Recent Blog Posts
Are My Child’s College Savings Divided in a Will County Divorce?
Divorcing couples frequently cite the marital property division process as one of the most difficult parts of getting divorced. Haggling over who owns what property is never easy, and it can be especially difficult if money has been set aside for a specific purpose. Many parents begin setting aside money for their child’s education in a 529 plan and getting a divorce can impact this money. If you find yourself worrying about how divorce could impact your child’s educational opportunities, read on.
What is a Marital Asset?
Anything that is considered a marital asset must be divided in a divorce. In Illinois, almost anything acquired during a marriage is considered a marital asset, including cash, property, vehicles, retirement accounts, stock options, and more. Even if the asset is owned by only one spouse, if it was acquired after the marriage began, it is almost certainly marital property.
Obtaining or Challenging a Restraining Order in Illinois
Orders of Protection, also known as restraining orders, are a powerful legal prohibition against an alleged abuser coming into contact with, or even coming within a certain distance of, an alleged victim. Although Orders of Protection are important and necessary in genuine situations of abuse, they can also be weaponized by people who are not acting in good faith. To learn more about Orders of Protection in Illinois, including when they can be implemented and removed, read on.
Types of Orders of Protection
Illinois law provides three basic types of Orders of Protection: Emergency Orders of Protection, Interim Orders of Protection, and Plenary Orders of Protection. It is important to understand what each order entails and when it can be used.
- Emergency Orders of Protection can be obtained right away, without obtaining testimony from the alleged abuser. They can last up to 21 days and can prohibit an abuser from coming into contact with the victim. Even if you believe that an Emergency Order of Protection has been wrongly filed against you, it is important to abide by its terms because violating Orders of Protection carries serious consequences. There will be time to contest a further Order of Protection in the future.
What Could Make a Prenuptial Agreement Unenforceable?
Prenuptial agreements can be great financial instruments for protecting the wishes and interests of a couple if they get divorced. Although nobody plans on getting divorced, the statistics on the success rate of marriages are clear, and more and more couples are electing to protect themselves with a premarital agreement. From ensuring a personal or family business remains intact to protecting one spouse from the other spouse’s student loans, a prenup is a highly customizable way to mitigate losses in a worst-case scenario.
In our last blog, we talked about the advantages and potential disadvantages of having a prenup. However, a prenup does not do anyone any good if it turns out to be unenforceable. Part of writing a strong premarital agreement is understanding its limitations, including when Illinois courts may declare all or part of an agreement invalid. Before you start writing your prenup, make sure you have the facts.
What Are Benefits and Drawbacks of Creating a Postnuptial Agreement?
Prenuptial agreements are growing in popularity as a great way for engaged couples to delineate their financial expectations in a relationship and stipulate what will happen with certain issues if they get divorced. However, not everyone wants a prenuptial agreement before they get married and cannot imagine a scenario in which they get divorced.
Fortunately, the state of Illinois allows married couples to create a postnuptial agreement after the excitement of the wedding wears off and spouses settle into real life. But postnuptial agreements are not only for couples facing challenges - they can give all couples comfort in knowing that if a divorce is down the road, but they can also settle certain issues quickly and easily, potentially saving themselves time, money, and heartache.
What is the Point of a Postnuptial Agreement?
Like a prenuptial agreement, postnuptial agreements are legal contracts wherein spouses agree ahead of time about what they will do regarding certain issues if they should get divorced. Specifically, postnuptial agreements often address the question of marital and individual property, determining how spouses will divide what they owned before getting married and what they have accumulated together. Spouses can also address the question of spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony) and may even address what the financial contributions of each spouse towards retirement and savings funds will be during the marriage.
What Are the Advantages of Collaborative Divorce and Mediation?
Once you’ve made the decision to get divorced, you have to choose from a wide variety of options and strategies. Do you want to try to do it yourself in an uncontested divorce? Is it better to approach the situation cooperatively, or to try to aggressively pursue everything you are hoping for? Do you want to utilize a large team of professionals, or keep the process as small as possible?
While not every situation allows parties to cooperate, there are two great alternative dispute resolution strategies that are highly effective even when the dynamic between divorcing spouses seems impossible to navigate: Collaborative divorce and mediation. Whether either of these options is good for you can be a tough decision to make, but a qualified Illinois divorce attorney may be able to provide advice.
Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative divorce involves both spouses hiring their own attorney who is committed to working together with a team to create a divorce agreement. Because attorneys are required to work with each other, everybody shares the goal of solving issues and reducing conflict. Spouses can hire a team of divorce professionals that may include a child psychologist, a divorce coach, financial professionals, as well as anyone else who might be helpful. If the collaborative divorce process fails, the entire team is dissolved and the attorneys cannot represent spouses in the future.
