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Pets and Illinois Divorce
According to Schaumburg, Illinois-based American Veterinary Medical Association, 51.8 percent of Illinois residents are pet owners. For many of these residents, their animal companions are more than pets — they are four-legged family members and are as beloved as children. And like children, deciding who receives custody of the pets in a divorce can become heated.
Obtaining Custody of Pets in Illinois Divorce Illinois Courts consider pets as personal property, no different than bank accounts, vehicles or other household belongings. This means they are just another asset to consider when determining the most equitable way to divide assets. The Court will not conduct a custody hearing, and there will not be “best interests” factors to consider when deciding who should receive the pet. However, there are steps you can take to increase the likelihood that the Judge will award you custody of your pet. Retain copies of all receipts. Because pets are personal property, you must be able to prove a greater ownership interest than your spouse in regards to your pet. Documents showing that the pet was registered in your name, receipts from veterinary bills (especially if paid from your separate property) or other evidence showing as you as the pet's primary caretaker can help prove that the Court should award you the pet. Prove your ability to care for the pet. Even though pets are property, they are different from a car or bank account — they require active care. Being able to show that you are better able to care for the pet than your spouse may help sway the Court's decision. Other determining factors which may help prove you are in a better position to care for the pet include your spouse having a job that requires frequent travel, his moving into an apartment or rental home that does not allow pets or evidence of allergies. Agree to a custody schedule. Although the Court will not engage in a custody determination the way it will with children, this does not mean it will not consider a custody arrangement if one or both of the parties present one. For couples with children, it may be helpful to keep the pets on the same visitation schedule as the children. Obtain a pre- or post-marital agreement. Though not an option if you are in the middle of a divorce, either a pre- or post-marital agreement will allow you to address the issue of who will receive the pet in the event of divorce. Palatine Divorce Attorney If you are planning on filing for divorce, or if you have just been served with divorce papers from your spouse, contact Palatine divorce attorney Nicholas W. Richardson today for a free consultation. With more than a decade worth of experience handling divorce and other family law matters, Nicholas W. Richardson understands the complex emotions that can arise and knows when to approach each issue in the spirit of compromise — and when to dig in and fight. Call the Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C., today to discuss your case.
Illinois Divorce of Absent Spouse by Publication
When a couple decides to end their marriage, one or both spouses may file for divorce. However, in some cases, a marriage can end when one spouse simply walks out and leaves the other spouse wondering what went wrong and questioning his or her spouse's whereabouts. In this situation, the spouse who was left behind is placed in a difficult position. The commencement of all civil actions, including divorce, requires that the other party be served with the petition. Therefore, if one does not know where his or her spouse is, how can he or she serve the spouse with divorce papers? Although challenging, divorcing an absent spouse can be accomplished.
- Attempting to contact your spouse at his or her last known address;
Illinois Divorce Asset Protection: The Use of Trusts
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Getting Remarried? Consider an Illinois Prenuptial Agreement
The fact that roughly 50 percent of all first-time marriages end in divorce is common knowledge. However, you may be surprised to learn that 67 percent of second marriages (and 73 percent of third) do not make it “'til death do us part” either. There are no firm reasons why, but one aspect is clear — if you are contemplating taking a second trip down the aisle, you should have an Illinois prenuptial agreement.
Illinois Premarital Agreements
A premarital agreement, more commonly known as a prenuptial agreement (or pre-nup for short), is a voluntary agreement entered in to by both parties prior to marriage that becomes valid once the couple is married.
Helping Illinois Kids Cope with Divorce
Although divorce is never easy, most couples feel a sense of relief when the divorce is finalized and each party can move on to the next phase of his or her life. But for the thousands of Illinois children whose post-divorce life is dictated by the terms of a child custody agreement, there is no sense of relief. Divided homes, blended families and constant uprooting due to visitation agreements can leave children feeling angry, hurt, and confused. There are, however, things you can do to help ease the transition for your children.
