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Determining who gets to keep the pet can be tricky during divorce
Nearly 80 million households in the United States, including many in Illinois, own pets. In modern society, more Americans are delaying giving birth to children, so pets have become an increasingly important — and contentious — aspect of divorce. Determining who will get custody of a companion animal can be tricky when two divorcing individuals do not agree on the issue.
From a traditional point of view, pets are viewed as property by the law. That means they are seen as being similar to house plants and couches. However, emotional attachment may turn beloved pets into valuable bargaining chips during divorce negotiations.
Judges have a great deal of discretion when it comes to dividing property during a divorce. People can strengthen their claims if they can prove that they used their own money — money they earned before getting married — to purchase the pets or pay for their veterinary bills. Judges are now also looking at other factors during divorces involving pets, such as considering the pets' best interests, as well as the best interests of the family members who love them.
Common mistakes can be costly during divorce in Illinois
Whether in Illinois or another state, the divorce process can feel like a roller coaster — not just emotionally but also financially. Unfortunately, failure to anticipate the twists and turns and to prepare for them accordingly may be costly. A couple of tips may help people to protect themselves during a divorce.
First, for a person who has children, a temporary custody order may help to create stability during this intense time for the family. Likewise, temporary child support payments may help to make sure that the children's basic needs are being met, such as day care costs, housing, clothing and food. Temporary alimony may also provide the spouse who earns less with money needed to cover his or her living expenses.
In addition, a mistake that is often made during divorce is to delay getting in touch with an attorney. Once a person files for divorce, essential decisions, possible court dates and deadlines quickly become focal points. This is why being as informed as possible is so paramount.
Divorce impacts Social Security benefits
The divorce process can be both emotionally and financially challenging in Illinois, regardless of how long two people have been married. However, timing a divorce properly may lead to financial benefits in the form of Social Security. People who are close to their 10th wedding anniversary may want to hold off on getting divorced until after they have married for 10 years, as this may lead to higher Social Security payments for those who have spouses with earnings that are higher than theirs.
Based on information from the Social Security Administration, even if someone is divorced, he or she can get benefits based on his or her ex's record. This is true even if the ex has remarried. These benefits are available if the couple's marriage lasted a decade or more and the person is not currently married.
Social Security benefits based on an ex's record can also be awarded if the ex is at least 62 years old and if the benefit that one is entitled to receive as an ex-spouse is larger than that which one would get based on one's own work record. In addition, the benefits are available only if one is entitled to disability or Social Security retirement benefits. The collection of an ex's benefits has no effect on the ex's benefit or the benefit of the ex's current spouse, if he or she has remarried.
What if my ex does not have our child's best interest in mind?
Addressing child custody issues with a stubborn or irrational ex can be extremely frustrating for everyone involved. This issue can be exacerbated by accusations of abuse or neglect by one parent. Ultimately, every child custody agreement should reflect what is in the best interest of the child.
Most parents in Illinois probably do not envision heading to court when they ultimately decide to divorce, but sometimes that outcome is impossible to avoid. Accusations of abuse are quite serious, and family law judges can help issue rulings that will ultimately protect the child from any further neglect or wrongdoing. But what happens if the alleged abuse never actually occurred?
An increasing number of family law courts are now dealing with what is known as parental alienation. By definition, this is when one parent influences a child to turn against the other parent in a malicious manner. While this can be caused by constantly picking apart the other parent's shortcomings and flaws, it can also stretch to an extreme in which one parent accuses the other of abusing the child and also convinces the child that the abuse took place. This can take an enormous emotional toll on both the alienated parent and the child, although there is perhaps a silver lining. A study of 240 child custody cases found that when mothers accused fathers of abuse, the mothers had failed to gain primary custody 80 percent of the time, indicating that the few counts of actual abuse were taken seriously while the false claims were not.
Prenuptial agreement may help to protect business in divorce
When young people start businesses in Illinois, they often do not think about marriages or prenuptial agreements. Instead, these entrepreneurs are typically focused on securing startup capital and improving their products. These responsibilities understandably take precedence, but overlooking a prenuptial agreement before getting married can be catastrophic for one's business if one ends up getting a divorce.
All of the money and time that one person invested in building a business from scratch can become nullified as soon as this person and his or her spouse get divorced. Even if a person starts a business before getting married, the other party may be entitled to even more than 50 percent of any appreciation in the value of the company that takes place while the two parties are married. Debt may also be a major problem, as after two people marry, they share one another's debts.
Prenuptial agreements are designed to help people to protect their assets, including business assets, in the event of divorce. A prenuptial agreement is a contract between soon-to spouses that classifies assets as marital or separate. One that is enforceable enables both individuals to agree on which assets will be considered premarital, which means they will be exempted from splitting should a divorce occur.
