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What to Do If You Think Your Loved One Was Forced into Signing Their Will
The instructions contained in a person’s Last Will and Testament are deeply personal. An individual usually thinks long and hard about how he wants his estate divided among heirs before putting these decisions in writing. According to Illinois law, wills produced through undue influence, coercion, force, or fraud are not legally-binding. If you believe that your loved ones will does not reflect his or her actual final wishes, you may be able to challenge the validity of the will in court. Challenging a will can be a complex legal endeavor. Help from an experienced estate planning lawyer may be necessary in these cases.
Did Your Loved One Have the Mental Capacity to Understand the Will?
When we age, both our bodies and our minds tend to weaken. In order for a person to be able to legally enter into a contract such as a will, he or she must have the mental ability to understand what he or she is agreeing to. This so-called “testamentary capacity" includes an understanding of the value of the property addressed in the will, an understanding of who should logically inherit this property, and the consequences of signing a legally binding document. Not everyone with dementia or another mental disability is unable to legally consent to a will, however. It is up to the person challenging the validity of the will to prove that his or her loved one could not consent to the document. In situations like this, the validity of the will may hinge on testimonies of the witnesses to the will signing, medical evidence, or an adjudication of incapacity.
What is the Divorce Process in Illinois?
Deciding to get a divorce is the first step to complete the legal process. Whether you and your spouse make the decision together, or it is a one-sided decision, the process of getting a divorce can seem overwhelming. Having experienced legal counsel will make the divorce process easier, particularly if any issues arise.
Illinois Divorce Laws
In Illinois, divorce is legally referred to as the dissolution of marriage. To file for divorce in Illinois, you must have resided in the state for at least 90 days. To begin the legal process, the first step is to hire a skilled divorce attorney who can complete all the required paperwork. Details about your marriage and your spouse will be included, including where you were married, places of employment, and addresses. These forms must be filed with the county court you are asking for a divorce. There will be a filing fee, and if necessary, a service fee.
After filing your documents, the next step is to notify your spouse with a summons notice. If your spouse is a knowing participant in the divorce, he or she can sign an Entry of Appearance. Doing this allows you to ask for a court date and skip your spouse being summoned. Otherwise, your spouse will receive the summons and return of service. Your spouse has 30 days from receiving the summons to respond.
Does Empty Nest Syndrome Cause Divorce?
Whether you call it empty nest syndrome or a mid-life crisis, many couples struggle when their children leave home and they go back to their previous “empty house” lifestyle. This life change can be a tough adjustment since a parent has gotten used to having their child living under their roof for 18+ years. Spouses are used to focusing on their child’s schedule and activities. This can make an empty house feel lonely and uncomfortable, sometimes so much so that divorce enters the equation.
What is Empty Nest Syndrome?
Although it is not technically diagnosed, the commonality of empty nest syndrome illustrates its wide-reaching effect. Feeling a strong sense of sadness and loneliness after your children have moved out is the telltale sign of empty nest syndrome. Other symptoms include a lack of identity, extreme remorse, and a lack of self-worth. This lifestyle change can lead to clinical depression and apathy toward your spouse. Many feel as if they no longer have anything in common with their spouse since they have shared their child and the duties of parenting for the past decade. Although this can create a distance between spouses, there are various coping mechanisms for those who feel their emotions may be causing conflict.
Am I Wealthy Enough for an Estate Plan?
Television and movies are partially to blame for vast misunderstandings about wills, trusts, and other estate planning tools. On TV, the only people ever talking about a will are older wealthy individuals. Some people may even believe that only the rich should make estate plans. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Estate planning is a step that everyone should take, regardless of wealth or status.
Estate Planning Saves Your Surviving Family Members Burdensome Decision-Making
One of the most overlooked elements about wills and trusts is the benefit that they bring to the surviving family members of the deceased. When a person without a will passes away, their surviving family and friends are left to guess what the deceased person would have wanted regarding property and final wishes. This is a lot to ask of people who are already suffering the grief of losing a loved one. Even if your will only covers a few small pieces of property, putting your wishes in writing saves your loved ones from the emotional burden of making inheritance decisions on your behalf.
Paying for College as a Divorced Parent
Seeing your child receive a college acceptance letter is a proud moment for many parents. You get to see how your parenting, your child’s education, and their hard work helped them get an opportunity to pursue higher education. This can also bring financial stress. It is no secret that college is costly, especially for divorced parents.
Can the Court Make You Pay?
The Illinois court system, like various other states, was previously allowed to require a child’s parents to contribute a certain amount of money toward their child’s college fund. There is not an exact formula for calculating each parent’s required contribution. However, the amount parents can be ordered to pay cannot exceed the amount of tuition, room, and board for that particular year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Determining these obligations can become even more complex in the case of multiple children, and depending on which parent the children live with, it could be difficult to determine who should pay what amount.