Make sure your children know they are not at fault. Children often believe they caused the divorce. As parents, your most important job is to let them know the divorce is not their fault. If possible, both parents should sit down together with their children and break the news of the divorce to them. Answer any questions they have as honestly as possible without going into more detail than necessary.
The Cost of Divorce in Illinois: 4th Most Expensive State in the U.S.
There is no getting around it – if you live in Illinois and want a divorce, it is going to cost you. Even if the divorce is amicable and you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse agree on all aspects of property division and child custody, you will still face expenses and at least some attorney's fees. With money suddenly an issue, you may wonder how much the divorce will cost and who is responsible for paying those fees.
Illinois Fourth Most Expensive State for Divorce
A report released early this year by FindtheData.org ranked Illinois as the fourth most expensive state for couples getting divorced. At $337 just to get the paperwork filed, Illinois ranks behind only Florida, Minnesota and California. Perhaps because of this, Illinois also ranked as having one of the lowest annual rates of divorce, tying for third with several other states at eight divorces per 1,000 married couples.
Creative Solutions for Equitable Division of Marital Assets in Illinois Divorce
Illinois is an equitable distribution divorce state, meaning that all assets the spouses accumulated during the marriage, or any assets brought into the marriage that become marital property due to commingling, are divided equitably in the divorce. This usually, but not always, means the marital assets are divided equally.
Equitable distribution does not necessarily mean that every asset is split down the middle. Barring special circumstances that entitles one spouse to receive more than one-half of the marital assets, each spouse will be awarded 50 percent of the total value of the marital estate and 50 percent of all marital debt. This means that the spouses can get creative in how the assets are divided.
Equitable Division of Marital Assets – A Case Study
John and Cathy have been married for 12 years. Let us assume that the marital assets are as follows:
Dating During Divorce in Illinois
A bill winding its way through the Massachusetts legislature wants to ban couples going through a divorce with children from having sex or even dating until the divorce is finalized, unless the Court grants permission. Illinois has no law prohibiting dating during the divorce proceedings but that does not mean that dating during divorce is a good idea.
Why Dating During Divorce is a Bad Idea
There are a number of emotional and practical reasons why dating before the divorce is finalized may not be a good idea.
- You may not be emotionally ready for a new relationship;
- Your children need stability more than ever; and
- A new relationship creates more instability;
- You may not have time to devote to a new relationship.
Dating before the divorce is finalized can impact the results of the divorce proceedings as well, even though it is not prohibited by Illinois law. Some of the problems associated with dating during the divorce can include the following.
Use of Collaborative Law in Illinois Child Custody Cases
As discussed previously, collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution that allows parties going through a divorce or child custody issue to attempt to come to a mutually agreeable solution. It sounds similar to mediation, but the two are not exactly the same.
In mediation, the parties meet outside of Court in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of the contested issues, just as in the collaborative law process. The difference is that in mediation, pleadings, motions and other filings have been submitted to the Court, the parties have been (or are scheduled to be) deposed, and there have been Court hearings. Mediation, then, is an attempt to resolve the issues before the proceedings get any more contentious and adversarial.
In collaborative law, coming to an agreement before entering the Courthouse is the goal. When the parties use the collaborative law process, they bypass Court's initial involvement; there are no pleadings, no Court hearings; and hopefully, if the process works as planned, there is only a single hearing once an agreement has been reached for the Judge to approve the agreement and finalize the divorce. At the outset, the parties agree that they do not want the process to be contentious or adversarial.
Marriage and Annulment in Illinois
A previous post on this blog discussed the concept of legal separation and why some people may consider it a more desirable option than divorce. For some people, however, neither option is desirable; instead, they may want an annulment.
What is Annulment?
When most people think of an annulment (now legally called a Declaration of Invalidity in Illinois), they think of it in a religious context. Some churches, such as the Catholic Church, prohibit divorcees from getting remarried until their ex-spouse dies (thus severing the marriage in the eyes of the church, thanks to the vow of “'til death do us part” literally coming true) or the marriage is annulled by the church. In these instances, the marriage is deemed null and void in the eyes of the church, as though it never happened.
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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