When they are written well, prenuptial agreements are legally binding contracts that specify how a couple’s finances, at least in part, will be handled in a divorce. While most people have signed arbitration clauses in contracts like user agreements (often included in the fine print that nobody reads), those same people may be surprised to learn that arbitration agreements can also be included in an Illinois prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. 
Arbitration can be beneficial for many reasons, most of which are similar to the purpose of the pre- or postnuptial agreement itself: Avoiding protracted courtroom hostilities and ensuring parties can…
Continue Reading Can We Include an Arbitration Clause in Our Illinois Prenup?

Couples deciding to get divorced in Illinois have generally thought through the impact that separation will have on their own lives. But it is also important to carefully consider how divorce will impact your children, who do not have the maturity to understand why parents separate and what these changes mean. While all divorcing parents must create a parenting agreement that describes parental responsibilities and parenting time, attention must also be given to helping children make the major adjustment to visiting parents in different homes. Here are a few tips that can help. 
Treat Your Co-Parent With Respect 
You…
Continue Reading How Can I Help My Kids Adjust to Their New Visitation Schedule? 

Some Illinois couples get divorced because of financial disagreements; other couples get divorced because of differences in how they want to raise their children. Still more couples get divorced because of abuse, adultery, or neglect. These issues can make pursuing a divorce a fairly straightforward, if difficult, decision to make. 
However, some people find they absolutely cannot stand their spouse – but for reasons they might feel embarrassed or nervous to share with friends and family. If the way your spouse eats, blows their nose, breathes, fidgets, or snores in their sleep makes you want to tear your marriage certificate…
Continue Reading I Cannot Stand the Noises My Spouse Makes. Is That A Good Enough Reason For Divorce?

When a couple who shares children and owns property wants to get an Illinois divorce, they will need to draft a marital settlement agreement (MSA) before the divorce can be finalized. A marital settlement agreement, or divorce agreement, is the contract that details exactly how a married couple will divide their marital assets and debt and handle child-related issues. Once the MSA is drafted, a judge can approve it and include it in the Judgment of Dissolution, which is handed down when the marriage ends. So, do you need an MSA? And, if so, what does an MSA need…
Continue Reading What Does a Marital Settlement Agreement Need to Address? 

Couples in Illinois often live together for many years without considering or pursuing marriage. Cohabitation without marriage may be preferable for many different reasons, including partners who come from very difficult cultures, couples who want to save the money and hassle of planning a wedding, or people for whom marriage is just not a priority. Although these reasons are legitimate, the truth is that marriage in Illinois gives partners rights and protections during divorce that do not exist for cohabitating couples, no matter how long they have been living together. 
Partners who have owned property and shared a home for…
Continue Reading Can I Prove We Were in a Common Law Marriage in Illinois?  

Spouses getting divorced in Illinois must manage the negotiation of their marital assets, including determining which assets are marital property and which are personally owned. While this sounds straightforward, in practice it can be a very difficult and contentious process. This is especially true for couples with a high net worth and complex assets, but even spouses who have inherited relatively small amounts may struggle with determining what is marital property and personal property. 
Fortunately, there is a process called asset tracing that can help spouses determine how much of an asset is marital property. Asset tracing can also help…
Continue Reading When Can Asset Tracing Be Helpful in a DuPage County Divorce? 

Divorces involving spouses from two different countries may present the issue of dividing assets owned by one or both spouses in a location other than America. This can present a number of complications for an Illinois divorce because if a spouse is determined to hide international assets or lie about their value, it can be difficult to find or assess the exact value of an asset. Fortunately, attorneys with experience with dissolution of arranged marriages can help spouses who own complex assets overseas divide their assets fairly. 
Is a Foreign Asset a Marital Asset? 
Whether a piece of property, bank…
Continue Reading How Can I Ensure Our International Assets Are Fairly Divided in Our Illinois Divorce? 

One common reason many Illinois couples pursue divorce is because of very different opinions regarding how their children should be raised. Unfortunately, after a divorce is finalized and a parenting agreement has been made, these issues often continue to be a problem because parents must continue to raise the children. When one parent has a laissez-faire attitude towards things like homework completion, the other parent may become increasingly frustrated by failing grades, notes from school, and constantly feeling like the “bad guy” for enforcing homework. If you are co-parenting in Illinois and this situation sounds familiar, read on. 
What Does…
Continue Reading What Can I Do if My Ex Will Not Make Our Children Do Their Homework? 

Once an Illinois couple has decided to get divorced, both partners usually want the divorce to end as soon as possible. Although sometimes delays in the legal system are inevitable and complications arise, when spouses work cooperatively, divorce does not need to take longer than the time it takes to resolve all relevant issues. 
However, sometimes one spouse will try to use divorce proceedings to manipulate the other spouse. They may contest the divorce or try to drag on negotiations to keep their spouse from getting what they want out of the divorce or from beginning a new life without…
Continue Reading What Can I Do If My Spouse Is Using Divorce Negotiations to Manipulate Me?

Most Illinoisans are familiar with concepts like violent domestic abuse and emotional abuse. However, marital abuse comes in many different forms, and one form that people are often less familiar with is financial abuse. Although someone suffering from financial abuse may have no outward signs of being abused, this type of abuse can still lead to extreme suffering and hardship, especially if someone feels trapped in a marriage because they have no money to leave. 
Women are most often the victims of marital financial abuse, but it can happen to anyone of any gender, regardless of whether their marriage is…
Continue Reading Three Signs of Marital Financial Abuse in Illinois

As anyone who has ever known a narcissist well can attest, setting boundaries and planning daily tasks with someone who is constantly obsessing over their own image and self-importance can be next to impossible. Parenting, which requires empathy, sacrifice, and humility, is particularly difficult with a narcissist as a partner and when you are facing many years of co-parenting with a narcissist, you may feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, others before you have managed this daunting task and come out the other side. Here are some tips for co-parenting with a narcissist. 
Rely on the Courts For Help
Manipulation and coercion often…
Continue Reading Help! My Ex-Spouse is a Narcissist and Now We Have to Co-Parent