Posted on October 09, 2013 in Alimony

It's no secret that a divorce can be an unpleasant experience. Battles over child custody and property division can be time-consuming and emotionally taxing. It's only natural that some spouses are reluctant to begin the process.

In some cases, however, spouses simply skip the divorce; they move out and start to live separate lives even though they are still legally married. In some cases, this can go on for years.

It may seem tempting to some couples to sidestep the divorce process, but spouses should know that living in this sort of marital limbo can present risks to both spouses.

In particular, it may affect the amount of spousal maintenance that a non-working spouse may receive. In a normal divorce, a working spouse is often asked to make regular payments, also known as alimony, to the nonworking spouse as a way to ensure his or her financial stability while he or she begins a new, independent life. It can take a great deal of time for a spouse who hasn't worked in a few years to retrain and re-enter the workforce. Alimony is designed to ease that process.

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 Posted on October 03, 2013 in High Asset Divorce

When a couple decides to get married, the thought of a prenuptial agreement often comes up at one point or another. In many cases, the idea is quickly dismissed, often by young couples who have few assets over which to fight. Often, however, couples choose to pursue a prenup. This is especially common among people who are on their second marriages and presumably have for more assets that must be accounted for.

Indeed, prenuptial agreements are often an element in a high-asset divorce, a separation in which the couple controls a great deal of assets. Generally speaking, these agreements are a helpful tool for spouses who wish to maintain control of the assets they owned before they entered the marriage, many of which may have strong personal or sentimental value. There are some situations, however, in which a prenuptial agreement may be found invalid.

Like most contracts, a prenuptial agreement cannot be upheld if honoring the document would be "unconscionable." This means the prenup may be ruled invalid if circumstances change for a couple in a way that could not have been foreseen.

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 Posted on September 27, 2013 in High Asset Divorce

Though some say celebrity marriages are prone to divorce, fact is, divorce is fairly common in all parts of society - movie stars and average Joes alike. But when celebrities get divorced, the fallout is often more difficult, due to a number of factors.

First, of course, is the public nature of the split. Media outlets often cover celebrity divorces, which makes it more difficult to keep disputes from growing into arguments. Average couples often like to keep their divorce process private or semi-private. This allows for the divorce to have a minimum effect on their personal lives. Obviously, this is impossible for celebrities.

Money is another key issue in celebrity divorces. For obvious reasons, celebrity divorces are almost always high-asset divorces. These splits can be very complicated, as there is so much property to be evaluated and divided. Managing property division among average high-asset couples can be tricky enough; among celebrities, it can be a nightmare.

These are the issues currently faced by Richard Gere, the lead man of the hit movie "Pretty Woman." He is reportedly seeking a divorce from his wife of 11 years, Carey Lowell.

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 Posted on September 20, 2013 in Child Custody

Child custody battles are often the most hotly contested issues in the realm of family law. This stands to reason, of course; it's a decision that will drastically affect the lives of the parents and their children. The court system has processes in place to ensure that these issues are quickly resolved in such a way that best suits the best interests of the child. In some cases, however, unique circumstances can come into play which greatly complicate the situation. Take, for example, the case of Baby Veronica, which is now entering its fourth year.

Baby Veronica is the child of a Cherokee man and a woman of Hispanic descent. In 2009, when the girl was a young baby, her mother gave her up for adoption. She was adopted by a couple from South Carolina. Her father, however, demanded custody of the girl, citing a 1978 law known as the Indian Child Welfare Act. Under this law, Native Americans were exempt from certain practices by which a child could be removed from their custody. The law was intended to help Native Americans maintain their cultural heritage.

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 Posted on September 12, 2013 in Child Support

In the state of Illinois, child support is usually awarded based on a set formula according to a percentage of the noncustodial parent's income. Parents of a single child, for example, usually pay 20 percent of their net income in child support. The court usually adheres firmly to this model except in unusual circumstances, such as joint or shared custody of the child.

And usually, the model does a fairly good job of ensuring that children receive the financial support they require. In some extreme cases, however, the payment model can't keep up with the financial obligations of noncustodial parents.

Take, for example, a man from Ohio who recently announced that he is the father of 27 children. The man recently appeared on a highly publicized episode of "Divorce Court," where he stated that he has child support orders for 21 of his children.

