Posted on January 06, 2022 in Divorce

One of the most damaging parts of divorce is the impact it can have on a family’s finances. Even for two adults without children, splitting a household can cause enormous financial upheaval. While getting divorced does not directly affect things like your credit score or your salary, your financial situation following a divorce is likely to be affected in some surprising ways. Here are four things to watch out for.

Your Car Insurance Rates May Go Up

Just as getting married can indicate stability and lower your car insurance rates, getting divorced indicates a person with a greater risk profile, leading car insurance companies to raise premiums for divorcees. Although the difference is not likely major, factor this in as you plan your post-divorce finances.

Your Credit May Suffer Even if You Make Timely Payments

Whether debt is in your name, your spouse’s name, or both, when it comes time for divorce, creditors will still want their money. As long as a loan was taken out during a marriage and benefited the relationship, it will likely be joint debt and both parties can be given responsibility for paying it off. But beware - if your spouse is supposed to make payments on a joint credit card and does not, your credit score can suffer even if you make your share of the payments on time.

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 Posted on December 30, 2021 in Divorce

Although many divorcing spouses look forward to the finalization of the Illinois divorce process in the hope that they will start a new life and things will be easier, the difficult truth is that for many people, finalizing a divorce is the beginning of challenges – albeit a different set of them. But that does not mean that life after divorce cannot be meaningful and healing. If you are in the final stages of your divorce and are looking to start the near year on a positive note, here are some helpful tips to help you move forward.

Do Not View Your Marriage, Or Yourself, as a Failure

Many divorcees view their marriage as a failure, but there are many things throughout life that do not work out. Rather than beating yourself up, try to understand that divorce happens to many, many people and remember your marriage as one part of a long life.

Ask Yourself What You Learned

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 Posted on December 30, 2021 in Estate Planning

Estate planning should always be done with care. It is important that wills, trusts, and other testamentary instruments are written and executed correctly - when it counts, you will not be there to explain what you meant to do in your estate plan. There are a handful of common mistakes and oversights people sometimes make in the course of building an estate plan. Unfortunately, estate planning errors can sometimes have serious consequences. It is best to consult a skilled lawyer when you are ready to begin the estate planning process. Having an attorney assist you can be an excellent way to avoid what could be a costly mistake.

What Are the Top Mistakes Illinois Residents Make in Estate Planning?

It is important to make sure that you are aware of and understand all the options you have before you start signing off on an estate plan. You should be aware of these common mistakes:

• Trusts - Not taking advantage of a trust when one could benefit you can be an expensive error. Many people are more familiar with wills, and may think of them as the default estate planning tool. Some erroneously believe that trusts are for those with high-value estates, but this is no longer the case. Trusts now work well for most estates, and their probate-skipping properties can save your beneficiaries a lot of money in the end.

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 Posted on December 27, 2021 in Divorce

Even as Illinois family law has been updated to reflect the changing and modernizing circumstances many families live in, the law still protects spouses who have stayed out of the workforce to raise children or keep a home. Many couples still choose this path together and, following a divorce, the spouse who gave up employment opportunities to raise children may receive spousal maintenance (alimony) while he or she becomes financially independent.

Although most people do not willingly take advantage of their spouse, some individuals will deliberately remain employed or underemployed as their spouse financially supports them. This can cause financial problems during a marriage, and it can also pose serious difficulties during divorce. If you are considering divorcing your unemployed spouse, here are some important things you should know.

Can a Person Be Ordered to Pay Their Spouse’s Attorney’s Fees?

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 Posted on December 23, 2021 in Wills and Trusts

Special needs trusts are a tool used to provide for disabled adults without defeating their eligibility for Medicare and other government assistance. This type of trust will allow the beneficiary to use these funds for expenses not covered by Medicare, like personal items and recreation. There are two types of special needs trusts most commonly used in Illinois: third-party special needs trusts and self-settled special needs trusts. If you are interested in protecting someone with a special needs trust, consulting a qualified attorney is the first step.

Why Do I Need a Special Needs Trust?

The problem with simply gifting or awarding money to someone with disabilities is that these funds can be counted as income for them, which can disqualify them for the benefits they rely on. Then, they are forced to spend their gift or award on the routine health care and living expenses these government programs would normally pay for. This goes on until the funds are depleted, which may not take long at all. The disabled person then must reapply for assistance programs, and is effectively back at square one without having really benefited in any noticeable way.

