Sealing Illinois Divorce Records

 Posted on December 12, 2014 in Divorce

​Illinois divorce records are public documents. Any person who walks into a Courthouse, and is willing to pay, can access and photocopy all documents contained in a divorce case. Additionally, all documents contained in a divorce file — pleadings, financial disclosures, exhibits — are fair game and can be viewed; however, you can have the Court seal these records for compelling reasons.

Sealing Illinois Divorce Records

If you are going through a divorce, there are a number of reasons why you may want your divorce records sealed. Several reasons include the following:

Privacy. People are nosey. Friends and family may want to see divorce records for a number of reasons — curiosity as to how much money you have, how much debt you may have, and to find out any potential “juicy” details about the divorce itself. Celebrities and public figures often have their records sealed for this reason.

Continue Reading ››

Handling the Holidays with Children after Divorce

 Posted on December 05, 2014 in Children of Divorce

Whether a family celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just the winter season, the holidays will be very different following a divorce. However, it does not mean that the holidays will be impossible. In fact, certain steps can be taken to help keep everyone happy.

Have a Detailed Child Custody Agreement

The first and most important suggestion for handling the holidays after divorce is ensuring a child custody agreement specifically deals holiday arrangements. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach. A decided schedule will depend entirely on the circumstances of each individual family.

Some couples choose to alternate holidays, with one parent having the children on Christmas in odd-numbered years and the other having the children in even-numbered years. Others may divide a holiday and have children spend part of the day with both parents. For example, one parent may spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the children, while the other parent then spends the remainder of Christmas day with the children.

Continue Reading ››

Parent Education Class Requirements in Illinois Child Custody Cases

 Posted on November 28, 2014 in Children of Divorce

The Illinois Supreme Court rules require all parents involved in a child custody case, whether contentious or not, to enroll in parent education classes. Even if the one parent defaults or fails to participate in the proceedings, the other parent is required to attend the parent education class.

Each Circuit Court or county may create its own parenting education program, provided it consists of at least four hours and covers visitation, custody and the impact both have on children. Each parent is required to attend the parent education class no later than 60 days after there is an initial case management conference. The Court may impose sanctions of its choosing on parents who fail to attend the class as required, without showing good cause as to why their attendance should be excused. The Circuit Court of Cook County has two approved parent education courses: one in-person class and an online option. Parents are able to choose the course. However, there is one exception. Parents who are ordered to attend mediation or emergency intervention must attend the in-person classes. The goal of parent education classes is give parents tools to help minimize the stress marital conflict can have on their children and to help them learn how to have a non-adversarial relationship after the divorce. The better the relationship between the parents post-divorce, the easier the divorce and its aftermath will be on the children. While parents work their way through the custody process, the classes provide them with skills to promote healthier communication as a means to reduce conflict. The in-person course has three options, depending on where each couple is in the child custody process:

• Pre-decree class: Parents in the process of a divorce or civil union dissolution.

Continue Reading ››

​Name Change in Illinois after Divorce

 Posted on November 21, 2014 in Divorce

A recent article on The Huffington Post may have you wondering how difficult it is for spouses to revert back to their maiden names following a divorce. The author, who lives in Massachusetts, stated that she was required to pay a filing fee to take back her maiden name, and that there was no guarantee that the Court would grant her request (though it ultimately was granted).

Use of Maiden Name after Illinois Divorce

In Illinois, spouses can revert to their maiden names following a divorce with minimal hassle. In order to do so, the interested spouse must simply include a request in the divorce petition to restore a maiden name. The same applies to same-sex divorcing couples. Additionally, there is no additional filing fee, and although the request requires Court approval, the Court is very unlikely to not grant it.

Continue Reading ››

Child's Preference in Illinois Custody Cases

 Posted on November 14, 2014 in Children of Divorce

One of the most difficult aspects of divorce is dealing with child custody. The possibility of having to relocate or switch schools, in addition to spending less time with both parents, can leave a child feeling stressed, anxious and opinionated about the parent with whom he or she wants to live. However, when making an award of child custody or visitation, the Court must consider the child's best interests. Additionally, there are a number of factors the Court must weigh. One factor is a child's preference, pending the Court determines that the child has “sufficient maturity to express a preference.”

