Posted on June 24, 2014 in Divorce

The divorce has been finalized; the property divided, and you and your ex-spouse have moved on to the next phase of your lives. There may be one thing you forgot though, something neither of you will remember until it is too late: updating the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies.

Most people designate their spouse as the beneficiary of retirement benefits and life insurance proceeds, and then promptly forget about it. Or they may think that the divorce automatically revoked the now ex-spouse's right to receive these assets at death. In Illinois, this could be a costly mistake. Failure to update your beneficiary designations following a divorce, or failure to include specific waiver of these rights in the divorce decree, can result in your ex-spouse getting the assets at your death.

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 Posted on June 09, 2014 in Legal Separation

Divorce is an unfortunate fact of life. Couples realize they are no longer compatible and agree to go their separate ways. For some couples, however, whether due to religious, health or financial reasons, divorce is not an option. Yet they are still incompatible and can no longer live together. For these couples, Illinois provides legal separation.

What is Legal Separation?

Legal separation is more than what is commonly referred to as a “trial” separation. In a trial or physical separation, couples live apart while trying to decide if they should get divorced. There is no payment of alimony, no child support or custody agreement, no property division, and the Court is not involved.

With a legal separation, the couple lives apart and remain legally married, but the Court must issue an order granting the legal separation. The couple remains legally married, so they are not free to marry anybody else. However, unlike the trial separation, the Court can make decisions regarding alimony, child support, and child custody; it cannot though make decisions regarding division of marital property unless the couple agrees.

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 Posted on May 31, 2014 in Family Law

For many couples, retirement accounts, whether 401ks, IRAs or pensions, make up the bulk of their assets. Even if only one spouse contributed to each account during the marriage, the assets are marital property and subject to division in a divorce. If the divorce occurs before the first distribution is made though, how can the accounts be divided without being subject to early withdrawal penalties? A skilled divorce attorney can help you navigate through this process.

Dividing Retirement Accounts

One way to divide retirement accounts is with a qualified domestic relations order, or a QDRO. A QDRO is a special order that requires the retirement plan administrator to either divide the account now, or make distributions to both spouses when they reach retirement age. There are certain requirements the QDRO must contain in order for the plan administrator to make the division, so it is important to meet with an experienced attorney who understands these very specific requirements.

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 Posted on May 28, 2014 in Divorce

Throughout your marriage, you and your spouse saved in anticipation of retirement. Your spouse put five percent of his/her monthly salary into a company funded retirement plan, which equates to 10 percent when including the company match. You both looked forward to retirement spending your golden years traveling, playing golf and relaxing. Now, however, you find yourself in the middle of a divorce. Most of your assets can easily be divided, except those retirement accounts, which are payable only to your wife. What can you do?

You can get a QDRO (pronounced quad-row).

QDRO for Dividing Illinois Retirement Accounts

Normally, benefits under a retirement plan are payable only to the individual whose name is on the account. When the wife retires, she will receive payments from the account. She may be able to designate another person to receive any funds remaining in the account after her death through a beneficiary designation, but during her lifetime, she is the only one who can receive distributions from the retirement plan.

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 Posted on May 16, 2014 in Divorce

More than a quarter century ago, George Strait, an American country recording artist, released one of his most popular songs, All My Ex's Live in Texas. What may have been lyrical for Mr. Strait does not necessarily hit the high notes for the rest of U.S. divorcees.

Recently reported by The Huffington Post, Texas did not even rank in the top 10 states that may sway your marital success. The American Community Survey (ACS) ranked the following cities and their respected states as possibly hazardous to your wedded bliss:

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 Posted on April 29, 2014 in Divorce

While filing for a divorce is never easy, there are several things that you can do to make the process easier. According to Forbes magazine, you can give yourself a significant advantage in a divorce proceeding by filing first.

Being first to file for divorce has a few legal advantages in Illinois. Firstly, if you and your spouse have been separated and live in different counties, filing first allows you to have the divorce decided in the jurisdiction where you reside. Additionally, it allows you to be the first person to present your case at trial, if you should choose to do so.

Choosing to be the first to file for a divorce has several other serious advantages as well. First of all, you can assemble a file with copies of all of your important paperwork, including bank and income statements for both you and your spouse. This may prevent your spouse from attempting to hide assets later. It also allows you the time you need to prepare for the financial impact that divorce will have on your life, as well as save the funds you will need to hire your qualified divorce team.

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 Posted on April 23, 2014 in Division of Property

You struggled with the decision, but you finally concluded that divorcing your spouse will be the best course of action. You are a stickler for detail, and before you contact an experienced Illinois divorce attorney, you want to secure all personal documentation that may later be requested.

According to About.com's Divorce Support, having documents readily available to your attorney will ultimately alleviate any confusion and make the negotiation stage of the divorce run more smoothly. It is also suggested that presenting your attorney, and later the courts, an organized and complete document file provides you with more support of your case.

It is further recommended that you construct your divorce document checklist in this order:

Income

• All paycheck stubs for all sources of employment for the past year;
• For those self-employed, secure business expense reports;

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 Posted on April 16, 2014 in Grandparent Rights

In a perfect world, children would be raised by their parents. But today, an increasing number of parents are unable to care for their children. In Illinois, 101,951 children under the age of 18 are being raised solely by their grandparents. Whether due to the death of both parents, substance abuse, mental illness, neglect and abandonment or other reasons, an increasing number of grandparents are turning to the Courts to be formally appointed guardians of their grandchildren. Types of Grandparent Guardianship of Grandchildren in Illinois

There are two types of minor guardianships in Illinois - guardianship of the person and guardianship of the estate. You may petition the Court for appointment as one or both of these guardians. There is no requirement that you serve in both capacities.

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 Posted on April 07, 2014 in Child Custody

One of the sad realities of divorce is that each parent has less time to spend with their children. But in 2013, the Illinois legislature passed a law that would maximize the amount of time parents can spend with their children, regardless of the final division of child custody. The new law, which amended the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, went into effect on January 1, 2014, and allows the Court to grant parents a right of first refusal for child care in child custody and visitation agreements.

The Right of First Refusal in Child Custody Cases

A right of first refusal gives the non-custodial parent (the parent who is not currently caring for the child) the right to provide child care if the other parent needs a babysitter or other child care provider. For example, if the mother has primary custody but must put the children in daycare during the week while she works, she must first offer the father the opportunity to care for the children. If the father accepts, then he will be able to care for the children while the mother is at work, without the extra time being counted against his regularly scheduled visitation. If the father refuses, then the mother is free to put the children in daycare.

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 Posted on March 30, 2014 in Child Custody

Roughly half of all Illinois marriages end in divorce. The number of women going the nontraditional route of children first, marriage later (and often to partners who are not their child's parent) is also rising, particularly among women who have children in their 20s. These two facts combined result in a society in which blended families have become commonplace. And contrary to the myth of the cold, selfish and jealous stepparent, many play a pivotal role in raising their partner's children, and grow to have loving, caring relationships with their stepchildren.

But this relationship may be severed completely if the death or disability of the child's parent results in custody being given to the non-custodial parent or grandparents, who may hold ill-will toward the stepparent. In these situations, Illinois law grants a stepparent the right to petition the Court for visitation.

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