Posted on April 13, 2022 in Child Custody

The turmoil and trauma involved in child custody battles can be severe, but it augments the dispute when one parent is afflicted with addiction. A divorce and family law attorney who understands the complexities of custody challenges will work on behalf of the client and in the child's best interest. Usually, the court appoints a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) and a Child Representative. Their evaluation will help facilitate the child-custody decree. A dedicated family law attorney will provide dispute resolutions to mitigate the family's emotional stress and financial burdens.

Five Addictions that Trigger Child-Custody Battles  

A spouse suffering from addiction can wreak havoc on the child’s emotions and parental relationships. Substance abuse addiction impairs judgment and decision-making and can lead to domestic violence, further endangering the child. The risky behaviors of addicted spouses can significantly impact the court’s decisions in custody battles. Such addictions include, but are not limited to substance abuse, porn addiction, gambling addiction, compulsive shopping, and sex addiction. 

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 Posted on April 06, 2022 in Divorce

During these unprecedented times, nothing is certain. Divorce is surging in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the pandemic instigated an increase in divorce, with an uptick of 21 percent from 2020. Along with health anxieties, many other stressors caused couples to contemplate divorce. Almost 10 million Americans lost employment, and parents who could work virtually faced additional challenges of overseeing their children’s remote learning and child care. Confinement with a spouse for several months can also trigger irritability and frustration. Loneliness from the isolation of friends, relatives, coworkers, and social activities affected children and adults alike.

The quarantine exposed underlying marital problems for many spouses, provoking some to rethink their future. A divorce attorney can help facilitate an amicable solution.

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 Posted on March 31, 2022 in Divorce

Studies suggest that although the overall divorce rate has stabilized in America, divorce for couples over 50 has continued to rise. Many couples wait to get divorced until their children are adults, and, coupled with other life-changing events like retirement and major illnesses that happen later in life, perhaps these statistics are not surprising. 

While divorcing couples with adult children can dodge some complex issues like custody and visitation, they still confront the daunting task of telling their children about the divorce. Adults are still deeply affected by parental divorce, and may feel anger, fear of abandonment, resentment, and more. And because adult children are old enough to understand the implications of divorce and the complexities of relationships, their questions are likely to be more pointed and will require more comprehensive answers than those of a young child. If you are getting divorced in Illinois and have adult children, here are some tips for breaking the news. 

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 Posted on March 27, 2022 in Uncategorized

Divorce is often a complex process that requires a team of professionals to help spouses plan carefully for issues like child custody arrangements and marital property division. Attorneys, friends and family, therapists, and more can all help a family transition from married life to separate households. One of the most useful professionals that couples often use in divorce is a financial advisor. There are different kinds of financial advisors and the one(s) you want will depend on your unique circumstances - high net worth families may require a team of financial advisers while other families may only want an accountant who specializes in the implications of divorce on a couple’s taxes. Here are some ways that a financial advisor could benefit you in your Illinois divorce. 

Splitting Marital Property 

Dividing marital assets can be a complicated and difficult process. Assets like real estate, pension plans and retirement accounts, and valuable collectibles can all affect a spouse’s financial position during the divorce and well into the future. A financial advisor can help spouses understand the advantages and disadvantages of different asset division proposals and consider whether they fit into their long-term financial plans. 

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 Posted on March 16, 2022 in Divorce

High-net-worth couples who are going through a divorce in Illinois face many unique challenges. While some may casually joke about how hard it must be to divorce a wealthy partner, the truth is that valuable assets and investments can significantly complicate a divorce in ways that may surprise even the most financially savvy partners. Even the smallest mistakes can end up having costly consequences, both during the divorce and long into the future. If you are considering a high net worth divorce in Illinois, make sure you have the help of a divorce attorney with experience in complex assets and make sure you avoid these three common mistakes. 

Hiding or Manipulating Assets

Wealthy couples have often obtained their net worth through years of hard work, ingenuity, risk-taking, and personal sacrifice. The prospect of giving up or dividing valuable assets in a divorce can be understandably upsetting. However, trying to hide assets or dissemble about their value is a strategy that can seriously backfire. Whether you try to hide money in offshore accounts, gift it to a friend with the expectation that it will be returned, or deliberately fail to disclose ownership, if you are caught, you can be held in contempt of court and end up undermining your own agenda. 

