Posted on January 29, 2016 in Divorce

A lot can be at stake financially during a divorce.

If you are worried about your spouse taking any actions that could harm your property or your financial future, you can seek a financial restraining order.

What is a Financial Restraining Order?

A financial restraining order is a type of temporary restraining order that freezes much of the marital assets. A financial restraining order has nothing to do with domestic violence. Moreover, these orders are not automatically granted when you file for a divorce.

If you believe that your spouse is acting irresponsibly with the marital property with extravagant spending, or by damaging assets, you can petition the court to issue a restraining order. You can also petition the court for a restraining order to block the sale of a property or asset.

What Gets Frozen and For How Long?

A financial temporary restraining order freezes the marital assets, and it freezes assets for both sides. Just as your spouse will be blocked from selling any of the property off, you will also be blocked from selling any of the property without first retaining the permission of the court.

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 Posted on January 27, 2016 in Family Law

Some of the basic laws which govern what makes a marriage valid differ significantly from state to state. While Illinois does not recognize common law marriage, many states do. What happens if you have a common law marriage in another state, move to Illinois, and want a divorce?

What is Common Law Marriage?

According to state law, common law marriage is when a couple becomes married, even though they never went through any of the formalities such as retaining a marriage license or having an authorized person perform a marriage ceremony. Moreover, states that recognize common law marriages each have their own requirements, and these requirements must be met in order for a common law marriage to be recognized.

Getting an Illinois Divorce After Having a Common Law Marriage in Another State

If you lived in a state that has a provision for common law marriage, and you met all of the requirements, you are legally married. If you later move to Illinois and want a divorce, so long as you or your spouse meets the 90-day residency requirement, you can petition for a dissolution of marriage in Illinois state courts.

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 Posted on January 22, 2016 in Child Custody

Even though same-sex marriage is legal throughout the United States, there are still unique issues facing same-sex couples in Illinois family law courts. When there is a case involving the allocation of parental responsibilities, formerly known as custody cases, same-sex couples may face challenges in getting the parenting time they deserve.

The Legal Rights of Biological Parents

In most instances, the biological parents are presumed to be the legal parents of a child. If someone is not a legal parent, he or she has very few rights regarding a child. He or she may not even be awarded court ordered parenting time.

If a same-sex couple has not taken the proper steps to ensure that they are both the legal parents of a child, then it could open the door for a biological parent to try and claim some rights to parental responsibilities or parenting time. If the same-sex couple splits up, then this situation can leave one of the partners in jeopardy of not having any court mandated time with his or her child.

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Family Law

A prenuptial agreement is one of the best documents you can have for your retirement. Most people begin hitting their peak earning years after the age of 40. This is also the time many people begin to seriously plan for their future retirement. A prenuptial agreement is a way to make sure that both spouses protect their future financial interests.

Divorce Trends

Overall divorce rates have stabilized over the past several years. However, divorce rates have increased for those over the age of 50. There are several factors in play. One factor is that many people over the age of 50 are on a second marriage.

Additionally, divorce has also become more socially acceptable. It seems likely that divorce rates for people over 50 years of age will eventually stabilize; however, it is unlikely that divorce rates will fall any time soon.

Benefits of Prenuptial Agreements After Age 40

Many people start to accumulate significant assets in their 40's. These assets can include anything from retirement accounts to homes to businesses. A prenuptial agreement gives financial predictability to both spouses in the event of a divorce and can help to prevent either side from suddenly finding themselves financially ruined.

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Divorce

All divorce cases begin the same way-one side files a petition for the dissolution of marriage with the court. However, sometimes the divorce never makes it any further along in the process because of a problem with the marriage or the petition. Moreover, issues may cause the court to dismiss the petition at the very start of the process.

Lack of Jurisdiction

The most common reason for a petition to be dismissed is because the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. Jurisdiction is a technical term that means the power the court has to hear a case and make a ruling.

The court may not have jurisdiction if neither one of the spouses has met the residency requirement. If neither spouse has lived in Illinois for at least the past 90 days, the court has no power to hear the divorce case. The court also will not have jurisdiction if the case is filed in the wrong county.

