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Keeping the best interest of the child in mind during divorce
The experience of dissolving one's marriage can be painful and complicated. When a child is involved, it can be even more so. While most parents and Illinois courts do strive to make decisions in the best interest of the child, sometimes parents forget how children also suffer emotionally from the divorce experience. Indeed, divorce is not merely about the parents, it is also about the kids, and there are some things that parents can keep in mind to make the process easier on them.
One thing that parents can do is to provide children with a routine and a regular schedule. This can provide a sense of comfort to children when other aspects of their family lives may feel like chaos. Parents can also help their children by not engaging in bad-talk about their ex-spouses. This will certainly help one's children in the short-term and in the long-term, it will reflect positively on the parent who refrains from such negative talk.
As difficult as it may be to achieve, being more physically and emotionally present for children, giving little ones plenty of physical affection and giving teenagers a lot of talk time will do wonders for a child's emotional state. Occasionally reassuring children that they were not responsible for the divorce is something that kids will benefit from hearing as well. Providing this kind of reassurance often and regularly is very important for children.
Details of Spitzer divorce agreement revealed
The ex-wife of Eliot Spitzer is to receive a sizable amount of money in their finalized divorce settlement. According to a post-nuptial agreement, Silda Spitzer is to receive $7.5 million in the settlement. She will also have occupancy rights to their Fifth Avenue residence, receive a new automobile every five years, alimony income and other benefits. The sums associated with the agreement may seem exorbitant to the average Illinois resident; however, high asset break-ups can be unique when it comes to the stipulations found in divorce agreements.
As far as additional benefits go, Eliot Spitzer's ex-wife is set to receive a paid housekeeper for part-time assistance in her home and money for entertainment and other types of activities. On top of that, she will be paid a set amount of $240,000 annually until the end of her life or until she gets married again. Eliot Spitzer will further be required to pay her $100,000 as an annual allowance to give to charities.
While the amount Silda is to receive may appear high, it might not be out of scope with the level of the Eliot and Silda Spitzer's wealth. Eliot Spitzer's assets are valued at approximately $46 million. Also in 2012, he allegedly earned almost $4.3 million in comparison to his ex-wife's meager earnings of $112,000. Due to this disparity, Eliot Spitzer would be considered the "moneyed" spouse in this case; therefore, it was more likely that he would be required to pay his wife spousal support and provide her with other benefits.
How to be 'in the know' during a high asset divorce
Divorce is an emotional process that takes its toll on any Illinois resident who is in the midst of the process. As difficult as the emotions are, however, the legal and financial issues can be equally challenging to navigate. Indeed, during the litigation of a divorce, especially a high asset divorce, there is one issue that is often the most difficult to resolve: money.
Whether the argument involves spousal support, child support, debts or asset division, the issue of money is never easy to tackle. This is why it is essential for anyone going through a divorce to be completely aware of the state of his or her finances during the entire asset division process. Those who ignore the financial aspects tend to regret it later on down the line. So, what can one do to build this awareness?
Being more organized when it comes to financial matters is definitely important. Putting together one's financial documents and maintaining a file folder for every financial account is an excellent first step. Printing account statements that show balances before and after legal separation will also be of use. Being organized with one's financial documentation before it is required will help keep one from feeling overwhelmed when an item is suddenly required.
Answering divorce questions in the best interest of the child
The most difficult questions always come from children, and sometimes it takes a great deal of tact and thoughtfulness for an Illinois parent to answer them. Especially when it comes to answering questions regarding divorce, parents who are keeping the best interest of the child in mind must exercise a tremendous amount of care. Questions from children can be difficult to ponder for the parent as well. For example, how does one answer questions about whether one will get back together with an ex-spouse again?
Perhaps the most common (and most difficult) question, however, is when a child asks why his or her mother and father got divorced. Giving the real reason here could be overly harsh for the innocent ears of a child to say the least. Keeping one's answer to this question general, and stressing how mom and dad used to love each other a great deal, but they changed overtime and eventually grew apart, would be one way of approaching this difficult question. Bringing the emphasis back to one's children, how the separation did not affect mom and dad's incredible love for their children and that they will both always be there for them is also important.
Kordell Stewart awarded primary physical child custody of son
Lengthy child custody battles likely wear on the patience of parents. These custody battles might be due to a father trying to exert his legal rights to be involved in his child's life. For former National Football League star Kordell Stewart, breathing easy is likely possible now that the child custody battle that has been dragging on since 2011 is finally over. Illinois residents who are football fans might like to hear about how the case turned out.
The 9-year-old boy's mother was trying to relocate to a different state for a new job opportunity. That prompted the retired NFL player to exercise his father's rights and seek full custody of the boy. The mother objected to the request claiming that Stewart didn't spend a lot of time with his son. She claims he never even took the child on vacation.
