Posted on March 09,2022 in Illinois Divorce

When becoming involved in any legal proceeding, it is essential to understand all of the terminologies used in your case. This can be difficult for many people as their case becomes increasingly complicated. During a divorce, there are many steps that must be taken to dissolve a marriage fully. In the scenario that a divorce is contested or becomes complex, new language between attorneys and judges may appear, such as dissipation of assets. To fully understand your divorce case, advocate for yourself, and ensure your legal rights are protected during the divorce, it is vital to understand dissipation and how it may affect you.

What is Dissipation in Divorce?

Dissipation is defined as the squandering or wasting of money, property, or other essential resources. Dissipation in divorce can happen in many ways, but it has one underlying theme — a partner using shared assets for an individual benefit during the divorce. Too often, when dividing marital assets during a divorce, a lawyer or the other partner will uncover hidden or squandered assets.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 28,2022 in Illinois Divorce

Divorces are hard, and it can be even harder to part with some of the assets you collected over the course of a marriage. Spouses choosing to file for a divorce will have to divide their shared property, which can be a highly volatile situation if the partners are unwilling to agree. It is important to be okay with parting with some of the assets you have come to love such as your house, the flat-screen TV or even the car your spouse bought for you when dividing marital assets during a marriage dissolution. But, how do partners agree upon who keeps the dog?

Shared Marital Property

After a while, pets become another member of the family. Your kids love them, you catch your so-called pet-hating spouse throwing the ball for them, and you even find yourself cuddling with them from time to time. Dividing property during a divorce is incredibly difficult. But how do you divide up another member of the family?

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 21,2022 in Illinois Divorce

The decision to file for a divorce from your spouse can be a difficult process. Most couples try to make their marriage work by seeking out help from professional experts, implementing new communication strategies or attempting alone-time during a separation. However, if a marriage is no longer healthy or suitable for a couple, the spouses may decide it is time to file for a divorce. Despite media portrayals, divorces can be an easy process if the decisions are uncontested. It is in both spouses’ best interests to create a divorce checklist prior to filing for a divorce to make the process easy and fast for everyone involved.

What Does the Divorce Process Look Like in Illinois?

Divorces in Illinois are no-fault divorces, meaning that there is no at-fault party. So, even if your spouse was unfaithful or unpleasant during your marriage, this information is not seen as relevant when creating a divorce decree. Instead of gathering documents and proof of infidelity, mistreatment, or misunderstanding between you and your partner, it would be much more time-efficient to begin gathering all of the required documentation needed for a swift, amicable divorce.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 17,2022 in Family Law

Premarital agreements are legal agreements between a couple prior to their marriage. Within a premarital or prenuptial agreement, many couples will lay out individual rights and responsibilities that each spouse will have during the marriage. These agreements are extremely useful in high asset marriages to help dictate property agreements and have proven to be useful if a marriage comes to an end. Engaged couples who are looking to create a prenuptial agreement before their wedding date should reach out to an experienced family attorney who is prepared to help navigate this process.

Reasons to Create a Prenup

Prenup agreements are most commonly portrayed in the media as contracts created by rich families to ensure their wealth stays in the family in case of a divorce. However, there are a plethora of reasons that couples decide to create a legal premarital agreement prior to their wedding. Typically, the reasons are unique and personal to each couple. There are often overarching themes in the reasons. Here are some of the most useful reasons to create a prenuptial agreement in the state of Illinois:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 08,2022 in Child Custody & Allocation of Parental Responsibility

There are many lifestyle changes that occur following a divorce — a new house, new relationships and, potentially, a new city. Relocating after a divorce can be the fresh start that many people need after dealing with the emotional and financial stress of a marriage dissolution. However, in the state of Illinois, relocation after a divorce may be difficult if there are children involved. There are many rules regarding the distance and timeline of a relocation with children that all depend on your divorce agreement.

How Do I Relocate?

