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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.
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.
A Primer on Trusts for Estate Planning
Even if you do not know how to write one that is valid, you probably know what a will is. Or, maybe you are more familiar with the longer name of a "Last Will and Testament." There is a good chance that you know that most people create a will to direct how their property will handed down to the next generation after they die. You may also have heard of trusts, but you may be unsure as what a trust actually is. Fortunately, we can help you develop a better understanding of trusts and how they can be used in estate planning.
Trust Basics
All trusts are formal instruments that allow the creator of the trust-called a "grantor" or "trustor"-to transfer ownership of his or her property into the trust to be managed by another person or entity-called a "trustee"-for the benefit of a third person or persons-called "beneficiaries." Several different kinds of trusts can be used for estate planning purposes, each with its own set of rules, requirements, and potential advantages. All of them, however, are similar in structure and hold assets to be transferred at a later time-usually after the death of the grantor.
How to Handle Debt and Divorce
The division of marital property is an essential part of the divorce process, but what some people forget is the division of debts. Whether credit cards, car loans, or student loans, it is important to take a close look at the debts that have accrued as a couple.
Every state has its own approach to dividing property, money, and debts. In Illinois, these are split according to what is equitable, not necessarily even, and takes various factors into account. Anything that is considered marital property can qualify for division.
What is Marital Property?
Marital property includes assets and debts accumulated during the marriage. If one spouse bought a car before the marriage, it would likely go to the original buyer. However, if the couple bought the same vehicle during the marriage, that would qualify for equitable division.
These rules also apply to debt. Any liability is subject to be split fairly, no matter whose name is associated with the debt. An individual credit card used during a marriage may not be considered marital debt if the sole benefit of the purchases went to that individual. However, if that same card is used for family purchases, those would likely be considered marital debts.
Including Your Caregiver in Your Estate Plan
As you get older, your needs are going to change. Many people require more medical and personal care in their later years than they did when they were younger. If this happens to you, your loved ones and family members will probably be on board with helping as much as possible, but they might not be able or equipped to provide the level of care that you need. In such a situation, you might need to rely on an independent caregiver-someone that you are not related to or do not really know in any other capacity. While a caregiver might be a stranger at first, it is possible that you will become closer with him or her over time. Depending on the circumstances, your caregiver might do so much to help you that you even think about adding him or her as an heir in your will.
What the Law Says
Several years ago, lawmakers in Illinois updated the Illinois Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILC 5) to address inheritances left to non-related caregivers. The 2015 amendment addressed situations in which an estate planning instrument, including a will or trust, left more than $20,000 to a caregiver who was not related to the decedent. Under the amended law, a transfer of property greater than $20,000 is presumed to be fraudulent in the event that the transfer is subject to a challenge. The presumption of fraud will invalidate any instrument making the transfer.
Differences Between Prenup and Postnup Agreements
It is never a bad thing to plan for the worst-case scenarios in life, including what will happen if your marriage ends in divorce. Planning with your significant other for issues like the division of marital assets while you are on good terms is better than arguing about them during a contentious divorce process. Having a plan in case of divorce may seem like a negative way to start a marriage, but it can give peace of mind no matter what happens after tying the knot.
Getting married affects all aspects of your life, including finances, social life, inheritances, and more. Meeting with an experienced family law attorney to create a legal agreement in case the marriage fails can benefit both parties in the long run.
Here are the two most common legal agreements for couples:
What is a Prenuptial Agreement?
Also referred to as a prenup, a prenuptial agreement is a contract between two people who plan to get married. This agreement allocates property and other assets in the event of divorce or death. Prenups are most commonly associated with couples with significant wealth, especially when one person enters a marriage with substantially more income, assets, and earning capacity. Still, any couple can get a prenuptial agreement. They are especially helpful when spouses have children from past marriages, including when a family business or inheritances are matters of potential concern.
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