Posted on January 31, 2018 in Alimony/Spousal Support

The sweeping new tax law that President Trump signed in December of last year may significantly affect those who pay alimony or spousal maintenance in the future. One provision of the tax plan eliminates the 75-year-old tax deduction for maintenance payments. More than 800,000 couples get divorced each year, and in many of those cases, one spouse is required to pay some sort of spousal maintenance. Interestingly, some divorce attorneys are noticing an increase in divorce filings that may be due to couples wanting to finalize their divorce before the new alimony provision takes effect in 2019. Any divorce that finalizes on or after January 1, 2019 will be subject to the new law.

Tax Plan Eliminates Alimony Tax Deduction

Under the current tax laws, those who pay spousal maintenance are usually able to deduct those payments from their taxes. Right now, every dollar which a person pays in maintenance payments reduces the payer’s taxable income by the same amount. However, the new tax law will disallow divorcees from deducting spousal maintenance payments. Those who finalize their divorce in 2018 before the new plan takes place will get to deduct their spousal maintenance payments for the entire duration of their payment order. Some are concerned that the elimination of the deduction will increase the financial strain of paying maintenance and deprive the lower-earning spouse of vital income.

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 Posted on January 30, 2018 in Divorce

Often times, when a married couple splits they go on to meet new people and might even get remarried eventually. Getting a divorce does not mean that a person is destined to be alone or should never date again. However, dating during or after a divorce can be tricky. If your divorce is not finalized and you meet a new romantic interest, when should you introduce him or her to your children? The answer to questions like these are not always absolute, but experts do have advice for those who have met someone new in the midst of a divorce.

Dating During Divorce Can Affect Court Decisions

There are a few instances when a person might still be technically married but has a new romantic partner. Some marriages are over long before they are legally dissolved, and the spouses may physically separate while the divorce process continues. However, when a divorce is in progress, dating during this time can indirectly affect some decisions made by the court. For example, if your new partner has a criminal record or has been accused of child abuse, the court may limit or place stipulations on your parenting time. Depending the specific circumstances, a judge presiding over a divorce has the authority to take new romantic partners into consideration when making decisions about child custody, spousal support (alimony), and parenting time/visitation.

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 Posted on January 22, 2018 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

The period around the winter holidays is a time when many hopeful romantics get engaged. Whether it is on Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or any other time of the year, getting engaged to be married is a time of hope and excitement. If you have decided that you want to sign a prenuptial agreement with your future spouse before tying the knot, you may be unsure of how to bring up the conversation. Unfortunately, prenuptial agreements have gotten a bad reputation in the past. Stories about outrageous celebrity marriages which seem doomed to fail are often where many first hear the term. However, prenuptial agreements are a tool which can be valuable to anyone. You do not need to be rich or a celebrity to benefit from a prenup.

Benefits of a Prenup

A prenuptial agreement is a legally binding document which establishes the property and financial rights of each spouse in the event of a divorce. For example, a prenup can protect your family-owned business, ensure inheritance rights for children of a previous marriage, prevent one spouse from acquiring the debt of another, protect each spouse’s financial interests, and more.

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 Posted on January 17, 2018 in Divorce

Sometimes, when divorce is imminent, one spouse may attempt to serve the papers on the other only to find that he or she cannot be found. This can present a problem, as Illinois law requires that a spouse at least make a good faith effort to serve the other before a divorce proceeding can continue, Ultimately, a divorce may proceed even if your spouse is unreachable, but it can cause problems in terms of child support and other legalities further down the road.

Alternate Means of Service

If your spouse cannot be located by conventional means, Illinois law permits what is referred to as service by publication. Service by publication occurs when a person places a notice in a newspaper or other publication in the county where the couple last lived or where the action is taking place for a period of at least three consecutive weeks. If the defendant fails to respond, it is assumed that they are either unable or unwilling to do so. Upon such a finding by court, the case may go forward.

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 Posted on January 16, 2018 in Child Custody

Committing a crime is never a good choice, and in many cases, the penalties for doing so are severe. In addition to the jail time and the fines assessed for some offenses, if you are a parent, it may be a long time before you are able to see your children again. However, it is not an absolute that you will lose all rights to see them. Knowing your rights is critical.

Unfitness as a Parent

Parental rights are terminated if a parent is deemed to be unfit. Unfitness is a concept used by the state to determine whether or not a child’s best interests are served by remaining in the parent’s custody. There is no single definition of "unfit" in Illinois; rather, it is shown that a parent is unfit if or when they display certain characteristics or behavior patterns (or, conversely, fail to do so). For example, a parent may be declared unfit if they are incarcerated, but only if they have previously shown a pattern of disinterest or neglect regarding the child, or if they have been repeatedly incarcerated to the point where they are unable to perform parental duties.

