Particularly with the current housing market, people getting divorced are concerned with what to do with their home. Today, many people are trying to figure out how NOT to get stuck with the home — instead of maneuvering to keep it.
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If you are interested in an uncontested divorce , dealing with your home — and its mortgage — should be one of your first priorities. If you are interested in an uncontested divorce in Chicago, Illinois, I can help; contact me — an uncontested divorce lawyer in Chicago. Serving clients with an uncontested or contested divorce in Illinois.
You can call or text to talk to an Illinois divorce lawyer. This website is attorney advertising and does not create an attorney-client relationship; if you need legal advice, retain an attorney. To sell, or not the sell. That is the question. Here are some options for dealing with your home in an uncontested divorce. Sell the home. The house can be sold prior to the divorce, but then the division of the proceeds, if any, will be not certain until a settlement has been reached.
The obligation is not optional, nor can a custodial parent waive it. Illinois child support law defines the percentage of net income that must be paid, based on the number of children. Civil Unions: Under the law of Illinois and some other states , couples may be joined in a civil union, which grants all the same benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.
Although used most often by same-sex couples, any couple that could be married may also enter into a civil union, though they are not currently recognized by all states or the federal government. Thus couples in a civil union can file a joint state tax return, but must file as individuals for their federal returns. This does not mean, however, that we cannot be friendly with opposing counsel. Maintaining good relations with other attorneys practicing in divorce law allows us better represent our clients without escalating an already contentious situation.
Collaborative Law aka Collaborative Divorce : Collaborative law attempts to change the adversarial and confrontational nature of divorce by having the parties work together to resolve the issues in the divorce. If the parties cannot resolve all the issues, the attorneys in the collaborative law case may not represent their clients in further litigation, so there is every incentive for the attorneys to encourage the parties to reach a settlement, and no incentive for the attorneys to prolong the process.
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Contempt may be punished with imprisonment. In civil contempt, the person may be released as soon as he or she complies with the court order. In criminal contempt, the person is imprisoned for a fixed period as a punishment for previous actions. Non-marital assets might include property owned before the marriage, or a gift or inheritance of money which is kept in a separate bank account.
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The issue of whether a non-marital asset has been converted to a marital asset can be one of the most significant issues in a divorce. Costs of counseling may be assessed against one or both parties in the divorce. Counseling sessions are confidential, and what is said during counseling may not be used in litigation. Custody Agreement: A generic term for the agreement by the parties in a divorce to establish either sole or joint custody over any children. It could also refer to a Joint Parenting Agreement, used in joint custody.
Custody Evaluation: Before determining custody of a child in a divorce, a judge may seek evaluations from professionals, including child welfare agencies, or may interview the child personally. Custody Judgment: A final ruling from an Illinois court regarding custody of children. Generally it is part of an overall divorce judgment, but it may also be made separately if other issues in the divorce such as the division of property have not yet been resolved.
Custody judgments must be appealed within 30 days. Custody Litigation: In some cases, the divorcing couple agrees on a plan for child custody. In cases in which they do not agree, litigating the issue of child custody may be necessary, although it can be expensive. Litigation may involve court proceedings, with testimony from parents and other experts, to determine what is in the best interests of the child. In such cases, it is important to have an attorney with courtroom experience. According to Illinois Supreme Court rules, custody must be resolved within 18 months of the initial filing of divorce.
Dissipation: The use of marital funds or property for a non-marital purpose when the marriage is already broken. One obvious example is taking an expensive vacation with a new boyfriend or girlfriend using money from a joint account shared with the spouse. Often a finding of dissipation depends on when the marriage is said to have undergone an irreconcilable breakdown. In other cases it depends on the amount that was spent, whether the other spouse agreed to the purchase, or whether the dissipating spouse tried to conceal it from the other spouse. Dissolution of a Civil Union: The process by which a civil union is ended under Illinois law; essentially the same process as a divorce.
Note that because federal law does not recognize civil unions, the dissolution of a civil union may have different consequences regarding federal taxes than a traditional divorce. Distribution: Property is distributed, or divided, during a divorce according to certain principles.
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Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means that marital property is distributed equitably. This does not mean it will be divided equally. The distribution is not related to the conduct of the spouse in a marriage. Divorce: The legal separation of spouses brought about by a court decree that terminates the marriage. Also referred to as a marital dissolution. Divorce divides the marital assets of the spouses and provides for child custody and child support.
