A lot is at stake financially during an Illinois divorce. Your marital property, retirement accounts, savings, and other assets are all subject to division. Even your credit score can be impacted by divorce.
Many people have concerns about how their spouse might handle assets during divorce proceedings. After all, the National Endowment for Financial Education estimates that almost half of married people admit they have deceived their spouse financially. If you are worried your spouse could waste, destroy, dissipate, or otherwise try to wreck your marital estate, you need to understand financial restraining orders.
Continue Reading What You Need to Know About Financial Restraining Orders
Latest from Stogsdill Law Blog
What to Expect from the Collaborative Divorce Process
Divorce does not have to mean courtroom battles, hostile negotiations, and years of conflict. Nearly 95 percent of divorces in 2025 are settled out of court, and collaborative divorce is an excellent way of doing this.
Collaborative divorce offers an alternative approach that prioritizes cooperation, transparency, and solutions that work for both spouses. If you are considering divorce but want to avoid litigation, understanding what the collaborative process involves can help you decide if it is right for your situation.
The collaborative divorce process is fundamentally different from traditional divorce litigation. Instead of preparing for war, you and your spouse
Continue Reading What to Expect from the Collaborative Divorce Process
Can I Get a Paternity Order if the Father Doesn’t Cooperate?
Even when fathers do not willingly participate in their children’s lives, they still have a financial obligation. If the father of your child is not cooperating, you have legal options. Illinois law gives you clear tools to establish paternity even when the father does not respond. You can still protect your child’s rights. Our experienced DuPage County, IL paternity lawyers can offer guidance through the legal process. We protect your rights and advocate for you and your child.
What Does It Mean To “Establish Paternity” in Illinois?
Illinois uses the Parentage Act of 2015 to guide how paternity is established.
Continue Reading Can I Get a Paternity Order if the Father Doesn’t Cooperate?
Are Civil Unions Still a Thing in Illinois?
Even though same-sex marriage has been legal in Illinois for years, civil unions have not gone away. They are still an option for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples who want many of the same rights as marriage without using that label. Many couples find civil unions to be a flexible option that fits their goals and beliefs. If you are considering making your relationship legally official, you should speak to a representative today. Our Wheaton, IL family law attorneys will explain the process and help you decide if this option is right for you.
How Do Civil Unions Work in
Continue Reading Are Civil Unions Still a Thing in Illinois?
What Do "Parental Responsibilities" Technically Include in Illinois?
Divorces and custody cases come with hard questions. These usually include who will make important decisions on behalf of the children, where the children will live, and how parents will divide parenting time. Illinois law no longer uses the terms “custody” and “visitation,” instead referring to these as “parental responsibilities.” But what does that actually mean — and what do parental responsibilities technically include under Illinois law?
For parents in Illinois, understanding this term is important for knowing why and how family courts do what they do. At The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C., our Wheaton child custody attorneys bring
Continue Reading What Do "Parental Responsibilities" Technically Include in Illinois?
When is Adult Child Support Ordered in Illinois?
Most parents understand that child support typically ends when their child reaches age 18 or graduates from high school. However, Illinois law has two situations where parents may be required to support adult children. These include college expenses and children with disabilities. These payments are different from traditional child support and have different requirements. They can last for longer or shorter than normal child support.
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act deals with these types of adult support separately. There are also different standards for when courts will order them. As of September 2025, Illinois is one of
Continue Reading When is Adult Child Support Ordered in Illinois?
What Happens If Collaborative Divorce Fails?
In Illinois, many couples approach divorce wanting to reduce conflict as much as possible. Collaborative divorce offers a way to resolve issues outside of the courtroom through negotiation. However, not every couple succeeds in this process. When collaboration does not work, it is important to know what happens next.
At The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C., our Wheaton, IL family law attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined experience to every case. We excel at the collaborative divorce process, but we also offer tough negotiation and litigation when collaborative methods fail.
What Is Collaborative Divorce?
Collaborative divorce is a divorce
Continue Reading What Happens If Collaborative Divorce Fails?
Child Custody for Unmarried Parents in Illinois
While marriage creates automatic rights and responsibilities when it comes to children, unmarried parents have a unique set of matters to think about when it comes to issues like custody, child support, and visitation. In Illinois, these issues are managed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, even if you were never married to your child’s other parent. The first step towards dealing with child custody is to understand what the law says and what that means for you.