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 Posted on January 10, 2018 in Child Support

As any parent can tell you, children are expensive. Things like clothing, meals, healthcare, school supplies, and extracurricular fees are only a few of the expenses children bring about. When two parents split up or end their marriage, it does not mean that they become any less responsible for those expenses. The purpose of child support is to allow the child to enjoy the same quality of life that they had when the child’s parents were together. Some parents try to avoid paying their fair share of these expenses by skipping child support payments. Failure to pay child support can have serious financial and criminal consequences.

Possible Punishments

Each year, some $14 billion in ordered child support goes unpaid in the United States. In order to combat this, penalties exist for parents who do not pay child support. People who chronically avoid child support payments may:

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 Posted on January 09, 2018 in Divorce

Almost everyone has seen a dramatic divorce played out in movies or television. One that comes to mind is the scene from the movie Liar Liar when a vindictive mother seeks full custody of her children even after admitting that her husband is a wonderful father. Although movies are usually unrealistic, divorce proceeding can become very ugly somtimes. There are so many memories and emotions that a person goes into a divorce with, it can be difficult to be pragmatic. While there is no way have a completely conflict-free divorce, there are a few things you can do to make the divorce process go more smoothly.

Admit That the Marriage Is Over

Humans are not robots who can suddenly turn off the romantic feelings they once had for a spouse. Many individuals who file for divorce still have residual questions, “what ifs?”, and regrets about the marriage. They may still long for the apology they never got or wish for their spouse to admit to a previous transgression. In order to stay sane during a divorce, you may need to let some of these lingering feelings and desires go. If the marriage is truly over, there is no sense in dredging up the past. The focus now should be on dissolving the marriage in a fair and reasonable way. If you have children together, the focus should be to restructure the romantic relationship you had with your spouse into an effective co-parenting dynamic.

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 Posted on January 02, 2018 in Cohabitation

It has been a source of confusion to the older generation that many young people in the United States have chosen either to not marry or to wait on marriage until later in life. It is true that there are some advantages to marrying aside from the obvious ones, such as streamlined tax preparation, but for many, there are perks to remaining single. Besides, many argue that they can obtain the best of both worlds via cohabitation, as long as an appropriate cohabitation agreement is signed and executed, so that both partners’ assets and rights are protected.

Do I Need A Cohabitation Agreement?

Not every cohabitating couple needs an agreement. Some do quite well without any kind of legal documentation of their relationship. The tradeoff, however, is that no assets of any kind may commingle, and one has no legal recourse regarding their partner’s assets if they predecease the other. Illinois does not recognize cohabitating couples as having any kind of legal relationship unless they have a valid cohabitation agreement. While being married may not be a couple’s first choice, if they want any legal rights to the fruits of their relationship, they must take definitive action.

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 Posted on December 29, 2017 in Child Custody

Motions to modify parenting time or parental responsibilities are common, especially if the one parent has experienced a change in their work or living circumstances. However, sometimes a true emergency will happen, and in such a case, an emergency motion may be filed, Relief, however will not always be granted. Alternatively, a motion may be filed as an emergency when it is not one, and it is important to know the difference.

The Process of Filing

The regulations surrounding emergency motions differ from county to county. In Cook County, for example, the requirements are set out in the Rules of Court and are fairly clear, but things may be murkier in other jurisdictions. Emergency motions are generally somewhat different to the standard requests for modification in two major respects: the type of notice required and the requirements as to who must be present. With a “normal” motion, notice must be served on the other party, usually by mail, before a hearing can proceed. Emergency motions require only “emergency” notice (at least in Cook County), which is loosely defined as making at least one reasonable attempt to inform the opposing party of the motion’s filing.

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 Posted on December 26, 2017 in Divorce

January has earned the nickname of “Divorce Month” because data shows that divorce filings begin to considerably increase in frequency during this time. During January, the number of divorce filings is one-third more than average. The rate of filings remains high through February and March as well.

Family and relationship experts offer a few possible reasons for this trend. One explanation is that couples considering divorcing wait until after the holidays to do so. It can be difficult to explain to friends and relatives why your significant other is not with you at the holiday party or family gathering. Splitting up during the holidays is even more challenging if a couple has children. Many parents do not want to spoil Christmas, Hanukkah, or other important holidays for their children with news of the impending divorce. If you have decided to divorce this January, there are a few steps you can take to protect your interests and make the process go as smoothly as possible.

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