Posted on November 30, 2016 in Family Law

Once the decision to divorce has been made, couples must face the difficult task of telling those that they love. Young children, who are usually directly affected by the divorce, are often the ones that concern parents most. They may struggle with how to broach the subject, and often are afraid of what their child's reaction might be. Thankfully, there are some helpful tips that parents can use to discuss the impending change. The following are just a few.

Take Stock of Your Own Emotional State

Most parents recognize that children are often sensitive to their parent's emotion. For example, those who have children who were fussy as babies might remember that, when their babies would cry and they, as parents became stressed, the baby would seem to cry even more. Even if you have not experienced this as a parent, you may have seen it manifest in other ways.

Remembering this emotional thread between you and your child is critical when dealing with divorce matters. You must stop and consider your own emotional state and carefully take stock of how you are feeling before broaching the subject. If you find yourself extremely stressed or sad, practice some self-care or seek support first. Then, when you are feeling a little less on-edge, sit down and talk to your child. Chances are, you will both handle things much better then.

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 Posted on November 25, 2016 in Divorce

While divorce is almost never simple, it can be extremely complicated for high net worth individuals, especially if they are also self-employed. The normal process for discovering assets and valuing marital property is often not adequate in these cases.

Verifying Income and Overcoming Suspicion

One of the primary purposes of divorce is to divide the marital property equitably between the two spouses. The first step is to decide what is marital property and what is separate property. When one spouse has a business or is self-employed, there is often a fight about what percentage of the business, if any, is marital property and how much the business is worth.

Even when the accounting has been properly done in a business, there can be difficulty determining the value of the business. The other spouse may be suspicious of the numbers being reported. Often, even a formal business valuation is not enough; a forensic accountant may be needed to help demonstrate the complete financial situation.

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 Posted on November 23, 2016 in Family Law

When it comes to parenting after divorce, there are almost as many ways to do it a there are couples. Nesting - a fast growing trend - is just one. If it is something that you and your spouse are currently considering, you should first understand the advantages and disadvantages. Secondly, it is important to know how to make this post-divorce parenting model work for you. The following provides some tips.

What is the Nesting Divorce?

The nesting divorce is a model in which the children get the house and the parents rotate in and out to spend their allotted parenting time with their children. Some share an apartment outside the home to save on rent, or they may each have their own space. Nearly all make some serious sacrifices to make this divorce model work.

Nesting requires commitment to the arrangement, a level head, effective communication, and a lot of mutual respect. This, paired with the possibility of continued contention between parents, makes it one of the least favored divorce models. However, some families can and do make this option work and often find that it gives them and their children a way to slowly transition into a more permanent arrangement.

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 Posted on November 21, 2016 in Divorce

Divorce is an experience that most couples dread. It typically means weeks of preparing and negotiation, and it may even include an in-depth investigation into a spouse's financial assets and income. Many become contentious, which can make the process drag on even more. In short, it is a process that directly contradicts the convenience and instant gratification we are used to experiencing in our everyday lives.

Destination divorces are trying to change the face of divorce by offering "quick and easy" getaway weekends where couples check in married but check out divorced. It certainly sounds more appealing, but can a marriage really be dissolved in a weekend? Even if it can, should it be? More importantly, should you and your spouse pursue this option, or is it simply a disaster waiting to happen?

About the Destination Divorce

With one hotel location in Upstate New York and one expected in Los Angeles within the next year, the concept of a destination divorce is growing. Couples check in with a mediator or attorney and then get to spend their weekend negotiating and relaxing. The rooms are opulent, the experience is quasi romantic, and the end result is a dissolved marriage. Of course, there are some major disadvantages to pursuing divorce in this way, and it can be especially problematic four couples with a high net worth, issues with domestic violence, or major differences of opinion in matters relating to children.

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 Posted on November 16, 2016 in Family Law

Once upon a time, allegations of child abuse in family court cases were generally taken at face value. As a result, the alleged abusive parent was blocked off from their children, either through supervised visitation or through complete loss of parental rights. Then along came the concept of parental alienation - a situation in which one parent brainwashes the child and pits them against the other. It had been going on for years, and quickly became more recognized.

Today, it muddies the decision of whether allegations of abuse are real, or a well-crafted tactic to punish the other parent. Judges struggle to decide which is which. Some err on the side of caution. Others are skeptical when it comes to allegations of abuse. That can make outcomes of family law cases difficult to predict and, in some situations, could put a child at risk or punish an innocent parent. If you are going through divorce and have concerns over your child's safety, the following information can help you better understand what parental alienation is, and how it may affect your case.