The man, a poet and performer by trade, says he is behind on his child support obligations, but he is making payments every week. He also says that he has never tried to escape his financial obligations, but blames his failure to pay in full on the tough economy. He has not disclosed the full amount that he is required to pay, stating that the number was a private matter.

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 Posted on September 05, 2013 in Alimony

Spousal maintenance, better known as alimony, is a court-mandated payment plan from one spouse to another following a divorce. Historically, alimony is paid by a working husband to a nonworking wife.

That historical trend has changed in recent years, as female participation in the workplace has reached an all-time high. In some states, however, spousal maintenance laws have been slow to keep up with societal changes.

A New Jersey man, for instance, has been imprisoned eight times for failure to pay his alimony payments. A former investment banker with a seven figure salary, the man lost his job when the economy collapsed in 2008. His alimony payments, however, were calculated when he was still making $1 million per year. As a result, he was asked to pay nearly $100,000 per year in combined spousal support and child support.

Without a job, the man was unable to make the payments for long. Within two years, he was out of money and unable to pay. Following a family court hearing, the man was imprisoned for contempt of court. Since then, he has been imprisoned seven more times.

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 Posted on August 30, 2013 in Child Custody

After a contentious separation, divorced parents are still faced with the difficult challenge of raising a child together. If the split was particularly acrimonious, parents often have little incentive to work together, leading to difficult times and hard feelings. Parents who work hard to do the best for their child can often be disappointed in the efforts put forth by the other parent, especially when they miss custody appointments, skip child support payments or otherwise fail to uphold their side of the child custody agreement.

There are a number of things a parent can do to help deal with the frustrations of such a situation. First, parents should examine their own efforts, and their own reactions to the other parent's decisions. Often, lowering one's high expectations and easing up on harsh judgments can go a long way toward reconciliation.

When working with the other co-parent, parents should communicate their concerns clearly and patiently, and be open to compromise. Parents should try to be open to the other parent's point of view.

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 Posted on August 23, 2013 in Child Custody

Co-parenting can be a difficult process. After a divorce, emotions can be raw and there may be little goodwill left between the two parents. The child custody proceedings will set up the framework for the relationship between parents and children. But cooperation is essential between divorced parents if they are to help their children through this potentially difficult time.

This cooperation is especially necessary during back-to-school season. There are many financial and organizational hurdles at this time of the year, and often both parents feel the need to contribute. Pencils, notebooks, folders and a backpack all need to be purchased, as well as new clothes and sports equipment.

If possible, the best thing to do is to split these purchases up between parents. One parent can go with the child to purchase school supplies, and the other can help with the clothes shopping. This helps to spread out the financial strain, and it allows both parents to participate in the process.

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 Posted on August 15, 2013 in Child Support

The state of Illinois has specific guidelines for how much noncustodial parents should pay in child support. Those guidelines may not apply, though, if two parents have joint physical custody of a child. To see how child support guidelines work in Illinois, parents can visit our Wheaton child support site.

As for enforcing child support orders, Governor Pat Quinn signed a law this week that requires gambling establishments such as race tracks and casinos to garnish the winnings of parents who are behind on child support. Unpaid child support in the state currently amounts to about $3 billion, and the new law is meant to whittle down the backlog.

When the tracks and casinos garnish the winnings, the money will be distributed to custodial parents by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Gambling establishments will have access to a database of parents who owe, and the new law requires that signs be posted indicating that if parents are behind on support, then payments will be taken from any winnings.

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 Posted on August 09, 2013 in High Asset Divorce

When people get married, they tend to divvy up household duties such as lawn work, paying bills, grocery shopping or what-have-you. A problem that arises in divorce, then, is that one spouse has handled the financial side of the marriage, while the other spouse has essentially kept out of money matters. This happens more often than you might expect.

Unfortunately, one thing divorcing spouses in Illinois have to watch out for is the hiding of marital assets that should otherwise be divided equitably in the divorce settlement. Make no mistake: hiding assets in this way is illegal, and individuals need to be aware of the marital assets to which they are entitled.

We've discussed previously the division of property such as 401(k)s and other retirement accounts, but sometimes a spouse who started a work-related account will tell the other spouse that he or she doesn't have a right to it. But unless a prenuptial agreement states otherwise, retirement accounts started during the course of a marriage are regarded as marital property, meaning they are subject to property division.

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