Posted on November 08, 2022 in Alimony/Spousal Support

In the state of Illinois, the law calls alimony "spousal maintenance" and it could potentially be long-term if the receiving spouse is unable to make a living or if the marriage was also long-term. Despite whether or not someone feels they should have to support their spouse financially, a judge will apply the law and both parties will have to follow the guidelines in the law.  

It is possible for a couple to get divorced without involving spousal maintenance, but if a judge orders it in their particular divorce case, alimony must be a part of the conversation regarding finances during the divorce process. Because it could be a requirement in divorce proceedings, it is important to understand the four kinds of alimony.

Temporary Alimony

A spouse who is granted temporary alimony (otherwise known as "temporary maintenance") receives money while the divorce is still proceeding. Temporary alimony is typically granted in situations when the couple has made the decision to live apart, or when the receiving spouse does not have the ability to pay for their own cost of living and attorneys’ fees, and is meant to fund the recipient's living costs throughout the divorce. While it is possible to file a request later on during the divorce process, a spouse who wants temporary alimony should include the request in his or her divorce petition. Once the divorce is finalized, all interim alimony payments cease.

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 Posted on October 28, 2022 in Asset Division

Dividing marital assets is always a difficult aspect of divorce, but it gets even more acrimonious and difficult when couples with high net worths try to share their assets evenly after their marriage.

If you are a part of a high-asset divorce, you need an attorney who will pay attention to your worries, assess your case, and clarify these three challenging problems while giving you advice on what makes sense in your particular circumstance.

Division of Assets in High Asset Divorce

The division of assets is a crucial factor in any divorce, but it is especially vital in a high-asset divorce. Spouses may negotiate a division of assets that leaves each party with assets of relatively equal worth. One partner may, for instance, receive the majority of the stock and liquid assets, while the other may receive the majority of the real estate or retirement benefits. The necessity for spousal maintenance payments might be reduced or even eliminated in some situations if significant real estate and assets are divided. Spousal support may be the key issue in other situations with extremely high incomes.

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 Posted on October 25, 2022 in Asset Division

You put a lot of effort into earning your money and carefully planned for your future, including retirement. Unfortunately, a divorce can derail such goals. Knowing how your divorce may impact your retirement accounts is the first step in safeguarding them.

The experienced attorneys at Andrew Cores Family Law Group will assist you in getting your future back on track while safeguarding your retirement accounts and settling difficult issues with your spouse.

Dividing Retirement Accounts

According to Illinois law, the percentage of your retirement and investment accounts that you accumulated during marriage may be split between spouses in a divorce, including:

• IRAs and 401(k) accounts

• Investments, stocks or bonds

• Pensions

If one spouse had money in a retirement account before getting married, that money is regarded as separate property. Even if only one spouse made contributions to the account, any money that was added after the marriage is typically regarded as marital property.

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 Posted on October 21, 2022 in Mediation

Mediation can save a lot of time, money, and worry when it comes to your family law issues, including divorce. Because private mediation occurs outside the purview of the court system, it typically benefits everyone involved and assists in maintaining a more peaceful family life, which is particularly advantageous for any children involved. 

Our mediators can help you mediate your divorce or another family law issue. With our experience dealing in these manners, we can help you navigate the procedure in hopes of meeting the requirements of both parties. 

Divorce Mediation Basics

A mediator is typically not an attorney. Therefore, as will be stated during your initial mediation session, he or she is impartial to the interests of both parties. This means that they cannot and will not offer legal counsel to any side throughout the process of discussions.

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 Posted on October 11, 2022 in Family Law

The state of Illinois has acknowledged that grandparents frequently play a significant part in a child's life. If you are a grandparent, you may have questions and concerns about your rights. Can I get custody of my grandchild? What if my grandchild’s parents will not allow me to see him or her? Can I get visitation rights? The rights of grandparents can be complicated and difficult to understand. A family law attorney can help. 

Are You Entitled to Grandparent’s Visitation?

Illinois grandparents may, however, have a legal right to see their grandchildren, especially if the parents are divorced.

In general, the choice of who can spend time with a child belongs to their parents. However, if a child is at least one year old, a non-parent may be able to get a court order compelling the parents to allow them to spend time with the child.