Best Interests and Child Preference in Illinois Custody Awards

Continue Reading ››

​Law Governing Illinois Spousal Support Payments Set to Change

 Posted on November 10, 2014 in Divorce

A new law, scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2015, will change the way Courts can award spousal support (also known as alimony or maintenance) in Illinois divorce cases.

Current Illinois Spousal Support Guidelines

The current law governing spousal support payments in Illinois divorce cases authorizes the Judge to award spousal support to either spouse after weighing a number of factors, including:

• Duration of the marriage;
• Income and education level of each spouse;
• Lifestyle established during the marriage;
• Health of each spouse; and
• Future earning capacity of each spouse.

The current structure for awarding support does not have any percentage guidelines to help Judges determine the amount or duration of any spousal support payments. This means the amount of any award of spousal support is purely discretionary on the Judge's part, and could be influenced by his or her personal views on spousal support or how sympathetic (or unsympathetic) he or she finds either party.

Continue Reading ››

Can Use of Corporal Punishment Affect Illinois Child Custody?

 Posted on October 27, 2014 in Children of Divorce

Warning: stripos(): Offset not contained in string in /home/ocvaws/public_html/system-joomla-shared-core/components/com_easyblog/easyblog.php on line 6

Continue Reading ››

Maintaining a Friendly Relationship after Divorce

 Posted on October 20, 2014 in Divorce

When many couples divorce, the relationship is severed entirely, and neither party has a kind word to say about his or her ex. Others, particularly those with children or mutual friends, are able to maintain a civil relationship. Yet while their interactions are minimal (usually regarding child custody issues or chance encounters at social engagements), they are, at the very least, cordial. However, some couples are able to do the unimaginable – remain friendly with not only their ex-spouse, but with their ex-spouse's family as well. Piano man Billy Joel and his ex-wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley, are the most recent high-profile example of a couple able to maintain a respectful, even friendly relationship following the divorce.

Benefits of Friendly Divorce

Joel and Brinkley divorced in 1994 after nine years of marriage and one daughter. Both have remarried and divorced since their union ended. Brinkley was married and divorced twice more following her split from Joel, with Joel a guest at her second post-divorce wedding. Brinkley was a guest at Joel's wedding following the split.

Continue Reading ››

The Denial of Child Custody and Visitation to Illinois Fathers

 Posted on October 17, 2014 in Child Custody

Illinois Fathers and Sexual Assault

An Illinois law enacted in 2014 denies child custody or visitation rights to men who father a child through sexual assault or sexual abuse, regardless of actual criminal conviction for the assault. Prior to enactment of the new law, a man usually had to either be convicted of, or pled guilty to, any type of criminal sexual assault to automatically be denied custody of, or visitation with, his child.

As previously written, custody or visitation could only be denied if the father had been convicted in a criminal Court of law. Recognizing that many women choose not to press charges against their rapist, and that an acquittal in a criminal Court means only that the prosecution could not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt – not that the accused was innocent – the Illinois legislature chose to revise the law.

Continue Reading ››

Illinois Divorce Asset Valuation

 Posted on October 03, 2014 in Divorce

Getting divorced means deciding how to divide the assets. However, before you can agree upon the division of assets, you must first assign a value to those assets.

Valuation Date for Illinois Divorce Assets

Under Illinois law, assets in a divorce are valued as of the date of trial, or as close to it as possible. Assigning value to an asset can sometimes be difficult, either due to circumstances (the trial date is postponed the day before) or the type of asset (stock prices fluctuate based on changing markets).

To eliminate some of the potential difficulties, the parties can agree on a valuation date. For example, a mutual fund will be valued based on the previous quarterly statement.

Continue Reading ››