How to Create a Parenting Plan for Divorce
When getting a divorce, one of the biggest concerns is how decisions regarding children will be made between the former spouses. In Illinois, this is called parental responsibility, which dictates the important aspects of a child’s life. Decisions about medical care, education, and religion are made by the parents, who share this responsibility. Decisions about a child’s care are made through what is called a parenting plan.
What is a Parenting Plan?
A parenting plan is a court order that decides which parent sees the child and when, and how they are cared for. Although the time spent with both parents is rarely an exact 50/50 split, in most cases, the court will decide that the child will benefit the most from seeing both parents regularly. In lieu of "visitation" in Illinois, the term used is "parenting time," which is defined as time performing parental duties and care.
When creating a parenting plan, both parents will need to agree to terms. If an agreement cannot be made, the court will make a decision on behalf of the child and his or her best interests.
How is Child Support Calculated in Illinois?
When going through a divorce with children, setting up child support payments are an important facet for most divorcing couples. This is often legally required to try and balance the parental responsibilities and expenses of both parents. There is no set algorithm used by judges, however, there are a variety of factors that consistently play a role in determining child support.
What is Considered in Child Support Calculation?
The first part that is considered, aside from a parent’s finances, is the amount of time being spent with the child. Most parents share custody but do not equally divide their child’s time between one another. This can be too difficult on the child and the parents since a consistent schedule is important for a child’s success. As a result, judges have the parent who spends less time physically caring for the child to pay a set sum to compensate for the disparity.
Why You Should Consider Hiring an Estate Planning Professional for Your Will
Nearly everyone appreciates saving money on a good deal. However, when it comes to do-it-yourself estate planning, not every “good deal” is as good as it appears. Online estate planning services are more prevalent than ever, but many legal professionals worry that some of these websites are not being honest about how beneficial their services really are. Read on to learn about the pros and cons of DIY wills as well as how you can ensure that your estate planning documents will be legally binding.
DIY Wills Are Not Personalized to Your Unique Needs
One of the biggest differences between DIY or online estate planning services is that these programs are almost always one-size-fits-all solutions. Because these services have to work for a wide range of individuals, there is very little personalization to the plans. If you have complex assets, a blended family, a second marriage, or other unique circumstances, you are not likely to have these specific needs addressed by an impersonal website. Some of these online programs do offer personal advice from professionals, but this is often an additional service which costs quite a bit more.
Getting a Divorce While Pregnant
A married couple may decide to start a family, but what happens if that couple decides to get a divorce while expecting a child? A divorce and pregnancy are stressful on their own, but experiencing them together presents a unique set of challenges. In Illinois, a pregnancy in no way restricts your ability to end a marriage, but there are some reasons a family may choose to delay divorce finalization until after the child is born.
Whether this is a first child or a new addition, it will be important to discuss what is best for your growing family. Although you and your spouse may not see eye to eye anymore, reaching common ground about an unborn child and divorce will reduce everyone’s stress. Consider some of these points when making decisions about your divorce with a baby on the way.
Paternity
While there is no question about the biological status between mother and child at birth, paternity - the legal relationship between a father and child - is sometimes unknown or contested. When a child is born to a married couple, the woman’s husband is assumed to be the legal father and has rights to the child. The child also becomes eligible for benefits from the father, such as health insurance, social security benefits, and any inheritance. Without being married, you may have to establish paternity, such as signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form. On the other hand, if the paternity of the child is not certain at this point in your relationship, it may be best to end the marriage and prove paternity after.
Eliminating Same-Sex Discrimination Within Adoption Agencies in Illinois
Historically, same-sex couples have had difficulties adopting children. In the past, this could be attributed to the lack of social acceptance of homosexuality. This social misunderstanding and form of discrimination have significantly faded in recent years.
The State of Michigan Takes Action
Adoption agencies are a helpful resource many couples utilize when they hope to grow their family. Although there are secular agencies, many adoption agencies are religious-based, and thus let their faith’s beliefs determine who can or cannot adopt a child. It is common for religious agencies to deny same-sex couples. This is the case in Michigan for couples from Dimondale and Detroit.
Kristy and Dana Dumont and Erin and Rebecca Busk-Sutton are two couples who were turned away by two different religious adoption agencies for their sexual orientation. Bethany Christian Services and St. Vincent Catholic Charities told the women they could not utilize their services based on religious reasons. Rather than accepting this denial of assistance, the women took the discrimination to court, joining an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit in 2017.
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