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 Posted on September 30, 2022 in Child Custody

In Illinois, the term “child custody” was replaced with “allocation of parental responsibilities” and “parenting time” several years ago when lawmakers did a complete overhaul of the state’s family law statutes. Regardless of what it is called, the reality is that determining how divorced parents will share in the raising of their child is often one of the most acrimonious parts of a divorce.

It can be difficult enough to come up with a fair parenting time schedule that addresses holidays, birthdays, school breaks, summer vacations, and more. But when there are other issues that impact parenting time, having a skilled family lawyer representing you can make all the difference in the outcome. The following are some of the issues that can make a parenting time schedule even more complex.

When One Parent Has Moved Away

It is not uncommon for a spouse to move a long distance away, even to another state, after a divorce in order to get a fresh start or start a new job. Regardless of why the parent has moved, when there are children involved, a long-distance parenting time schedule is needed. Some of the factors that the court may consider include:

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 Posted on September 27, 2022 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

For decades, the Baby Boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1964 – was the largest generation. But in 2019, the Boomers were surpassed by the Millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996. Now that there are more Millennials than other generations, they are definitely putting their mark on society, including the increase in prenuptial agreements. But unlike Boomers, the issues addressed in Millennial prenuptial agreements have taken a turn.

Finances

One of the major differences with Millennial couples is that more and more of them are choosing to keep their assets separate instead of pooling them together. Commingling assets is one of the issues that can make distributing a marital estate in a divorce difficult. So many Millennial couples are choosing to keep assets separate by drawing up prenups that address who is responsible for major purchases and other debts the couple may have during their marriage.

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 Posted on September 21, 2022 in Domestic Violence

It is estimated that more than one in three women and one in four men in this country will experience physical violence, stalking, and/or rape by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence affects more than 12 million people every year. When domestic violence is part of an intimate partner relationship, it can be very difficult for the victim to leave, but when the couple is married, it can be even harder because leaving usually involves legally ending the marriage.

It is important to remember that not all domestic violence involves physical injuries. There are other forms of domestic abuse that one spouse can inflict on the other and these types of abuse sometimes continue long after the divorce has been finalized.

Emotional Abuse

When one spouse inflicts a steady stream of harsh insults and threats, this is considered emotional abuse. Insults and threats are obvious types of emotional abuse, but other types can be just as injurious to the victim. It is not uncommon for the abusive spouse to use manipulation and guilt to get the victim spouse to do what they want. Threats of leaving or taking the children away – when they have no intention of doing either – are examples of the tactics an emotionally abusive spouse may use.

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 Posted on September 12, 2022 in Divorce

There are different areas of the Illinois divorce process that can have a significant impact on how a divorce turns out. One of those areas is discovery. Discovery is the process that is used to help both sides gather evidence to ensure that both spouses have the same financial information in order to be in a better position to negotiate a fair divorce settlement.

Discovery is considered a legal process and there are rules that both parties are required to follow, both in the gathering of evidence and the supplying of evidence that is requested. Failure to adhere to these rules can result in sanctions from the court. The following is a brief overview of some of the tools your attorney or your spouse’s attorney may use during the divorce.

Interrogatories

As part of the discovery process, attorneys may send the other side a set of interrogatories. These documents are a list of questions that the other side is required to respond to under oath. Generally, these questions are about the spouse’s background and often include questions about their education and work history. There are also often questions about any income, financial accounts, assets, and debts the spouse may have. The goal of interrogatories is to determine whether or not the spouse is hiding assets in order to avoid including them in the marital estate and equitable distribution.

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 Posted on August 31, 2022 in Child Support

Child support is a topic that can easily make emotions run high, especially in the context of an already embittered divorce. While most parents are happy to financially support their children, making payments to a disliked ex who may not be raising your children the way you hoped can be a challenging process. Being the parent who receives child support is often no easier, especially if you feel as though you are under constant scrutiny regarding how you handle the support payments.

Regardless of personal differences between parents, and unlike other parts of negotiating a divorce, child support payments in Illinois are generally not negotiable and are established according to a formula known as the "income shares" model. Understanding which factors can affect this model and the overall support payments is important for parents who are approaching child support for the first time.

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