Posted on April 17, 2019 in Child Support

Divorce can disrupt the financial plans from your marriage, including savings you have accumulated for your child’s college expenses. If you have been making regular contributions to a college fund, you may worry about how you will continue to afford them on your individual income while also supporting yourself and your child. You should discuss your college savings plan with your spouse during your divorce negotiations, including who will control any existing savings and how to ensure that the money goes towards your child.

Types of Plans

Savings accounts from your marriage, such as a retirement plan, are considered marital assets because they are funded with marital income. Even if you keep control of the entire account after your divorce, you may need to compensate your spouse for half of the value of the account. A court may exclude your college savings account from your marital property if it classifies the account as a fund set aside for your children. The best way to do this is by creating a plan that is meant for college savings, such as a:

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 Posted on April 17, 2019 in Uncategorized

You have had it up to your ears with your spouse, and your spouse is fed up with you. You both know that you want to end the marriage, but you both also know how stressful, long and drawn out divorces can become. You know you want something that is as quick and easy as possible.

One option that you may have is to apply for a joint simplified dissolution of marriage. This type of divorce is expedited and can allow you and your spouse to complete a divorce much quicker than a traditional divorce. Importantly, there are certain requirements that couples must meet in order to qualify to use a joint simplified dissolution of marriage.

Requirements for a Simplified Divorce

Only certain couples qualify to file for a joint simplified divorce. According to Illinois law, the following requirements must be met before a couple can file for a simplified divorce:

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 Posted on April 13, 2019 in High Asset Divorce

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced the terms of his divorce from his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie. The divorce is expected to be the most valuable in history because Bezos’s net worth of more than $110 billion makes him the richest man in the world. As part of the divorce:

• Jeff Bezos will keep 75 percent of the couple’s stock in Amazon and voting control for all of their stock;
• MacKenzie Bezos’s share will be about four percent of Amazon’s total stock, valued at $35 billion; and
• Jeff Bezos will receive all of the couple’s interest in the Washington Post and Blue Origin.

As a result of the divorce, MacKenzie Bezos will be the third-richest woman in the world. As astounding as the details of the agreement are, it may be just as impressive that the divorce has been amicable. The couple reached a quick agreement and has complimented each other publicly throughout the process. You could argue that it is easy to cooperate when both spouses are guaranteed to still be amongst the richest people in the world. However, a high asset divorce can just as easily create conflict between the spouses.

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 Posted on April 11, 2019 in Divorce

Studies on the likelihood of divorce often look at factors on a personal level, such as an individual’s income, education, employment, and maturity at the time of marriage. A recent study from the University of California at Irvine instead looked at how society as a whole affects the likelihood of divorce. The researchers collected divorce data from 84 countries from 1970 to 2008. They did not include the U.S. in the study because they considered its statistics to be an outlier, but the findings of the study can still be applied to the U.S.

The global divorce rate more than doubled during the study period, increasing from 2.6 divorces per 1,000 marriages to 5.5 divorces per 1,000 marriages. Countries in Northern and Western Europe generally had the highest divorce rates, while divorce rates were lowest in Southern Europe, Latin America, and Eastern Asia. Divorce rates greatly varied amongst countries in regions such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Some countries bucked their regional trends, such as Cuba having a high divorce rate and Ireland having a low divorce rate. Researchers found five common characteristics in many of the countries with high divorce rates:

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 Posted on April 05, 2019 in Asset Division

In recent years, prenuptial agreements have been on the rise. What once was only for the rich and famous is now being utilized by people from all walks of life. The idea of a prenuptial agreement used to be taboo -- it was thought you should not be planning for your divorce before you are even married. Now, it is thought to be good planning to have a prenuptial agreement.

Young people are waiting longer to get married and are older than previous generations when they get married for the first time. This means that people are usually bringing more assets and debt into marriages and using prenuptial agreements to safeguard their finances. Prenuptial agreements are on the rise, but they may not be right for everyone.

Here are a few situations in which you should consider getting a prenuptial agreement:

1. One of You Has Been Married Before

A prenuptial agreement can be beneficial if you or your soon-to-be spouse has been down the aisle before. This is especially true if one of the spouses is are older or already has maintenance or support obligations.

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 Posted on April 04, 2019 in Children and Divorce

Some spouses have the unfortunate timing of divorcing while the wife is pregnant. Pregnancy is an emotional time for both expectant parents, though the excitement usually draws them closer. Having a child puts stress on the parents, which their relationship may be unable to withstand. In other cases, the decision to divorce just happens to coincide with the pregnancy. Illinois law does not prevent spouses from divorcing while expecting a child. However, pregnancy can change the nature of divorce, especially if it will be the couple’s first child.

Parenting Factors

Illinois law assumes that the husband is the father of any child conceived or born during a marriage. Only a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity by another man or a paternity test could break that assumption. Because the spouses will be co-parents after the divorce, their agreement must include:

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 Posted on April 02, 2019 in Divorce

Taking a vacation after completing your divorce can be therapeutic. You have built up a lot of stress during the process and may need a short period of time when you can relax and enjoy yourself. It is easier to avoid reminders of your divorce by getting away from your familiar home environment. Visiting a new location may inspire a fresh perspective on your life after divorce. You can decide for yourself when the best time will be to take that vacation and where you should go. Here are four tips for making vacation plans after a divorce:

1. Identify What You Enjoy: Vacations can be very busy or very relaxed. Some people enjoy visiting new places and seeing the sites. Others like physical activities that are intensive or leisurely. You may prefer sitting on a beach or finding a quiet place where you can disconnect. This vacation should focus on what you enjoy, whether that is activity or inactivity.

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 Posted on March 29, 2019 in Divorce

Common sense says that you should not embark on a life-changing event such as starting a new career at the same time as you are going through a divorce. Doing both will divide the time and energy you need to devote to each, as well as pile stress on yourself. However, one change can beget another, and getting a divorce may cause you to reconsider your current career and whether it is meeting your needs. Starting a career change during a divorce can be good or bad timing, depending on the reasons for the change.

Positives

There are typically three reasons that someone wants to change their career during their divorce:

• They need a better-paying job in order to be financially independent of their spouse;
• The work hours of their current job will make it difficult for them to have regular parenting time with their children; or

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 Posted on March 29, 2019 in Child Custody

Divorce is never easy for anyone, but it can be particularly stressful when a couple has children and they intend to divorce. With children comes a slew of extra issues and arrangements you must agree upon before you can finalize your divorce.

Illinois courts require that you and your spouse have a parenting plan filed with the court before you can finalize your divorce to your spouse. A parenting plan is a document that outlines both significant decision-making responsibilities and parenting time (which is now the term used for child custody). Coming to an agreement on child-related issues can be stressful and sometimes a judge must step in to settle disagreements.

Factors for Consideration

Before a judge steps in and begins allocating parenting time, the parents are encouraged to come up with a parenting time plan on their own. This both increases the likelihood that both parents will stick to the plan, but it also helps foster cooperation and communication between the parents.

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 Posted on March 26, 2019 in Child Support

Due to the overhaul of Illinois’ child support law a few years ago, some divorced or separated parents are working under a drastically different child support system than others:

• For child support agreements created before July 1, 2017, the non-resident parent pays a percentage of his or her income, based on the number of children; and
• For child support agreements created since July 1, 2017, the total child support obligation is determined by the parents’ combined incomes, and the non-resident parent pays a percentage of the obligation that is proportionate to his or her share of the combined incomes.

The new child support model would potentially reduce the payments of a parent who was using the previous child support model. However, the existence of the new law is not enough reason to allow a modification of a child support agreement.

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