Since marriage is defined differently in different jurisdictions, what constitutes a divorce or marital dissolution depends on particular state statutes. Domestic Partnerships: A concept related to but distinct from civil unions. In some Illinois counties, unmarried couples can enter their relationship as a domestic partnership in a registry. Unless one of the partners happens to be a county employee, no rights will be conferred automatically.
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By contrast, a civil union is deemed to confer the equivalent rights and responsibilities of a marital relationship. Courts may find, however, that domestic partnerships from certain states are essentially civil unions. The advice of a lawyer licensed in Illinois is critical in evaluating whether a registered out-of-state domestic partnership triggers aspects of the Illinois Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act.
Domestic Relations: Also known as family law. The area of law that includes such family-related and household legal issues as divorce, separation, adoption, child custody and child support. Also, the division of a court that handles family law matters. Domestic Violence : Whenever a person hits, chokes, kicks, threatens, harasses, or interferes with the personal liberty of another family or household member, the person has committed domestic violence in Illinois. Family or household members are defined in the Domestic Violence Act as people who are related by blood, people who are or once were married, people who share or used to share living space, couples who date or used to date including same-sex couples , and persons with disabilities and their personal assistants.
Enforcement and Modification: Parties who do not follow a court-ordered divorce settlement agreement may be subject to such enforcement actions as contempt, incarceration, fines, and wage garnishment. However, when circumstances that affect child custody, visitation, child support, maintenance, and the distribution and division of assets change, post-judgement enforcement or modification orders may be required.
Equitable Distribution aka Equitable Division : Under Illinois law, marital assets must be divided equitably—not necessarily equally. This means that the court may take into account more than just the dollar value of the property in question, and one spouse may be awarded a larger share of the marital assets than the other.
Ex-Parte Actions: Under certain circumstances, a spouse can obtain a divorce even when the other spouse does not participate in the court proceedings.
These divorce actions are literally ex parte , or by one party. Such divorces in Illinois and elsewhere generally occur when a spouse is not a resident of a state or when that spouse lives abroad. Courts will consider dissolving the marital relationship without addressing matters such as child custody and child support. To be valid, ex-parte divorce actions generally require service of process. Grandparent Visitation: Grandparents enjoy child visitation rights in Illinois and other states that have evolved in recent decades. Grandparents can apply for visitation while a marriage dissolution, custody or visitation arrangement is pending.
They may be awarded visitation when a parent is deceased or missing for more than three months, when a parent is incarcerated, when a child has been adopted by a relative or stepparent, and under other circumstances. Amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act make it clear that grandparent visitation rights do not apply to children younger than age 1 and that petitions for such visitation must be filed in the county where the child resides.
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Grounds for Divorce: Illinois is one of the few states that has retained the traditional fault-based notion of grounds for divorce, while adding the no-fault ground referred to as irreconcilable differences. Grounds include impotence at the time of marriage, adultery, bigamy, desertion, drunkenness or drug addiction that endures for two years, extreme and repeated domestic violence, felony conviction, infection of spouse with a communicable venereal disease, and irreconcilable differences.
When a spouse contests a fault-based ground or claims the petitioner provoked the action, the petitioner is always free to file on the ground of irreconcilable differences after two years. GALs interview family members and submit a recommendation. They often are lawyers, but the contents of their interviews are not privileged, and they can be cross-examined by either parent.
Judges sometimes direct guardians ad litem to file pleadings. Hague Convention: A series of international treaties that provide, among other things, for returning a child to the country of habitual residence when the child is wrongfully removed or retained elsewhere. The purpose is to preserve an existing child custody arrangement as it existed before the removal.
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The Hague Conventions seek to keep a parent from fleeing with a child in search of more sympathetic foreign laws or courts. It does not necessarily mean equal parenting time. Joint Parenting Agreement: An agreement, drawn up by the attorneys for both parties in a divorce, that covers how decisions affecting the children will be shared between the parents. The agreement must also state how changes to the agreement can be made and how disputes will be resolved, as well as providing for periodic review of its terms.
If the parties cannot agree on the terms of the agreement, the judge may impose a joint parenting order, which effectively does the same things. A legal separation does not terminate a marriage, so spouses cannot remarry. But legal separations may become divorces when court procedures are followed and the requirements of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act are met. Grounds are not required for legal separation.
Litigation : When a divorce or family law matter is not resolved through informal negotiation, divorce mediation, or collaborative law, a litigated divorce arises. The court decides any contested matters that the parties are unable to agree on themselves. Maintenance Alimony : A financial award to a spouse which is much more likely to take place when the divorcing spouses have far different earnings capabilities.