What Can I Do if I Have Been Charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia?
Although marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Illinois, other controlled substances continue to be illegal without a prescription. Possession of an illegal drug carries charges and penalties that can vary according to substance; for example, having even .05 grams of heroin, which is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, allows for felony charges, including prison time.
In addition to the illegality of using or selling controlled substances, drug paraphernalia - such as pipes, bongs, or hypodermic needles - is illegal to possess or sell as well. Charges of possession of drug paraphernalia are serious and Illinois is notoriously hard on drug crimes. In this blog post, we will answer some general questions about drug paraphernalia charges, but each case is unique and a qualified Illinois criminal defense attorney is the best person to answer your questions.
How Are Child Support Payments Calculated in Illinois?
Illinois family law is primarily interested in preserving the best interests of children. Because both parents have a financial obligation to support children, child support payments must be calculated when parents get divorced. This can be a stressful experience for both parents, and a certain amount of anxiety and frustration is normal.
Calculating child support payments in an Illinois divorce or child support order modification is done according to a formula, but it is not a simple process. Illinois uses a process known as the “income shares method” to determine each parent’s financial obligation and whether one parent must make payments to the other. We will discuss this method in some detail below.
How Does a Parent’s Income Influence Child Support Payments?
Both parents must share their gross monthly income in a financial affidavit with supporting evidence like pay stubs or W-2s. Then, using a standardized chart, the parents’ gross incomes are used to estimate their “Standardized Net Income.” By combining each parent’s Standardized Net Income, child support payments are then estimated using the Income Shares Schedule chart to determine the total child support amount parents must contribute. Then, according to the percentage of the parents’ Combined Net Income each parent earns, as well as how much time each parent spends with the child, final monthly payments are determined.
Does Being Pregnant Change the Divorce Process in Illinois?
The prospect of divorce in Illinois brings with it a host of questions and issues that must be resolved. Because pregnancy also raises complex questions and difficulties, it is no wonder that getting divorced while one spouse is pregnant presents unique concerns.
People who are considering divorce but are unsure of how a pregnancy would change the process often have many questions. In this blog, we will answer some of the most common questions about combining these two important processes, but readers should keep in mind that a qualified Illinois divorce attorney is the best person to go to for help.
Is a Simplified Divorce Available to Pregnant Couples?
Many young couples who have not been married for long and who do not share complex assets can file for a simplified divorce, which is generally easy, faster, and less costly than a contested divorce. But simplified divorces are only available to couples who do not have children or who are not pregnant.
Can a Parent Be Ordered to Pay College Tuition as Part of Child Support?
Divorced parents in Illinois often feel relief at the prospect of seeing child support payments end when their child turns 18 or graduates from high school. Of course, this does not signal the end of the parent’s support for the child but instead marks the end of one parent making payments to another parent on behalf of the child.
But divorced parents should be aware that certain circumstances exist wherein they may be ordered to financially support their child even after the age of 18. A court order to assist a child with college expenses is one such case. Understanding how Illinois law works in this regard is important for ensuring you meet your legal obligations.
When Can Parents Be Ordered to Pay College Expenses for an Adult Child?
Interestingly, Illinois courts do not have the authority to require married parents to pay for their child’s college expenses. But if the parents are divorced or were never married, the courts do have this authority. This kind of child support is called “non-minor support.”
What Happens if an Underage College Student Gets a DUI in Illinois?
It is a well-known fact that colleges and universities are often hotbeds of reckless underage drinking. More than half of college students admit to riding in a car knowing the driver was under the influence, and college-age students represent an outsized share of drunk driving accidents.
Because of the inherent dangers of driving while drunk, Illinois takes driving under the influence (DUI) charges very seriously. At any age, getting hit with a DUI has expensive and long-lasting consequences, but the penalties faced by underage college students can be particularly damaging to a young adult’s future.
What Is a Zero-Tolerance Law?
Illinois law states that a minor who has even the smallest amount of detectable alcohol in their system while driving can be charged with an underage DUI and have their driver’s license suspended for three months to a year.
If an underage driver has a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or above, they can face standard adult DUI charges with more serious penalties. These include up to a year in jail and as much as $2,500 in fines. Underage drinkers charged with a DUI can also be charged with possessing, consuming, or buying alcohol.
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From our office in Joliet, Illinois we serve the communities of Plainfield, Lockport, Crest Hill, New Lenox, Mokena, Romeoville, Homer Glen, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Aurora and Will County.
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