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 Posted on January 06, 2016 in Family Law

Jurisdiction can be a confusing concept for non-lawyers to understand. Jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear a case and make a decision. For several different reasons, sometimes a case is brought before a court; however, the court does not have the power to make a ruling. Hence, the court does not have jurisdiction in that case.

Two Types of Jurisdiction

In Illinois there are two types of jurisdiction: subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject matter jurisdiction is the power to rule on cases depending on the subject matter of the cases. No Illinois state court has subject matter jurisdiction over a bankruptcy case. Those cases can only be brought in federal bankruptcy courts.

Personal jurisdiction is the power over a party to the case to make a decision. Usually, in family law cases, the court has personal jurisdiction if the parties took some action in Illinois, or whose effects were later felt in Illinois. If a couple was married in another state and one of the spouses later moved to Illinois and filed for a divorce, there will be a question of whether the court has personal jurisdiction over both of the spouses.

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 Posted on December 28, 2015 in Divorce

Often, after a divorce, both parents continue to live close together. However, when one parent wants or needs to move, and therefore takes the child with him or her, situations can become complicated.

In some cases the court must give permission in the form of an order of removal before a child can move away.

Distance Matters

Not all moves are the same. Prior to the Illinois family law changes taking effect January 1, 2016, a parent could not move with a child outside of the state without first obtaining an order of removal from the court. However, that meant that someone could move hundreds of miles away, still staying in Illinois, and making parenting time difficult for the other parent without the approval of the court. Someone else could not even move just a few miles if the move was across state lines.

However, after January 1, 2016, distance will be the primary factor in determining if a parent needs the permission of the court to move. If, prior to a move, a child lives in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will counties, then the parent can move anywhere within 25 miles without the permission of the court, even if the move is across state lines.

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 Posted on December 22, 2015 in Family Law

While most people have heard about the major changes to the Illinois family law system set to take effect January 1, 2016, many are not aware that family court procedures also changing. The process can be just as important as the substance of the law in determining the best way to handle your case.

New Law and New Process

The new law has eliminated references to child custody in favor of setting out parental responsibilities and parenting time. While the old process relied on temporary custody and visitation orders and mandatory mediation for custody issues to try and foster stability for children and bring the parties to a resolution of child issues as quickly as possible, the new law takes a different approach.

Parties will now have 120 days to submit a parenting plan once the petition for a case has been served. The parties can file a joint plan or separate plans. While the court can extend the timeline for good cause, the law is clear that judges are to encourage the parties to resolve parenting issues quickly.

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 Posted on December 15, 2015 in Divorce

High net worth divorce cases often have complicated finances that need to be evaluated before any agreement for dividing the assets can be reached. Even when a couple is deeply involved in the management of their assets and income, experts are usually needed in a divorce.

The Types of Experts You May Need

A divorce may have several different issues at stake. Couples frequently fight over parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, and the marital assets. The court will often appoint a custody evaluator to deal with parenting time issues. However, both sides frequently hire experts to deal with the money issues.

Forensic accountants are used to evaluate the marital assets. They will dig into the records and statements to make sure all the property is accounted for. Forensic accounts not only look for hidden assets, but they also make sure assets are properly valued.

When there is a business involved, a forensic accountant may not be enough. A business valuation expert familiar with the particular industry may be needed. Sometimes the biggest assets a business has do not appear on the balance sheets-the value of the brand and the goodwill of the business need to have a dollar tag attached to them for the purposes of the divorce.

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 Posted on December 08, 2015 in Family Law

When a marriage begins to fall apart, or even after a divorce is in process, one spouse may react emotionally and destroy, damage, or waste marital assets. This behavior is called dissipation of assets. Under Illinois law there can be severe consequences for such behavior.

What Dissipation of Assets Looks Like

Dissipation of assets can take many different forms. Common situations where a court will find that a spouse has wasted a marital asset include the following:

• Spending money on an affair;
• Excessive gambling losses;
• Allowing a house to fall onto foreclosure;
• Allowing a vehicle to be repossessed;
• Substance abuse;
• Physically destroying personal property; and
• Transferring marital property at a loss to a third party.

Proving Dissipation of Assets

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