Options available for handling a mortgage during divorce
Although an Illinois divorce can understandably be difficult emotionally, it can also be tough to navigate financially. One area that often causes contention during a divorce is the marital home. Approaching the mortgage in a financially sound manner may help each divorcing party to leave the marriage on the right financial foot.
The parties may simply agree to sell their marital home and then split the proceeds between the two of them. This is particularly wise if there is a large amount of equity in the home. However, sometimes two divorcing individuals simply cannot afford to sell the home because they owe more than what the home is worth.
If selling the marital home on the open market is not an option, the parties can consider short selling the home for an amount less than what is due on the mortgage. This process, which will require the approval of the lender, does affect people's credit scores and has tax implications, however. It may also be possible to rent out the house. The couple could even decide to continue living together until the residential real estate market goes up enough to make selling the home worthwhile.
Financial steps may help those going through divorce
Getting divorced can be one of the most stressful experiences of a person's life, as the process involves both financial and emotional challenges. Many people spend a great deal of time planning their weddings but fail to take the necessary steps to prepare for a possible divorce. By investing time in the preparation process, people in Illinois may be able to avoid major negative financial consequences.
First, it is important for people to protect their beneficiaries. This can be done by reviewing college-saving and retirement plans along with insurance policies to figure out what has to be changed in order to protect minor children. If one decides to name children as beneficiaries, one might choose a guardian other than one's future ex.
It is additionally wise to be discreet when contacting people who are in charge of managing the family's money. This is because if one person speaks to financial professionals, accountants or attorneys who are used jointly by the person and his or her spouse, these professionals might have a professional obligation to tell the spouse about the discussions the other person had with them. Furthermore, it is expedient to figure out exactly how much money one will need to live on while going through the marital separation and following the divorce. This is necessary to avoid racking up debt that one cannot afford.
Divorce can impact retirement plans for Illinois residents
Divorcing a spouse late in life can quickly shred an Illinois resident's retirement plans. Unfortunately, it is an experience that an increasing number of people are having, with the divorce rate among people age 50 or older doubling from 1990 to 2010. During this same period, the overall divorce rate remained flat.
One way for people to protect their retirement plans is to sell their homes. Although staying in the family house might provide some stability during a divorce, it may take away a person's chance to increase his or her retirement income. If two divorcing individuals decide to sell their home, one of the individuals may decide to use the money from the sale to create a larger diversified portfolio that generates income for him or her.
It is also important to set values on assets such as insurance policies, pensions and IRAs, as well as to determine what one's long-term needs are financially. Financial planners can be immensely helpful in this area. It is additionally wise to revisit one's beneficiary designations and estate documents. Even if the beneficiary of a person's investment account does not change following a divorce, the documents may still have to be re-executed to reflect the divorce.
Gray divorce remains on the rise
It is becoming increasingly common for people to get divorced after having been married for 20 or more years. Getting a divorce later in life in Illinois is known as going through a gray divorce. In fact, a quarter of divorces in 2010 were gray divorces, meaning divorces involving people 50 years old or older.
One of the main reasons cited for gray divorces is that older couples simply grow apart. There is usually not a sudden trigger or event leading to a gray divorce, but, rather, it usually happens slowly over a period of time. Often, the woman feels as though she has given up too much during the marriage, such as by staying at home and putting her career side to raise the kids. Divorce gives her the opportunity to finally live life on her own terms.
Other factors that may contribute to gray divorce are the ages of the married parties. A huge age difference may not have been a major issue at the start of a relationship. However, it may become an issue years later, as people who have become middle-aged crave new beginnings.
Financial decisions during divorce have future consequences
An Illinois divorce is a major emotional experience, but it also has financial repercussions. As two individuals divorce, housing and other living costs typically increase. They must also deal with the division of their assets, which may impede both of their progress toward funding long-term goals, including covering the cost of their children's education or their retirement.
The division of assets is one area requiring careful attention during the divorce process. It is particularly important to consider the taxable status of an asset; for instance, a brokerage account of $100,000 may be more valuable as compared to a $100,000 retirement account that is tax deferred. For the brokerage account, one will simply pay tax on the capital gains or the dividends. Meanwhile, income tax must be paid on any withdrawals made from the retirement account. These are important factors to consider when dividing these types of assets.
It is also important to examine how decisions made during divorce may impact one's taxes in the future. For instance, while child support is not taxable, alimony received is treated as ordinary income by the IRS. This might change a person's tax preparations as well as the amount owed to the IRS.
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