Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

If you are in the midst of a divorce and your spouse is asking for alimony, you may be curious as to how the amount that will be allocated is determined. Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a financial award that one spouse will pay to the other spouse while he or she becomes accustomed to supporting themselves.

At the present, there is no specific formula that exists to determine how much, if any, support will be awarded. However, several factors are considered, such as, the income

and property of each party; the needs of each party; the present and future earning capacity of each party; any impairment to the earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to domestic duties or having forgone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage; the time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and whether that party is able to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child making it appropriate that the custodian not seek employment; the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage; the age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties; the tax consequences of the property division upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties; contributions and services by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse; any valid agreement of the parties; and any other factor that the court finds to be just and equitable.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

Verbal abuse, sometimes called emotional or psychological abuse, can take many different forms. Blaming, accusing, name calling, disparaging, yelling and belittling are all forms of verbal abuse. This form of abuse often causes serious emotional pain and mental anguish. The recipient of verbal abuse ends up constantly defending and explaining him or herself to the abuser—an exhausting cycle of back-and-forth contention between the parties that can break a person's spirit nearly beyond repair.

Unfortunately, verbal abuse can be a frequent occurrence in many relationships. In couples, a verbal abuser often views his or her partner's “separateness,” i.e. that person's independent thoughts, views, desires, feelings, and expressions, as an irritation or even an attack on the abuser. There are many theories as to the cause of verbal abuse, including the notion that an abuser may have low self-esteem and so, through verbal abuse, the abuser helps to bring the victim down to that same level.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

Maintenance, formerly referred to as alimony, is a monetary payment from one spouse to another spouse in need of financial support during and after a divorce. Maintenance can be in the form of regular monthly payments, which can be temporary or indefinite. Courts consider many different factors in determining the amount, type, and structure of maintenance after divorce, and parties to a divorce and their attorneys should take all of these factors into account when negotiating an appropriate maintenance award and structure.

Regardless of the structure, maintenance normally leads to an income increase for the spouse awarded the payment as part of a divorce. This means that unless otherwise stated, the receiving spouse will have to pay taxes on the support he or she receives from a former spouse. It is therefore important for the receiving spouse to understand the financial impact that our ever-changing income tax laws can have on the award. Individuals trying to interpret and understand tax language should seek the help of professionals to help them navigate the effects of income tax laws and income tax law changes on any maintenance award they may receive.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

Proactive divorce attorneys in Illinois are poised to handle potential imminent changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA, for short). Recommendations for changes to the IMDMA from the Family Law Study Committee, a group of individuals who have been studying existing Illinois divorce laws since 2008, are very close to being enacted. The Illinois State Bar Association's Director of Legislative Affairs recently reviewed and compiled a list of all of the potential changes to the IMDMA. If these changes pass this Fall's legislative veto session, the changes will be put into effect as early as Summer 2014. These changes could result in significant changes to how divorces in Illinois occur.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

People use the terms ‘divorce' and ‘annulment' interchangeably, but there is a difference between the two that can have serious consequences. Illinois law defines divorce as a legal procedure that results in the termination of the marriage; basically, this means there was a valid, legal marriage under the laws of the state of Illinois that has now been terminated. Moreover, as part of the divorce, both parties will get an equitable portion of the assets that belonged to the marital estate, which a divorce judge will divide between the parties.

Annulments, on the other hand, target the validity of the marriage in the first place. The process of annulment under Illinois law is known as a declaration of the invalidity of a marriage. This process is designed to determine whether the marriage ever legally existed or whether it was invalid right from the start. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act has specific conditions for determining whether a marriage may be annulled for being invalid. Contrary to divorce, a successful annulment may mean that each party gets to keep his or her own assets even though those assets were acquired during the marriage; in other words, the assets never legally become part of the marital estate.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

If you are considering divorce or are in the process of a divorce currently, you have a lot of incentives to become organized. Getting and staying organized can actually increase your chances of success in the divorce process. Not only does organizing your personal records and documents help your attorney, but it can also provide peace of mind and help you understand your own situation better.

