted on January 11, 2016 in Collaborative Law

Divorces are often contentious proceedings. Disputes regarding important issues such as property division, child custody and support payments can be exacerbated by the litigation process. Collaborative divorce, however, is an alternative to a traditional litigated divorce. In a collaborative divorce, the spouses do not go to Court to resolve issues. Instead, with the help of a lawyer trained in collaborative law, the spouses come to an agreement with each other about the terms of the divorce. Then they go to Court to finalize the dissolution.

Process

In Illinois, no statutes govern the collaborative divorce process. In a collaborative divorce, each spouse retains his or her own lawyer. The spouses agree to work together in good faith to resolve the issues associated with their divorce and to honestly disclose all pertinent information. They meet together, with their lawyers, to discuss the issues and reach an agreement.

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 Posted on January 05, 2016 in Children of Divorce

Thinking about a divorce or separation? If children are involved, one of the most important considerations is protecting the children from the stress and turmoil of the divorce and ensuring that their interests are represented. Generally, children benefit from both parents involvement in their lives and good relationships with both parents. However, sometimes in a custody dispute, one parent harms the children's relationship with the other parent.

Alienation

Parental alienation occurs when a divorced or separated parent tries to turn the children against the other parent. This may include:

• Disparaging the other parent to the children;
• Telling lies about the other parent;
• Failing to cooperate with visitation;
• Using Manipulative actions;
• Forcing the child to choose between his or her parents;
• Limiting or withholding contact with the other parent, or threatening to do so; or

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 Posted on December 22, 2015 in Child Support

In Illinois, Courts have discretion to include, as part of a child support order, a requirement that parents contribute toward post-secondary education expenses of their non-minor children. Historically, the guidelines for determining whether such support could be required were vague and confusing. The passage of the Family Law Reform Bill addresses these concerns by creating a new protocol for determining when non-minor support is appropriate.

Existing Law

The current version of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows a Court to order educational support for a child, including college or professional training expenses, as part of a custody agreement. Previously, Courts were only instructed to consider the following when making their determination:

• The financial resources of each parent and of the child;
• The standard of living established prior to the parents' divorce; and

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 Posted on December 08, 2015 in Family Law

After a divorce, alimony is important to the economic well-being of many spouses. However, sometimes, a spouse's circumstances change and an alimony award is no longer appropriate. Fortunately, Illinois law provides that an alimony award may be modified or terminated in certain cases.

Modification

To modify an alimony award in Illinois, a spouse must demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances that warrants modification. In determining whether a substantial change in circumstances has occurred, the Court must review the factors initially considered in making the award, along with additional factors, including:

• Any change in either spouse's employment status or income;
• The payee spouse's efforts to become self-supporting;
• Any impairment of either spouse's earning capacity;
• The tax consequences of alimony payments;

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 Posted on December 02, 2015 in Child Custody

The Hague Convention is an international law which regulates child custody. One key requirement of the Convention is that a child who is taken across international borders by one parent must be returned. In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of an Illinois District Court that stated that evidence of sexual abuse falls within the “grave risk” exception to the Hague Convention's requirement.

Ortiz v. Martinez

In 2011, a mother of two children, Zulima Martinez, refused to return with her children to the family's home in Mexico City after a family vacation in Illinois. Julio Ortiz, the father of the children who had returned ahead of the family, alleged to the Court that Ms. Martinez's action constituted an infringement of the Hague Convention, which makes it illegal for parents to abscond with their children across international borders.

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 Posted on November 23, 2015 in Family Law

In Illinois, the Probate Act regulates the guardianship of minors and disabled adults. The statute creates three types of guardianship under the Act: guardian of the estate, guardian of the person and guardian of both the estate and the person. The type of guardianship sought will largely dictate what is required in the process of petitioning for guardianship.

Establishing Guardianship of a Minor

The amendments to the Probate Act create a rebuttable presumption in favor of short-term guardians who are initially appointed by a minor's parent or guardian. The petitioner seeking guardianship then has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that remaining with the appointed short-term guardian is not in the child's best interest. While this presumption cannot be rebutted, the appointment of a short-term guardian does not represent the Court's consent for a Court appointment of a guardian.

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 Posted on November 10, 2015 in Child Custody

In any divorce involving minor children, one important issue that must be resolved regards each parent's legal ability to make life decisions concerning his or her child. Under current Illinois law, this is referred to as joint or sole custody.

Joint and Sole Custody

Currently, Illinois Courts can issue joint or sole custody to a child's parents. Joint custody requires cooperation and communication between the parents. Additionally, a child's parents must work together to make major life decisions regarding their child's health, safety and well-being.

Sole custody, on the other hand, means that only one parent has the right to make major parental decisions and does not need the other parent's approval. However, during a non-custodial parent's parenting time, he or she has the ability to make minor, routine decisions for his or her child as well as emergency decisions affecting the child's health and safety. This is true regardless of whether that parent has any parental decision-making responsibilities.

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 Posted on November 03, 2015 in Child Custody

Illinois requires parents to financially support their children. Therefore, when a child's parents are divorced, separated or single, state law governs child support payments and how the support payments will be made. A child's parents may come to an agreement regarding how to pay child support; however, the agreement must meet minimum standards as required by state law.

Calculation Guidelines

Basic Illinois child support is calculated as a percentage of the payor parent's net income after certain deductions are made. The percentage increases with the number of children:

• 20 percent for one child;
• 28 percent for two children;
• 32 percent for three children;
• 40 percent for four children;
• 45 percent for five children; and
• 50 percent for six or more children.

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 Posted on October 20, 2015 in Divorce

Ashley Madison, a dating website designed for people who want to cheat on their spouses, was hacked in late August. Various account information, including the names and personal information of more than 30 million users, was revealed. The leak of such sensitive information is expected to result in many couples divorcing.

Adultery occurs when a married person carries on a sexual relationship with a person who is not his or her legal spouse. However, under Illinois law, there is little effect on the process or result of a divorce when one spouse commits adultery.

Grounds for Divorce

Illinois currently allows for fault divorce until the state's family law overhaul takes effect January 1, 2016. One of the fault grounds for divorce is adultery. Therefore, under current law, a spouse can get an immediate divorce based on adultery. Unlike no-fault divorce, there is no waiting period for a fault-based divorce in Illinois. Current law requires a waiting period of two years for no-fault divorces. However, if the spouses agree, they may reduce the waiting period to six months.

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