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 Posted on November 15, 2016 in Divorce

Divorce, in and of itself, is an emotionally complex situation. When you add in the potential dismantling of a closely-held business, the stress, fear, and anxiety of divorce can become overwhelming. Unfortunately, this can lead to desperation, which can make a business owner more prone to following poor advice. Protect yourself, and your business, by learning some of the worst advice and information commonly given to divorcing Illinois business owners.

You Built the Business, So Your Spouse is Not Entitled

Often, business owners are told that, because they built the company themselves, the risk in divorce is nonexistent. While it is true that you can (and should) take measures to protect your company, the idea that it could somehow be excluded from the marital estate is, in most cases, completely false.

Spouses contribute to businesses in many ways - from providing start-up funds to staying home with children to give the business owner time to grow, expand and work. These are accounted for in divorce. Even more important to understand is that non-monetary contributions, such as giving up a career or staying home with the children, can be extremely difficult to value. Recognize the risk to your business; this can help ensure you take appropriate and preventative steps to protect it from excessive loss.

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 Posted on November 11, 2016 in Divorce

Estimates from the National Institute of Mental Health suggest that as many as 16.1 million American adults experience a depressive episode each year. Some of them may be divorcees, suffering from what is known as post-divorce depression. However, a recent study suggests that divorce, in and of itself, may not actually be a trigger for divorce. Instead, it may be certain people who are at an increased risk of depression after divorce. The following explains further, and provides some tips for those dealing with post-divorce depression, either before filing, or after.

Post-Divorce Depression More Common in Those with a History of Depression

In a survey of more than 7,000 Americans between the ages of 25 and 74, researchers found that the majority of divorcees bounce back fairly quickly from divorce. In fact, only about 10 percent of all divorcees who did not have a history of depression experienced serious post-divorce depression. This was compared to the 60 percent of Americans who experienced post-divorce depression and had a history of depressive episodes. Based on this, researchers believe it is those who have a history of depression who are most at risk when it comes to post-divorce depression.

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 Posted on October 27, 2016 in Divorce

All too often, divorcing couples believe that nearly anything is fair game in divorce. Quite the opposite is true, however. In fact, there are many types of communication and conversation that are protected by law. One prime example is the eavesdropping law that protects private conversations. The following information can help you better understand the difference between public communications in divorce and conversations that are considered private and protected under Illinois state law.

What is Considered a Private Conversation?

Private conversations are any conversations that another party expects to remain private. This applies, not just to verbal communications, but also written ones and ones sent through text or other forms of communication. This means your spouse's email may be considered private if they never explicitly gave you permission to use it. Further, a conversation held in their home, over a phone, would generally be considered a private conversation. In contrast, a loud phone conversation in public might not be considered private. The same might be said of a public Facebook post since it can be seen by others.

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 Posted on October 25, 2016 in Divorce

Being in the military does not make you immune to divorce. In fact, statistics from 2011 indicate that the overall rate of divorce among military personnel is at about 3.7 percent. What does it mean, though, to end your marriage while in active duty? How are things like your pension, child-related matters, and real estate affected? Will spousal support be a factor? All things are variable, depending on your circumstances, but the following information can provide you with some of the basics on divorce while in active duty.

How Property and Other Assets are Divided in Divorce

Illinois is considered an equitable distribution state. This means that any assets in your marriage - including military pensions, retirement accounts, and real estate property - are divided "fairly." What is fair, exactly? It depends on your situation.

A spouse that has given up a job or education to be a stay-at-home parent, or has moved to accommodate frequent restationing of a military spouse may be entitled to a larger settlement in divorce. Alternatively, an active duty spouse who has made contributions to further the career or education of their spouse (i.e. paying for their college tuition) may receive a higher settlement. A divorce attorney can analyze your situation and give you an idea of what you might be up against.

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 Posted on October 20, 2016 in Hidden Assets

For some couples, the path to divorce is fairly peaceable. They know their marriage is ending, may even remain friends, and simply want to move on with their lives. For others, the process is contentious. They may bicker over seemingly trivial issues because they feel hurt or betrayed. One or both parties may seem greedy, petty, or spiteful. Such divorces can become so ugly that things - assets, money, furniture, artwork, and other things of value - start to disappear. This is known as a dissipation of assets.

Are Your Marital Assets Being Wasted?

Spotting a dissipation of assets might seem like a simple, straightforward, and easy thing to do. After all, if there is money missing, then it would make sense that it is being wasted. However, this is not always the case. In fact, there are many ways to secretly or covertly drain assets. Examples might include going to strip clubs, which typically have bland names to "preserve privacy of their patrons," running up credit card debt, or withdrawing money directly from an account to prevent tracking. In all of these situations, and any other similar situations, it is critical that you contact an experienced attorney for assistance.

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