Your attorney will undoubtedly request documents from you to better understand, among other things, your financial situation. Financial documentation is critical in the determination of property division, maintenance, child support, and debt allocation. Information on individual and family spending habits, debts, and income/cash flow is necessary for resolution of the financial aspect of a divorce—and it can even have an impact on other issues such as child custody. Having this information readily available helps your attorney work on resolving all of these issues right off the bat and helps him or her have a better idea of where the case is headed and how the overall picture looks.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

Determining a custody arrangement for children of divorcing parents or parents who have never married can be a complicated and complex legal matter. Especially when one or both parents contest a custody arrangement, court proceedings and the interactions between the parents can become extremely hostile and acrimonious.

In 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court established new rules to try to avoid drawn-out custody proceedings that tend to have a highly negative impact on the child or children in question. The Court adopted Supreme Court Rules 900-942 to try to ensure that custody determinations would be made as quickly and as amicably as possible, while continuing to focus on what arrangement is in the best interest of the child. For example, Rule 905 requires family courts to provide mediation programs for parents to try to solve custody and visitation arguments outside of the courtroom. While mediation can be extremely helpful, it does not always work, and it is usually imperative for parents in a custody battle to consult with an experienced family law attorney to understand how courts make custody determinations and to try to resolve a custody dispute efficiently and favorably. An experienced family law attorney can also help parents to avoid contentious custody disputes and work on a mutually-agreeable custody arrangement without the cost and pain of extended litigation.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

For several years, the cost of higher education has received a great deal of (negative) attention. Forbes reports that college costs, which rose sharply between 2000 and 2012, have increased at a slower pace in 2013. However, the availability of federal grants and loans, which help to minimize the out-of-pocket cost of college for many families, decreased in 2013. Today, the average college student graduates with $27,000 in debt. Additionally, tuition rates are increasing at twice the rate of inflation, and tuition rates do not even consider the cost of room and board, which can be more than the tuition itself each year.

The financial stress of paying for a child's college education can be exacerbated for parents who have gone through a divorce. While parents often set up college savings accounts, such as 529 savings plans, for their children's college, finances are often stressed because of divorce, leaving little extra money to go towards a college savings plan. And if a savings plan has not already been set up, doing so during or after a divorce is often extremely financially difficult. In an ideal world, parties could come to an agreement beforehand as to how to deal with contribution towards future college expenses for their children, but in reality, divorcing couples often cannot agree as to how the expenses should be shared or how much money should be set aside for college.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

As more women take on roles outside the home than ever before, female breadwinners are becoming more common in U.S. families. While this is certainly something to celebrate for those women who are increasing their earnings and career potential, it is also creating some unique challenges for the modern family. The Pew Research Center recently published findings showing that women are now the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of families—a dramatic difference from 11 percent of families in 1960. This change in income dynamics can cause conflict, arguments between spouses, and even a higher likelihood of divorce.

Some research has identified that divorce rates are higher—up to perhaps even 50% higher—for couples where the female out-earns her male partner. Certainly, gender roles in the home are changing as some families make the decision that the male will stay at home and care for the house and any children. Some couples may find the change of pace refreshing, flexible, and accommodating; on the other hand, this arrangement may be difficult for particular couples to adjust to and may bother certain partners. Women can potentially feel overloaded with responsibility, and can be made to feel as though they must choose between their family and their career. Men may potentially feel threatened by a female partner who earns more money and resent her position. These stressors can cause arguments and disagreements between spouses and can cause serious conflict in a marriage.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Main

Regardless of when you file for divorce, your tax status—whether you can file jointly with your spouse or must file individually—depends on your marital status as of the last day of the year (December 31). For example, if you have filed for divorce but are still legally married on December 31, you can file a joint return with your spouse for that year; if, however, you have officially divorced as of December 31, you can no longer file jointly for that year. Wherever you are in the separation process, there are a few things to keep in mind to relative to filing your taxes.

Filing Jointly

Filing returns jointly usually provides a benefit to spouses, as it usually leads to a lower tax liability. For this reason, spouses often file jointly (even if they are going through the divorce process). However, according to the Internal Revenue Service, both spouses are jointly and individually responsible for taxes, penalties, and interest due on any joint tax return filed for a year that ended before your divorce. This rule applies even if a divorce agreement states that a former spouse is responsible for these amounts (in other words, the IRS is not bound by an agreement entered in a family court). However, a spouse may be able to file for relief from IRS liability. There are three types of relief:

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