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 Posted on December 20, 2021 in Child Custody

Many divorcing parents feel as though creating a parenting plan is inevitably a win/lose situation. If one parent does not get to spend time with their children, it is because their [insulting adjective] ex is with them instead. Depending on how someone feels about their ex, this can be an inconvenient or irritating fact or a complete disaster.

However, even when divorced parents dislike each other strongly and find it difficult to get along, they still have to deal with each other and their children still have to deal with the consequences of their relationship. Finding an appropriate balance is crucial for creating a parenting plan, yet this can be the hardest thing in the world during a contentious divorce. If you are struggling to cooperate with your spouse about a parenting plan, here are five tips that may be helpful.

Strive to Understand Your Child’s Best Interests

Sometimes warring spouses may find it easier to cooperate when they shift the focus from each other to their child. Ultimately, a child did not choose her parents’ relationship and it is not her fault that she is stuck in the middle of a divorce. It is her needs that should be met first.

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 Posted on December 17, 2021 in Divorce

Accidents, slips and falls, or malfunctioning equipment can seriously harm people while they are at work. When people get injured badly enough that they need medical treatment or lose wages, they often pursue workers’ compensation claims or personal injury settlements and sometimes get a significant amount of money from the party responsible for the injury.

You may be surprised to learn that, if such an injury occurs while you are married, any compensation can be considered a marital asset - and therefore subject to division if the courts divide property in a divorce. This seems counterintuitive because there is only one spouse who is injured and therefore in need of compensation; nevertheless, Illinois law generally defines any asset obtained during the marriage, including cash settlements or ongoing payments, as a marital asset.

Disabilities May Be a Factor in the Illinois Property Division Process

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 Posted on December 10, 2021 in Divorce

One of the most difficult issues divorcing couples struggle to agree about is spousal maintenance. Previously known as alimony, spousal maintenance or spousal support is money paid by one spouse to another after an Illinois divorce while the receiving spouse becomes financially self-sufficient. Spousal maintenance may be paid in a lump sum or in monthly payments over a set period. Sometimes, for long marriages, spousal support is ordered to last indefinitely.

Spouses who are ordered to pay spousal support sometimes feel upset that they are giving money to someone they are not married to anymore. This may be especially true if one spouse is petitioning for spousal support to be a nuisance to their ex, not because they genuinely need the financial assistance. If you believe your former spouse is wrongfully petitioning for spousal maintenance and you want to fight their claim, the information in this blog may be helpful to you.

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 Posted on December 07, 2021 in Child Custody

Parents frequently disagree about issues related to the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time during their divorce. When parents cannot reach an agreement or create a parenting plan, mediators or a collaborative divorce team may be able to help. However, if other methods fail or if a case is extremely contentious, parents may end up litigating their custody dispute in an Illinois family law court. Although there is no failsafe way for a parent to ensure they get what they want in a court hearing, there are certain mistakes that parents should try to avoid.

Sharing Details of the Dispute on Social Media

Nearly everyone uses social media, but during a contentious divorce, putting too many details on social media accounts can have negative consequences. Even with the most private account settings, information can be obtained and used as evidence in court. Trash-talking the other parent, posting pictures of late-night parties, and even photos of fun but risky behaviors with children may be used to try to prove lack of parental fitness in court. When in doubt, less is more when it comes to social media use.

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 Posted on November 30, 2021 in Divorce

One of the most challenging parts of any divorce is the property division process. Ideally, a couple can work together to create an agreement for splitting their assets and debts equitably. However, sometimes court intervention is required for spouses who cannot negotiate productively or when there are other extenuating circumstances.

One of the circumstances under which a court may get involved in dividing property is when one spouse has engaged in wasting, or “dissipating,” marital property. In this blog, we will discuss what marital asset dissipation is, how it can be proven, and how dissipated assets might be recovered.

What is Marital Asset Dissipation in Illinois?

A spouse can dissipate marital assets in many ways, but all forms of dissipation have one thing in common: Wasting, misusing, or extravagantly spending on things unrelated to the marriage when the relationship is undergoing an irretrievable breakdown. Some of the most common forms of dissipation include:

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