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Should My Spouse and I Create a Postnuptial Agreement?
Marriage can be a beautiful union between loving spouses, but it is also a legal and financial partnership. While love and trust are the foundation of a healthy relationship, there is always the possibility that a marriage may break down, and it is wise to consider the possibility of a divorce. Because of this, many couples choose to sign a prenuptial agreement before they tie the knot. However, what if you are already married, but you believe that you need to take steps to protect your assets and interests in a potential divorce? In these situations, you may wish to create a postnuptial agreement. By understanding the situations where a postnuptial agreement may be beneficial, you can make an informed decision, and you can put measures in place to protect yourself if your marriage breaks down in the future.
Situations Where a Postnuptial Agreement May Be Beneficial
A postnuptial agreement, which is also known as a post-marital agreement or postnup, is a legal document that outlines how certain financial issues will be addressed if you choose to get a divorce or a legal separation. A postnuptial agreement may address the same issues as a prenuptial agreement, and it may be signed at any time after getting married.
What Is a Collaborative Divorce, and How Does it Work?
Ending a marriage can be a challenging and stressful process. Whether the choice to get a divorce is mutual or one-sided, a couple will need to resolve a variety of issues, including addressing legal concerns and financial matters, as well as details about the custody of any children they share. Although divorce may be a painful and heartbreaking experience, it does not have to take the form of a fight between spouses. Unlike "traditional" divorce proceedings where matters are settled in the courtroom, collaborative divorce often allows couples to minimize conflict and peacefully end their marriages. By understanding how collaborative divorce works and the benefits and drawbacks of this option, a couple can determine if it may be the best solution in their situation.
What Is a Collaborative Divorce?
Collaborative divorce is a legal process in which spouses work together to resolve their disputes and reach an agreement on the terms of their divorce settlement. It is often a more peaceful and amicable alternative to traditional litigation. Collaborative divorce involves a team approach in which each spouse is represented by their own collaborative lawyer, and other professionals, such as financial analysts or child custody specialists, who may be brought in as needed to help facilitate communication and problem-solving.
What Is a Parenting Plan in an Illinois Family Law Case?
Going through a divorce is never easy, especially when children are involved. Divorcing parents often worry about their children's well-being, and they will want to ensure that children can continue to have a healthy and happy upbringing. One of the most important aspects of divorce and child custody cases involves creating a parenting plan that outlines how parents will work together to raise their children in the future. Not only is having a parenting plan required by Illinois law, but a well-crafted plan will help ensure that both parents can remain actively involved in their children’s lives.
What Role Will a Parenting Plan Play in a Divorce or Child Custody Case?
A parenting plan, also known as a parenting agreement, is a document that addresses issues related to child custody and provides details about how parents will work together to raise their children after their divorce. This document includes important details such as the parenting time schedule, the parents' rights and obligations regarding decision-making for children, and any other important matters related to the children’s upbringing. The parenting plan will serve as a court order that will go into effect once the divorce or child custody case is finalized. Both parents will be legally required to follow the terms of the plan going forward.
Can I Continue Owning My Business After My Divorce?
Going through a divorce can be difficult, regardless of your circumstances or the complexity of the issues you will need to address at the end of your marriage. If you own a business, you may be worried about what will happen to it during your divorce. You may have built the business from the ground up during your marriage, or it may have been in existence before you got married. In either case, there are several important factors to take into account if you plan to keep ownership of the business after your divorce.
Factors to Consider When Dividing Marital Property
As you look at how ownership of your business will be handled going forward, the first thing to look at is whether your business was acquired during the course of your marriage. If so, then it will typically be considered marital property—meaning that it will be subject to division between you and your spouse during your divorce. Even if you owned your business before getting married, you may need to look at whether it increased in value during your marriage and whether your spouse contributed to this increase. If so, then your spouse may have an ownership claim over a portion of the business.
When Is it Necessary to Establish Paternity in Illinois?