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 Posted on March 11, 2022 in Divorce

Getting divorced in Illinois presents unique challenges for every couple, but a couple who shares a child with disabilities will need to be prepared to handle common divorce scenarios with a little extra flexibility. Because the needs of a child with a disability are often more complex and demanding, parents will need to adjust their parenting plans accordingly. If you have a special needs child in Illinois and are preparing to get divorced, here are three areas you will need to negotiate. 

Parental Responsibilities

Rather than use the term “custody,” Illinois now uses “parental responsibilities” to describe the rights of each parent to make decisions on behalf of a child. Children with special needs often require intensive, regular intervention from parents about essential issues like medical care, school choices, aftercare programs, and more. Parents often make these decisions together during marriage and shared parental responsibilities are common for special needs children following divorce.

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 Posted on February 28, 2022 in Divorce

While divorce rates in the United States are notoriously high, at up to an estimated 40 percent, the reasons behind the divorce rates are more complex than initial statistics suggest. Social scientists have long studied the complex human relationships that form love and marital bonds, and while certain factors can contribute to divorce rates (like early marriage or cohabitation before marriage), people who have gotten divorced have directly shared their reasoning as well. Here are six of the most common reasons that people in Illinois get divorced. 

Lack of Commitment

While couples will often give different reasons for why they got divorced, lack of commitment is frequently cited by both spouses as the reason the marriage ultimately fell apart. Lack of commitment can manifest in other ways, such as cheating and not being willing to work on the relationship, but many people feel as though the true issue underlying these other problems is a lack of commitment to the marriage itself. 

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 Posted on February 20, 2022 in Divorce

In addition to the many challenges divorce brings, such as negotiating property division, determining who will move out of the family home, and making parenting arrangements, spouses must figure out how to pay for divorce. This can present particular challenges for spouses who are unemployed or homemakers, but financing divorce can be difficult for everyone. 

However, lacking a clear path towards paying for divorce should not compel anyone to stay in a relationship that has irretrievably broken down. With careful planning, financial conservation, and the help of an experienced Naperville divorce attorney, you can make your divorce work for you. Here are a few things you can do to bring down the cost of divorce in Illinois. 

Consider Doing Some of Your Divorce Yourself

Certain parts of divorce, such as filling out paperwork and delivering it to the appropriate county courthouse, may be easier with the help of an attorney but spouses who are under financial constraints can do it themselves. Limited scope representation is a form of legal representation that allows an attorney to provide assistance to a spouse in the areas where they need it most - without breaking the bank. If you can assess the overall divorce process and determine where you really need help and where you do not, you may be able to reduce your legal fees. 

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 Posted on February 10, 2022 in Child Custody

Many parents worry that, after divorce, their ex will try to poison their child against them. Efforts to do this are known as parental alienation and while parental alienation can sometimes be obvious, more often the signs are subtle and difficult to pin down. The effects of parental alienation on a developing child’s psychological well-being can be damaging and Illinois courts take this behavior from parents seriously. If you are worried your child’s other parent is trying to turn your child against you, read on. 

Parental Alienation is Real

Whether you call it parental alienation, psychological manipulation, or child abuse, behaviors that unjustly cause a child to feel hostility towards a parent are wrong. Children need both of their parents and even when parents feel hostility and anger towards each other, they should do whatever they can to keep kids out of the conflict. Unfortunately, many parents use their children in proxy battles with each other to get revenge for hurt and disappointment during their marriage. 

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 Posted on February 03, 2022 in Domestic Violence

Getting divorced is a traumatic and difficult process for many people, but if you have a possessive or controlling spouse, the process can be even harder. A spouse’s worst behavior is often brought out during divorce; in fact, research shows that victims of domestic violence are at the greatest risk of being seriously hurt or killed when they try to leave their abuser. If you are considering divorce in Illinois and are worried your spouse may try to stalk you, intimidate you, or otherwise control you, here are four things you can do that may help. 

Change Your Passwords 

Many couples share passwords to their accounts. Without you even realizing it, your spouse may be legally accessing your private information. Emails, bank statements, browser history, social media accounts, and text messages could all be easily available unless you change passwords. 

Open Personal Financial Accounts

If you share bank accounts, credit cards, or a cell phone plan with your spouse, you may want to consider closing them or getting your own private accounts. Even closing down shared accounts for online retailers that are connected to your credit cards may be a good idea. Be sure to talk to an attorney before you close any accounts that may be considered marital property. 

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