The new custody agreement gives the mother the right to communicate with their son at any reasonable time via a phone at his father's home. It gives Stewart primary physical custody as part of the joint child custody agreement. No child support is ordered for either parent. Stewart gets the final say for any decision that the two parents can't agree upon.
Managing finances in divorce
One of the main goals of every divorce is to arrive at an equitable division of the marital assets. Note that this does not mean an even split. In many cases, one person will be entitled to more assets than the other. Those involved in the divorce process can spend a great deal of time and energy determining how this split should be made.
Though the process can be challenging, it can be simplified somewhat if each spouse has a clear idea of the family's finances. It is important, therefore, that spouses take control of their finances when the decision to divorce has been made.
Divorcing spouses should be sure to close joint bank accounts and credit cards, and separate buying and spending. This will not only make you aware of the state of your family's finances, it will also protect you from an unscrupulous spouse who may attempt to waste joint funds or run up enormous debts in both of your names.
Separating joint accounts and credit cards isn't the only action that should be taken as the divorce process begins. Spouses should also consider their life insurance policy — if it is designed to pay out in your spouse's name, you may want to have it altered or discontinued.
Illinois state legislators consider co-parenting bill
Child custody is one of the most difficult and hotly contested areas of family law. Parents often feel very strongly about the long-term custody of their children, and about the visitation schedules that accompany a child custody determination.
In a child custody case, noncustodial parents often object to a perceived lack of parenting time. This can lead to difficulties and arguments in the child support determination.
Illinois lawmakers recently took a step to defuse these arguments by introducing a bill that would give noncustodial parents a greater amount of parenting time after a divorce. Under a bill known as HB5425, Illinois parents would have 90 days to come to an agreement about a child support plan that will work in their child's best interests. If they are unable or unwilling to come to such an agreement after 90 days, the judge would be obligated to create a parenting plan that gives the noncustodial parent at least 35 percent parenting time.
The 35 percent number is an increase over current statutes, though if the judge found evidence that the noncustodial parent is unfit or a danger to the child, he or she could award less parenting time.
Charlie Sheen seeks child support modification
When a couple divorces, the court goes to great lengths to ensure that the couple's children will be well cared for. Part of this process is the determination of child support, which requires the noncustodial parent to pay a certain amount each month to the custodial parent. When calculating child support in Illinois, the court takes each parent's wages into account, then assigns an amount based on each parent's current ability to pay.
Over time, however, the ability to pay can change drastically. If a parent suddenly begins to earn more or less money than he or she did before, he or she can apply for a modification, which will change the terms of the arrangement to better reflect the current situation. It's a process that will soon be initiated by actor Charlie Sheen, who says he wants to change the amount of money he must pay to his ex-wife each month.
Currently, Mr. Sheen must pay $55,000 per month to the mother of his two daughters, ages 8 and 10. According to a source quoted on AZ Central, the TV star hasn't seen his children in months, which has made him feel frustrated about paying child support. Mr. Sheen claims his ex-wife deliberately scheduled a vacation over Christmas so he couldn't see his daughters.
Does cohabitation before marriage lead to divorce? Apparently not
It has long been believed — and backed by scientific studies — that couples who choose to live together before they are married will be at a higher risk of divorce after they tie the knot. This is a statistic that has long puzzled researchers, who have been unable to find a reason for it.
Now, according to the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonpartisan organization, that mystery has been solved. The reason premarital cohabitation leads to divorce is because… it doesn't. According to researchers, the previous studies looked at the wrong variables when they made their determinations, leading to invalid results.
Previous studies did not take the couples' ages into account. According to a University of North Carolina, Greensboro, professor, this was an important oversight.
Young people are more likely to cohabit before they get married. Young people are also more likely to get divorced, but not because of the cohabitation — financial issues and maturity are leading factors. When the professor accounted for the age variable in the couples she studied, she found that cohabitation had no effect on the future health of the marriage.
Handling divorce between business owners
High-asset divorce generally refers to separations between spouses who have a large number of particularly complex assets. These assets often include investments, real estate and valuable collections or antiques. This complexity means that Illinois residents often require a great deal of skilled legal.
Dividing the property is a challenge in and of itself. But, what happens when both spouses own a business together? What do you do if your spouse is also a co-owner of your company?
It's a difficult issue, and as one marriage counselor stated, no answer is right for everybody. But, there are certain considerations that co-owners should make during the divorce process.
First and foremost, spouses should learn to separate their emotions from the financial and the business side of the divorce. Divorce is an emotional issue, and that emotion can make it more difficult to make the correct decisions when the time comes to consider the company's future. Keeping emotion, financial issues and legal concerns separate can help the process go much more smoothly. This is advice that applies in all divorces, but it is especially true in complex high-asset cases.
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