Posted on November 23, 2017 in Divorce

When parents decide to end their marriage in divorce, the split can be difficult for everyone involved. During divorce, children often struggle to come to terms with the end of their parents’ relationship and adjust to living in two different households.

While divorcing parents are often focused on resolving legal issues and determining what their life will look like post-divorce, they should also be sure they understand how their children will be affected.

Divorce’s Effects and Children’s Age

Children’s age when their parents break up is one of the key factors that determine how they deal with the divorce. Parents should be aware of how children are affected by divorce at the following ages:

• Babies and toddlers - When children are under the age of three, their cognitive abilities are still developing. Divorce when children are this age will mostly have the effect of disrupting their lives and routines, and they will struggle to understand why a parent is not present. These children may experience developmental delay or regression, increased irritability, and difficulty sleeping.

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 Posted on November 17, 2017 in Divorce

Divorce can touch the lives of people of any race, gender, income level, or age. Some marriages that seemed doomed to failure from the beginning end up flourishing while other marriages that seemed like perfect matches end up dissolving. Researchers have known for years now that there are certain demographics of people who are statistically more likely to get divorced than others. For example, those who marry very young or wait until their late 30s or longer to marry are more likely to get divorced than those who get married in their 20s. It is also fairly well-known that women are more likely to initiate divorce than men are. For non-married couples, however, men and women are equally likely to end the relationship.

Women More Likely Than Men to Be Unhappy in Their Marriage

A survey conducted by the American Sociological Association found that in heterosexual couples, women start the divorce process or first seek a divorce 70 percent of the time. The study’s lead author, Michael Rosenfeld, theorizes that women may be more likely to initiate divorces because they are more likely to be dissatisfied with the quality of the relationship than men are. Rosenfeld said that these results support the idea that some women experience heterosexual marriage as oppressive or unfulfilling. He explains further, “I think that marriage as an institution has been a little bit slow to catch up with expectations for gender equality. Wives still take their husbands’ surnames…husbands still expect their wives to do the bulk of the housework and the bulk of the childcare.”

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 Posted on November 17, 2017 in Divorce

The process of divorce can be difficult and contentious, especially when spouses disagree about how to divide assets and debts and/or allocate parental responsibility. While a lot of attention is paid to issues like the best interests of the children of divorcing parents and what is considered marital property, one issue that sometimes gets overlooked during divorce is what to do with family pets.

While cats, dogs, and other animals are not human, many people consider them to be part of the family, and treating them like another piece of property to divide often does not seem right.

Illinois law was recently updated to reflect these attitudes, and some additional considerations are now given to pets when determining their ownership during divorce.

Updated Illinois Divorce Laws

In August of 2017, Governor Bruce Rauner signed a new law which updates the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) to add language about allocating ownership and responsibility of “companion animals,” which are otherwise known as pets. While pets are still considered marital assets, the law states that when courts make decisions about the sole or joint ownership of pets, they should consider the pets’ well-being.

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 Posted on November 14, 2017 in Estate Planning

The Illinois Living Will Act states that every citizen has the basic right to control decisions about his or her health care. Unfortunately, however, there may come a point in a person’s life where he or she is not able to make such decisions on the spot. Advance medical directives, including living wills, can be used to document a person’s wishes regarding certain types of medical care in certain situations, removing the burden of making such decisions from family members and loved ones.

Those who advocate for living wills say that such instruments are crucial in protecting a patient’s rights. Living wills, in particular, address which types of death-delaying procedures the patient wishes to receive-or not receive-if he or she is ever diagnosed with a terminal condition and is unable to communicate his or her wishes at the time. A terminal condition is one that is incurable and will ultimately result in the patient’s death. Death delaying procedures are defined as treatments that will only serve to postpone the moment of death and commonly include:

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 Posted on November 11, 2017 in Divorce

Married couples get divorced for an endless variety of reasons. For some, infidelity may an issue while financial stresses drive others apart. Of course, there are often many factors that play into a couple’s decision to end their marriage, and researchers are always trying to identify trends that could help married couples recognize possible red flags. According to several recent studies, however, a first-born daughter could be one of the potential warning signs.

