Posted on April 29, 2020 in Divorce

For many people, having a child and starting a family is a life goal. Having children can be extremely fulfilling, but they do not need to be taken care of forever. Eventually, children grow up and head off to college or move out of the home. During this time, many parents develop feelings of loss and emptiness. These feelings have been named "empty nest syndrome," and they can lead to a great deal of stress for many parents that can affect their marriages. It is not uncommon for couples to have marital issues after their children have left the home. In some cases, the issues in the marriage could lead to a divorce.

What Is Empty Nest Syndrome?

If you have children, you have spent years, even decades, dedicating yourself to them. You took care of them while they were babies, helped them through the tough adolescent years, and guided them through heartbreak and other difficulties as teenagers. Now, they are ready to leave the home and explore the world. You are left behind, with the same home, same life, and same spouse, and you may struggle to adjust to your children being gone. The feeling of loss and emptiness that you may experience is known as empty nest syndrome.

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 Posted on April 26, 2020 in Divorce

The decision to divorce may be more difficult than normal if you are someone with a disability. Though you may be unhappy in your marriage, you may also worry about whether you will be able to support yourself after a divorce. You may rely on your spouse’s income and health insurance if you are unable to work or are limited in your ability. If you have children, you may wonder whether your disability will limit your parenting time. Your disability does not have to trap you in an unhealthy marriage. Illinois divorce laws can help support you financially and protect your parental rights.

Support Payments

In any divorce, a person who is financially dependent on their spouse will usually receive spousal maintenance to support them as they adjust to life on their own. Spousal maintenance is particularly crucial for someone with a disability because they may:

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 Posted on April 23, 2020 in Children and Divorce

As a parent who decided to divorce, you may be concerned about how the divorce will emotionally affect your children. You know that they will be upset, but will the divorce cause long-lasting emotional trauma? The good news is that it is possible for children of divorce to become more resilient because of their experience, making them more capable of handling other hardships that may occur in their lives. There are several ways that you can create an environment that enables your child to build that resiliency:

1. Healthy Communication: To understand how the divorce is affecting your children, you need to listen to what they say and watch how they behave. Encourage them to be open about their feelings without forcing them to talk when they are clearly not in the mood. When they do decide to talk, let them finish speaking without interjecting to correct them or add your own opinion. Resist your instinct to want to solve their problems for them or to reassure them that things are not so bad. The most important thing for you to do is to show sympathy towards their feelings and answer the questions that they ask.

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 Posted on April 22, 2020 in Asset Division

During a divorce, one of the biggest issues you must deal with is the asset division process. Everything that you and your spouse own together must be allocated between the two of you during this process. Illinois is an equitable division state, which means marital property should be divided in a fair manner. However, fair does not always mean equal. Most assets are easy to define and allocate, but what happens when you or your spouse own a business or a private practice that you must address?

Options For Your Business

Before you make any decisions, you should get a fair valuation of your business. It is important to know exactly what your business is worth before you start figuring out how to deal with it. There are various methods you can use to determine the value of your business. Your divorce attorney should be able to recommend an appraiser who can offer advice about your valuation.

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 Posted on April 20, 2020 in Legal Separation

Filing for divorce is a serious and final decision to make about your marriage. Even when couples know that they are unhappy in their marriages, they may be unsure about whether they want to go as far as divorce. One alternative that couples in Illinois have is filing for legal separation. With a legal separation, you can act as if you are divorced without ending your marriage. If you decide you want to stay together, you can simply end the separation agreement. If you decide to end your marriage, you can file for divorce to make your separation permanent.

Why Should You Use Legal Separation?

Couples can separate from each other at any time without needing any official documents. However, they may lack legal protection when it comes to their individual property and parental rights. A separation agreement can work similarly to a divorce agreement, allowing you to settle on issues such as:

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 Posted on April 15, 2020 in Property Division

If you are a homeowner who is getting a divorce, a real estate appraisal is essential to ensuring that you have a fair division of property. Appraising your home is a natural step if you plan to sell it as part of your divorce. You need to know what your home is worth before you entertain offers for it. However, you also need an appraisal if one of you plans to keep the home following the divorce. The value of the home is part of calculating how to equitably divide your marital properties.

