Family & Divorce

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Divorce is a stressful, frustrating time for most couples. Depending on various factors, your divorce may take months or even a year or more to finalize. When you are dealing with one divorce issue after another, it can be difficult to keep your focus on your career. Whether your divorce is contested or uncontested and whether you have children with your spouse can significantly impact the time your divorce will take and the headaches you will face.
While there is no waiting period in the state of Illinois for an uncontested divorce – as long as you meet the residency …
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It goes without saying that divorce is a very challenging time for most families, and one of the most pressing questions parents face is whether to inform their children about the situation. As you consult with your lawyer and figure out the particulars of what your Illinois divorce will entail, it is important to consider how the decision to get divorced will affect your kids. While it may be tempting to shield kids from adult problems, being open about divorce can help foster emotional understanding and resilience. Here are some reasons why it is a good idea to tell your…
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Going through a divorce is never easy. If you’re facing a divorce in Illinois, you might feel overwhelmed and likely have many questions. Perhaps you and your spouse initially agreed to an uncontested divorce, hoping for a smooth and amicable process. However, the speed with which a seemingly straightforward divorce can transform into a complex…
The post Uncontested Divorces Can Quickly Become Contested Divorces appeared first on Manassa Law P.C..
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Hearsay is an important legal concept that lawyers learn in law school. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 801, hearsay is an…
The post What is hearsay in divorce and family law matters? first appeared on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
The post What is hearsay in divorce and family law matters? appeared first on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
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When one spouse controls all the money in a marriage, the other spouse is left completely vulnerable. It costs money to live! If your spouse has all the money, how can you live? Does withholding money amount to financial abuse in an Illinois divorce? Financial Abuse Is Abuse In Illinois In Illinois, abuse is resolved by an order of protection. “If the court finds that petitioner has been abused by a family or household member…an order of protection prohibiting the abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall issue” 750 ILCS 60/214 An order of protection can only be granted if there is…
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Being involved in an auto accident is a traumatic experience. But when the cause of the accident is a drunk driver, emotions can run even higher. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that an average of 37 people die each day due to drunk driving in the United States. Due to this prevalence, […]
The post What Can I Do If a Drunk Driver Caused My Auto Accident? appeared first on SAM LAW OFFICE LLC.
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Illinois courts generally prefer joint custody arrangements. Even if one parent has primary visitation rights, both generally have a say in important decisions that affect their child, including making choices about their education. As homeschooling grows in popularity, divorced parents are finding themselves entangled in disagreements when one parent wants to homeschool the child, but the other is opposed. Some children benefit immensely from the social setting of being in school, while others are far more suited to a homeschooling arrangement. Likewise, some parents would be excellent at teaching their own children, and others would struggle. When you and your…
Continue Reading My Ex Insists on Homeschooling Our Son. What Can I Do?

When you realize you are headed toward divorce, your mind can be flooded by endless thoughts and concerns about what will happen to you financially. There are child support and alimony payments to think about. You and your spouse will have to figure out how you will be dividing your marital assets. On top of it all, couples getting divorced in Illinois also need to settle how they will divide their marital debt. If your spouse has amassed significant credit card debt, you are probably wondering whether you will be stuck paying for it all. A seasoned…
Continue Reading Liability for a Spouse’s Credit Card Debt After Divorce

The allocation of parental responsibilities can be one of the tougher parts of your divorce. Decisions must be made that are in the best interests of your child, regardless of how you or your ex feel about it. Old grievances and feelings toward your ex must be set aside in order to work together for the good of your child. The following scenario could apply to virtually any issue that divides parents and makes co-parenting difficult.
You and your ex share custody of your seven-year-old daughter. Two years after the divorce, the two of you have been mostly successful at…
Continue Reading What Can I Do If My Ex Only Feeds Our Child Junk Food? | IL

Although “prenuptial agreement” is a well-known phrase that many people have heard, there is a great deal of confusion about what it means. Often, it comes up in TV shows portraying a couple about to get married when suddenly the wealthy fiance’s family issues an ultimatum, telling the other fiance to sign the prenup “or else.” 
Thankfully, the truth can be far less dramatic. Prenuptial agreements are practical documents that act like a contract, where both fiances are given a clear understanding of how financial matters will be handled in their marriage and in the hypothetical event of…
Continue Reading Should I Sign a Prenuptial Agreement in Illinois?

Although immigration issues can sometimes hinder those who are attempting to better their lives by obtaining a professional license, the state of Illinois has taken steps to stop that from happening. A new law recently signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker serves two purposes. First, undocumented immigrants may keep a professional license earned and issued in the state of Illinois. This is true regardless of immigration status. Second, reasonable accommodations must be made for applicants whose primary language is not English when those applicants take professional licensing exams in the state.
Under HB 5457, the Illinois Department of Financial and…
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Post-decree divorce modifications are relatively common as they relate to child custody and child support issues. Children’s needs change with time and the circumstances of the parents can change as well. These changes can require modifying a previous agreement. Marital settlement agreement modifications that pertain to the division of assets and spousal support are much less common and are only allowed under specific circumstances.
In addition to a divorce decree modification, it may also be necessary to enforce the marital settlement agreement when one spouse does not abide by it. Should you find yourself in need of a marital settlement…
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Divorce is often an emotional, tense process for couples as they try to dissolve their marriage. However, for couples searching for a more amicable approach, a collaborative divorce may be ideal as it provides parties more control over the process.
How the Collaborative Law Approach Works
In a collaborative divorce, the couple is given control to decide the terms of their divorce, working together with a team of professionals to determine the distribution of their estate, spousal support, parenting time and so on.
Each spouse has their own collaborative attorney for this process and can enlist collaborative experts to help…
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With the exception of couples who completely agree not only that they should get divorced but also on every aspect of their divorce, most people struggle with divorce and the changes it brings. However, some divorces are distinctly more difficult than others. Contested divorces involving high net worth individuals, allegations of spousal or child abuse, or accusations of infidelity tend to see a lot of anger and conflict between couples. These divorces can take longer and be more challenging to resolve.
Even without any of these issues, however, there is one particular personality characteristic that tends to make divorce extremely…
Continue Reading Is Divorcing a Narcissist Hard? 

When parents get a divorce, arrangements are made for one parent to pay child support to the other to ensure the welfare of the child. Many factors are considered when determining how much money a parent needs to pay the other, including the parents’ financial situation and the child’s needs. That is why it can be so frustrating to discover that your ex is spending the child support payments on herself instead of your child. If this is happening to you, speak with a skilled DuPage County, IL divorce lawyer to review your options.
How Can I Make Sure…
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When someone claims to be a victim of domestic violence, Illinois takes those claims seriously and responds swiftly. A restraining order, officially called an order of protection, can be issued against the person being accused, which might legally keep them out of their home without a solution for where they can spend the night. 
When accusations are especially severe, the court can even issue an emergency order of protection almost immediately, without a long court process and without giving the accused an opportunity to tell his side of the story. Unfortunately, this swift handling of cases meant to…
Continue Reading My Wife Got a Restraining Order Against Me. How Can I Fight It? | IL