Posted on December 13, 2024 in High Asset Divorce

Divorce is complicated enough, but a couple with a high net worth may run into even more issues during the dissolution of a marriage. Dividing up shared property and wealth in a high-asset divorce can be extremely complex, requiring a thorough appraisal of all marital property. If you are going through a high-asset divorce, an attorney can represent you inside and outside of court, making sure that your financial interests are protected. In cases of high-asset divorce, the experienced DuPage County family law attorney at Fawell & Fawell is prepared to give you his full attention to help ensure a clean separation.

Shared Businesses

A shared business in a marriage can be profitable. However, the turmoil of a high-asset divorce can threaten to interrupt regular operations, especially when dealing with problems of ownership. If you started a business prior to a marriage, it may be considered a non-marital asset and therefore not subject to division. However, if your spouse contributed to the business during the marriage, the courts may consider any gain to the value of the business to be a marital asset. As such, you will have to reach an equitable compromise with your spouse, whether that means buying out his or her interests, selling the business itself, or continuing to maintain joint ownership.

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 Posted on November 22, 2024 in Child Custody

In certain jobs and industries, relocation is an exciting opportunity for career development. However, when a parent is offered relocation, he or she must think long and hard about whether that is the right move for the family. This decision can become much more complicated for a parent who is divorced or separated from the child’s other parent.

Illinois has specific rules about when and how a parent can relocate. If you want to understand the implications of parental relocation in a shared custody arrangement, speak with an experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney to learn more.

What Is Parental Relocation?

Parental relocation is when a parent wants to move somewhere far enough away from where he or she currently lives that the parent needs to get court approval. This could mean moving to another city, county, or even another state. Relocation can be a complicated issue to navigate when parents are not married but share custody.

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 Posted on November 11, 2024 in Prenuptial Agreement

While many people are familiar with the idea of a prenuptial agreement, there is some confusion about what it needs to include and what makes it valid. If you and your future spouse have decided to create a prenuptial agreement to give you peace of mind in the case of a hypothetical divorce, it is important to discuss this decision with a lawyer. Our experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney can guide you through the process of drafting a prenuptial agreement.

Tip 1: Full Disclosure of Liabilities and Assets

One of the most important aspects of a valid prenup is full disclosure of all assets, debts, and financial interests. Both spouses need to fully disclose any property, income, bank accounts, retirement funds, debts, and any other financial interests before a prenup is signed. If it is later discovered that someone hid or misrepresented their financial situation, the prenup may be invalidated.

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 Posted on October 23, 2024 in Divorce

As the seasons begin to change and the holiday season approaches, many parents who share custody of their children wonder if there is a better way for them to handle this festive time. Some parents have a simple division of time with their children, switching off every other week. When holidays fall on a day that is not scheduled for you to be with your children, it can seem random and unfair. It is possible to find creative solutions if everyone is willing to work together and think outside of the box. If you need helpful suggestions for how your family can have happy holiday memories after divorce, speak with an experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney.

Can Divorced Parents Alternate the Holidays?

One possibility that parents commonly use after a divorce is alternating holidays. They can create a list of important holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter. Then, each parent takes turns having the children for these holidays. Parents can also alternate the schedule each year. For instance, one year the mother might have the children on Thanksgiving and New Year’s, while the father has them for Christmas and Easter, and then they switch the following year. This way, over time, both parents can enjoy making holiday memories with their children.

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 Posted on October 09, 2024 in Divorce

Years ago, if an Illinois couple wanted to end their marriage, they needed to describe their relationship problems to a judge who would decide whether they had sufficient grounds to be permitted to get a divorce. Ever since an act was passed in 2016 to eliminate fault-based grounds for divorce, the entire process has become a bit smoother. Instead of spouses needing to drag up painful episodes, a couple can simply say they have irreconcilable differences and begin divorce proceedings.