The process to relocate with children following a divorce comes in a few steps. The first step is to determine where you want to move and how long you intend to live there. In the state of Illinois, the duration of the move (permanent or temporary) is required to be disclosed to the court. The moving spouse must write a written intent to move and submit it to the court at least 60 days prior to the move.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 28,2022 in Uncategorized

There are many reasons why people may file for divorce in Illinois. One of the most common causes of divorce is infidelity, which is when one partner in a marriage does not remain faithful to his or her spouse. Sometimes, couples are able to work through the act of infidelity and arrive at a place in their relationship where trust is restored. However, not all couples survive an act of fidelity, and in those cases, divorce often ensues. If you or someone you know is getting a divorce as a result of infidelity in the relationship, you may be wondering if an unfaithful act can affect divorce proceedings. Today, we are exploring the impact of infidelity on divorce cases in Illinois.

Is Infidelity Grounds For Divorce in Illinois?

Adultery may have been the cause of the marital breakdown, however, you will not list this in your divorce peition. This is because as of 2016, Illinois is a no-fault state when it comes to divorce cases. In other words, Illinois does not require one of the spouses to be at fault for the breakdown of a marriage.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 18,2022 in Illinois Divorce

The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, recently announced that tax season will commence on January 24, 2022. With tax season right around the corner, you may be wondering what you can expect when filing taxes after a divorce. Today, we are going to discuss the ways by which a lawyer can assist you as you set out to file as head of household after a divorce.

What Does it Mean To Be the Head of the Household?

Many people assume that filing as head of household means that you were the breadwinner. While this is not necessarily untrue, the IRS defines the head of household filing status in a much more detailed way. In order to file as head of household, the IRS takes the following details into consideration:

• You are legally either a U.S. citizen or resident.

• You were single at some point in the following year.

• You were responsible for at least one dependent.

  Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 14,2022 in Illinois Divorce

The decision to get a divorce is never one that is made with ease. In fact, for a lot of people, divorce is viewed as the very last option because of how intertwined the lives of a married couple are and how difficult it can be to separate everything after being married, finances included

While not every couple chooses to combine their finances, money matters are often a major topic of conversation during many divorces. From figuring out how to allocate the funds in bank accounts to deciding how to divide other assets like investments, there are many financial complexities to sort out during the divorce process

Tax Debt is Considered Marital Debt 

So, what happens to the money that you do not have? In other words, how does tax debt work when a couple that owes money to the IRS decides to end their marriage? 

In Illinois, tax debt is usually viewed as marital property, and marital property is often divided equally between both parties. However, IRS tax debt is usually regarded as marital property only if it was accrued at some point during the marriage

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 07,2022 in Child Custody & Allocation of Parental Responsibility

No matter what the dynamic between two spouses looks like, filing divorce papers is never easy. However, the process becomes even more unfortunate and complicated when children are involved.

Typically, a decision regarding child custody will be determined with the two parents in mind. A judge will often award sole custody to parent A, sole custody to parent B, or shared custody to both parents. Illinois law uses the terms “parenting time” and “parental responsibilities” instead of visitation and custody. However, these terms are still used informally and will be used in this blog.

Sometimes, grandparents will seek custody of their grandchildren amid the divorce of the children’s parents. With the help of a family law attorney, grandparents can fight for custody of the children whose parents are divorcing in Illinois.

How To Fight For Custody as a Grandparent

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 28,2021 in Illinois Divorce

Getting a divorce is never easy, but when a spouse refuses to cooperate, it is especially difficult. In some cases, spouses actively hide in order to avoid divorce proceedings. If you cannot find your spouse and you want to divorce, take heart in knowing that your spouse cannot delay the divorce forever. It is possible to get divorced without your spouse’s participation, however, the process is a bit more complicated. A divorce lawyer can be a huge help in a situation like this.

What to Do If Your Spouse Cannot Be Located

When someone files for divorce in Illinois, they use a document called a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The spouse who files for divorce is the petitioner and the other spouse is the respondent. The divorce petition is “served” or delivered to the other spouse by the petitioner or by a sheriff or private process server. The respondent must respond to the petition within 30 days of receiving it.

Some spouses try to avoid getting divorced by not responding to the petition or even by hiding where a process server cannot find them. Others spouses move out of state or even out of the country and do not tell the other spouse where they are. This can make the process of serving the petition nearly impossible.

Continue Reading ››