Australian Team Studies Dutch Families

Dr. Jan Kabatek and Dr. David Rebar, faculty members at the University of Melbourne, conducted one such study. The pair examined more than two million marriages in the Netherlands over the course of 10 years. They chose the Netherlands because Dutch marriage and family records are very comprehensive and provide exact dates of marriages, divorces, and births. Other, similar studies have been based on participant’s responses to surveys-which rely on memory and recollection as opposed to objective data.

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 Posted on November 10, 2017 in Divorce

While some people see the end of their marriage approaching, others find that divorce is unexpected. But whether they are ready to divorce or not, people will often be blindsided by the legal complexities and financial costs of dissolving their marriage.

Divorce can be expensive and difficult, but one way to make the process easier is through mediation. If couples are able to work together with a trained mediator to resolve the issues in their divorce, they can complete the process much more quickly and efficiently.

Consider the following four benefits of divorce mediation:

1. Cost - A traditionally litigated divorce can be very expensive, with each spouse paying their lawyer to prepare documents, send communications, discuss issues, and attend court. During mediation, spouses will usually split the mediator’s fees, and even if they spend multiple sessions working out an agreement, the total cost can be 40-60 percent less than a traditional divorce.

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 Posted on November 07, 2017 in Estate Planning

Recently, a previous post on this blog discussed the definition and some of the possible benefits of reverse mortgages. In that article, we talked about how reverse mortgages are often taken out by seniors to supplement their retirement income by borrowing against the equity they have built in their homes. In many situations, a reverse mortgage may be an appropriate option, but it is important to consider that reverse mortgages could also have some disadvantages-including an impact on the assets passed down to a person’s heirs.

Unforeseen Costs

The entire point of a reverse mortgage is to give an elderly person-62 is the minimum qualifying age-access to additional money during his or her lifetime. The amount a person can borrow in reverse mortgage is dependent on a number of factors including the type of reverse mortgage, the borrower’s age, the value of the home, and interest rates. Of course, in most cases, the lender will also apply a number of costs and fees, including an origination fee, costs at closing, and servicing fees for the life of the loan. Some lenders also charge for mortgage insurance premiums for certain reverse mortgages.

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 Posted on November 06, 2017 in Divorce

When parents end their marriage, they must continue work together to co-parent their children after divorce. However, their parental roles and responsibilities can be complicated if domestic violence occurred during the marriage.

While it is essential to protect the safety of spouses and children who have suffered violence or abuse, it is also important for children to have a relationship with both parents. But how well are parents able to work together following violent situations?

A recent study from researchers at the University of Illinois looked at mothers who had experienced domestic violence during the first year after their divorce to see whether they had any issues or conflicts while acting as co-parents with their ex-spouse.

Two Types of Intimate Partner Violence

The study identified two different types of violence that were experienced during marriage:

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 Posted on November 02, 2017 in Child Custody

People do not stay in one place as often as they once did. With the global economy entirely interconnected and the job market in a seemingly constant state of flux, family moves are more common. However, so are divorces. In Illinois, the laws regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities-formerly called child custody-provide requirements that must be met before children can be moved a significant distance from their current home.

A Child’s “Home State”

For the purposes of parenting plans, a child must have a “home state.” This is the state in which a court would have jurisdiction to decide cases involving the child. Illinois is a child’s home state when (1) that child has lived in Illinois for six months (or since birth, if the child is not six months old yet), and (2) the child has no other home state, and/or the child (or their parent) has significant connections to the state. If a parent intends to move to another state and take their child with them, the child’s home state will change.

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 Posted on October 31, 2017 in Child Support

Whether parents are married, divorced, legally separated, or were never married, they both have an obligation to support their children financially. Failure to pay court ordered child support can result in serious consequences, and parents should be aware of the steps that courts can take to enforce a child support order and punish a parent for non-payment.

Illinois Child Support Enforcement Law

A person is guilty of the offense of “failure to support” when he or she willfully fails to meet his or her support obligations while he or she has the ability to pay them. Illinois law provides several remedies for parents who do not meet their child support obligations, including:

• Contempt of court - A child support order is a court order, and a parent who fails to pay his or her court-ordered child support may be held in contempt of court. This can result in punishments that include being placed on probation or sentenced to jail time of up to six months. During imprisonment, a parent may be permitted to be released in order to work, and the court may order some or all of the earnings from this employment to be paid toward child support.

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