Although people still use the terms “custody” and “visitation,” Illinois law recognizes child custody under the updated terms
Continue Reading Child Custody for Unmarried Parents in Illinois
QDROs for Public Employees in Illinois Divorces
Public employees in Illinois are often covered by government pension plans, which can present a unique challenge when it comes to dividing assets during a divorce. One of the most important tools for dividing retirement accounts in Illinois divorces is the Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). However, when dealing with pensions and retirement accounts specific to public employees, the process is a bit different than that of a QDRO for a non-state employee.
In this blog, we will explore how QDROs apply to public employees in Illinois divorces, including how to ensure that you are properly protected when setting
Continue Reading QDROs for Public Employees in Illinois Divorces
Common Joint Custody Scenarios After Divorce
When parents divorce in Illinois, the court must decide how parenting time and parental responsibilities will be allocated. In many cases, joint custody, known under Illinois law as the shared allocation of parental responsibilities, allows both parents to remain actively involved in their child’s life. While the specific arrangement depends on the family’s circumstances, certain patterns tend to emerge in joint custody cases.
As of August 2025, Illinois law continues to prioritize arrangements that serve the child’s best interests, which include maintaining strong relationships with both parents when possible. Our large, well-respected firm has Wheaton child custody lawyers
Continue Reading Common Joint Custody Scenarios After Divorce
5 Facts About Alimony in a 2025 Divorce
If you are preparing for a divorce in Illinois, the issue of spousal maintenance (also known as alimony or spousal support) may be one of your biggest concerns. Whether you are likely to pay or receive support, it is important to understand how the law works, what courts consider, and how recent updates may impact your case.
Whether you anticipate paying or receiving alimony, having an experienced, aggressive DuPage County, IL divorce attorney on your side is an important first step. Here are five essential things to know about spousal maintenance in a 2025 Illinois divorce, particularly in DuPage
Continue Reading 5 Facts About Alimony in a 2025 Divorce
Managing a Disabled Child’s Needs During Divorce
Parents of children with special needs or disabilities are, statistically, more likely to face divorce. Yet a divorce hardly solves the difficult problems of caring for such a child; in certain cases, divorce can aggravate disagreements about a child’s care and place greater caregiving burdens on parents who are already exhausted and burned out.
Parents often ask how Illinois courts handle child support, decision-making responsibilities (child custody), and parenting time (visitation) for a child who may need care well into adulthood. Understanding your legal options and obligations is essential to ensuring your child’s needs are met both now and
Continue Reading Managing a Disabled Child’s Needs During Divorce
Are Family Pets Considered Property in Divorce?
When spouses divorce in Illinois, deciding who will keep the family dog, cat, or other beloved pet can be a contentious issue. Many people consider their pets to be important and beloved members of their family, but under Illinois law, animals are treated differently than children in divorce proceedings. Our Wheaton, IL divorce attorneys are here to help you understand how the law applies to pets in a divorce. Beyond that, we will help you prepare for the overall process, including any other issues that need to be addressed.
How Are Pets Treated in Illinois Divorces?
Under Illinois law, pets
Continue Reading Are Family Pets Considered Property in Divorce?
Who Pays for Student Loans in a Divorce?
Student loan debt has become a central issue in many divorces, especially when one or both spouses pursued advanced degrees or took out large loans before or during the marriage. For divorcing couples in DuPage County, the question of who pays for student loans after divorce is not always straightforward. It depends on a range of factors, including when the loans were taken out, how they were used, and how property is divided during the divorce process.
Whether you are the spouse who earned the degree or the one who supported your partner’s education, it is important to understand
Continue Reading Who Pays for Student Loans in a Divorce?
Enforcing Child Support Payments After a Divorce or Separation
Following a separation or divorce, child support payments are essential to ensuring that a child’s needs are met. Unfortunately, not all parents will comply with these court-ordered obligations, and some will deliberately try to avoid paying child support by quitting a job or taking a lower-paying job. Unpaid child support can lead to serious financial hardships for the receiving parent and the child.
Thankfully, Illinois law (Chapter 40, 750 ILCS 5/505) provides a range of enforcement tools to help parents obtain the child support to which they are legally entitled. If you are dealing with partial child support
Continue Reading Enforcing Child Support Payments After a Divorce or Separation
Five Signs a Divorce Attorney is Not a Good Fit
Some people may believe that choosing a divorce attorney is as simple as typing in “divorce attorney in my area” on Google and choosing the first one that pops up. After all, one divorce attorney is much like the next, right? While it would make choosing a divorce attorney easier if this were true, in fact, it is not.
Having a divorce attorney who fully understands your needs, communicates clearly, and advocates fiercely on your behalf can make a difference in the outcome of your divorce. Not every divorce attorney will be a good fit for you and your unique
Continue Reading Five Signs a Divorce Attorney is Not a Good Fit