Preparing for an Appraisal

A real estate appraiser will estimate the value of your home based on factors such as its size, amenities, condition, and comparative market value. Your responsibility is to prepare your home so that it looks favorable to the appraiser. This may include:

• Cleaning and organizing the interior and exterior of the home

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 Posted on April 15, 2020 in Divorce

Prenuptial agreements have historically been considered taboo. After all, who plans their divorce before they are even married? In recent years, prenups have become increasingly popular and are no longer just for celebrities. Couples from all walks of life have begun to recognize how a prenuptial agreement could be beneficial to their marriage and peace of mind. In the event that you do get divorced, a prenuptial agreement acts as the framework for the divorce agreement, making the entire legal side of the divorce process easier.

A Prenup Cannot Include the Following

If you end up getting divorced, your prenuptial agreement will save you some time, as long as your agreement is valid. However, there are certain things that you cannot include in a prenuptial agreement for it to be considered legally valid. If your prenup is found to include some of these details, the court can decide to throw out the invalid parts, or the entire agreement may be considered invalid. Here are a few things that cannot be included in Illinois prenuptial agreements:

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 Posted on April 10, 2020 in Child Custody

Despite reasons to not get along, many co-parents manage to have an amicable relationship following their divorce or separation. You do not have to be friends with your co-parent but do need to communicate and cooperate with each other, which allows you to focus on making decisions that are best for your children. A crisis such as the one the world is currently experiencing can test your patience as a co-parent because of the way it disrupts your normal routine and creates uncertainty. It is important to continue to cooperate with your co-parent during any crisis for the sake of creating stability for your children. Here are a few suggestions for co-parenting during our current crisis:

1. Put Health First: The most important thing for you to do right now is to protect the health and safety of everyone in your household. This may mean following public health guidelines and taking extra precautions at home. If you have not already, you should talk to your co-parent about what actions you believe are necessary to protect your children.

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 Posted on April 08, 2020 in Family Law

Even if you love your spouse and are happy with them when you get married, you cannot predict the future. People change and evolve over time, and it is impossible to know what will change down the road. The way you feel about your spouse when you get married may not be the same as the way you feel about them 5, 10, or 15 years later. When things get tough in a marriage, one or both spouses may begin to consider divorce. The decision to divorce does not take place overnight, nor is it an easy one to make. When a couple is unhappy, yet not quite ready to call it quits, talking with a divorce lawyer and creating a postnuptial agreement may actually help save the marriage.

What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnuptial agreement is very similar to a prenuptial agreement, which is a legally-binding agreement that is signed before the marriage. The main difference between the two is that a postnuptial agreement is signed after a couple is already married. The two types of agreements may also address different areas — a prenuptial agreement tends to focus on issues that might come to light during the marriage, such as infidelity or financial issues, whereas a postnuptial agreement typically looks at the current life that you have built and what that will look like moving forward.

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 Posted on April 07, 2020 in Divorce

April is normally the end of tax season, though the U.S. has extended the deadline to July 15 for this year. Still, it is good to get a headstart on filing your federal income taxes if you are dealing with new circumstances, such as your recent divorce. Depending on when your divorce was completed, you may have a decision to make about your tax-filing status. If possible, filing a joint tax return with your former spouse will qualify you for a greater standard deductible and other deductibles and credits. However, you may be forced to file a separate tax return.

If Your Divorce Was Completed by Dec. 31

If you finalized your divorce during the 2019 tax year, then you are considered divorced for the entire year and must file separately. The standard deductible for filing as a single adult is half the amount of what you would receive if you filed a joint tax return. You can receive a higher deductible if you file as the head of the household. In order to qualify, you must:

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