Increasing calls across America to put an end to this have brought the issue to the national stage. Some people claim that no-fault divorce makes it too easy to end a marriage, which they feel should be too sacred to enter without an understanding of the serious commitment it requires. This article will examine what no-fault divorce means. If you want to learn more, speak with a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL divorce lawyer.

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 Posted on September 24, 2024 in Divorce

Being an adult can be difficult. We need to do things we would rather not, spend our money in ways we would prefer not to, and even think about things we would be happy to avoid. Whether you are buying insurance, drafting a will, or creating a savings fund to be used just in case your finances dwindle, there are many things you are forced to imagine against your will.

Marriage and divorce are no exception. And while same-sex couples used to live without the same legal rights, obligations, and privileges as other couples, that is no longer the case. However, since gay marriage was only recently legalized officially in America, there can be a lot of confusion about its various legal implications.

Thankfully, today the ability to get married goes hand-in-hand with the ability to get a divorce. If you are in a same-sex marriage that is reaching its end, speak with a skilled Wheaton, IL divorce lawyer to understand your options.

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 Posted on September 11, 2024 in Child Support

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 Child Support Is Being Spent on My Child?

Once you make your child support payments, your ex can use her discretion to spend it as she sees fit. You are no longer entitled to the money, as it is hers to use.

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 Posted on August 27, 2024 in Child Support

Illinois has been celebrating Child Support Awareness this month by highlighting some new initiatives that are improving the state’s child support system. With so many parents and children affected by child support, it seemed prudent to give the topic some special attention and increase awareness of various improvements being carried out. By focusing on improved support, access, education, and enforcement, the state hopes to help as many Illinoisans as possible navigate the child support process smoothly. If you have questions, speak with a skilled Wheaton, IL family law attorney to hear how these new initiatives might help you.

What New Child Support Initiatives Has Illinois Introduced?

Some of the new child support initiatives that Illinois has recently launched include:

• More equitable calculations:  Illinois has moved to an income shares model to make child support payments more equitable. This new model takes income, parenting time, and other factors into consideration when calculating child support amounts.

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 Posted on August 09, 2024 in Divorce

It is never easy to get a divorce. You are juggling logistics, legal arrangements, and the feelings that come along with a breakup all at the same time. If you are a stay-at-home mom, you might feel particularly worried about the future. You might even think that you should stay in your marriage instead of facing all the unknowns that come with divorce. However, staying in an unhappy marriage might not be the best choice for you or your family. If you are a stay-at-home mom in a broken marriage but are worried about how divorce will affect your future, speak with a compassionate DuPage County, IL divorce lawyer to use their expertise as a sounding board.

Important Considerations for Divorce

It is generally hard to decide that divorce is the logical next step. While it is something many people would prefer to avoid, ending a marriage can have an incredibly positive impact on your life if it is a source of stress rather than support and encouragement. As difficult as it can feel for a stay-at-home mom to consider divorce, there are many points to keep in mind, including:

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 Posted on July 26, 2024 in Family Law

The world we live in today seems quite different from how it was only 20 years ago. There are many things people say now that would not have meant anything back then: "I can Venmo it to you." "Did you see what she tweeted?" "Let me call you an Uber."

There are also new industries based on social media platforms. For example, being an influencer can be very lucrative. As new professions develop, new laws and regulations are needed to protect consumers and internet personalities alike. What happens when the person whose content earns millions in profits is a child? How should the parents navigate this? If you are the parent of a child influencer, speak with a seasoned Wheaton, IL family law attorney to understand your legal obligations and rights.

Protection for Kidfluencers

Over the past decade, "kidfluencers," or children with social media channels, have been gaining sizable followings. Some influencers have enough followers to monetize their platforms with sponsorships or collaborations. There are many cases of child influencers whose platforms earn millions of dollars annually. However, the children featured in these channels rarely own their platforms. Children generally trust their parents to have their best interests in mind. Unfortunately, some cases of parental exploitation of their children’s popularity have shown why child influencers need legal protection.

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