If you are a parent who is involved in a family law matter in Illinois, you may need to address issues related to legal parentage. While this will not be a factor in every divorce or child custody case, there are certain situations where paternity may need to be established in order to protect a father's rights or ensure that children can receive financial support or other benefits. By understanding the laws related to paternity in Illinois, parents can make sure they take the correct steps to provide for their children's best interests.
What Is Paternity?
Paternity is the legal recognition of a child's biological father. When paternity is established, the father will be named as the legal parent of the child, giving him the right to request to share custody of the child and the obligation to provide financial support to ensure the child's ongoing needs are met. In Illinois, paternity is referred to as "parentage," and these cases may affect the relationships between a child and both parents, including mothers, fathers, and LGBTQ parents.
How Can Financial Infidelity Affect My Divorce?
Money is often cited as one of the main reasons couples encounter relationship problems. When one spouse feels like they are shouldering more of the financial burden than the other, or when spouses disagree about spending, this can lead to serious conflict. Unfortunately, money is also often at the root of infidelity in marriage. Whether it involves hidden bank accounts, undisclosed debt, or secret spending habits, financial infidelity can have a devastating impact on a relationship. When these issues come to light during a divorce, it is important to understand how they may affect issues such as property division. By understanding how to address concerns related to hidden assets, asset dissipation, or other forms of financial deception, you can make sure your rights and financial interests will be protected during your divorce.
Addressing Financial Infidelity When Dividing Marital Property
Financial infidelity can take many different forms, but all of them involve some level of deception or secrecy when it comes to money. In some cases, a person may have been hiding a bank account from their spouse for years, or they may have racked up a large amount of credit card debt without the other spouse's knowledge.
How Long Will Spousal Support Be Paid Following an Illinois Divorce?
There are a variety of financial factors that may play a role in a divorce, and in some cases, one spouse may be at a financial disadvantage because they earn less money or depend on the other spouse to provide for their needs. In these situations, a spouse may request support from their former partner that will allow them to meet their needs in the years following the end of their marriage. Spousal support—sometimes called "alimony"—is a payment from one ex-spouse to the other. In Illinois, spousal support may be ordered as part of a divorce judgment, or a couple may agree that spousal support will be paid when they negotiate the terms of their divorce settlement.
In divorce cases where spousal support may be a factor, spouses are likely to have many questions. In addition to determining whether a spouse is eligible to receive support and the amount of support that will be paid, the parties will need to understand how long these payments will last. This can ensure that they will both be able to plan for how to address their needs in the future.
Can I Contest a Divorce Petition Filed by My Spouse?
If you have been served with a divorce petition filed by your spouse, you may be wondering if you can contest the divorce. The answer is yes, it is technically possible to contest your spouse's divorce petition. However, doing so may not be in your best interests. Regardless of how you choose to approach the divorce process, it is important to make sure you have legal representation from a qualified and experienced attorney.
The Process of Filing and Responding to a Divorce Petition in Illinois
In Illinois, either spouse may file a petition for dissolution of marriage. Once the petition is filed, it must be served to the other spouse. The spouse who was served with the petition then has 30 days to respond. This response may include objections to the divorce petition, although most of the time, a spouse will accept the petition, answer any claims made by their spouse, and allow the divorce process to proceed.
What You Need to Know About Temporary Orders in an Illinois Divorce
When a married couple decides to divorce, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. How will their assets be divided? Where will the children live? Who will pay child support? These are all important questions that must be addressed during the divorce process. While a couple's divorce decree will set down the final decisions made in these areas, some issues may need to be addressed while the case is ongoing. Temporary orders can address these issues.
What Are Temporary Orders?
Temporary orders (sometimes referred to as temporary relief) are court orders that are issued on a temporary basis during a divorce case. In Illinois, a person will request temporary relief when filing a divorce petition, and the other spouse may also make requests when they file a response. The judge will address these requests and issue temporary orders at the beginning of the case.
At any time during the divorce process, either spouse may file a petition requesting temporary relief, and a hearing will be held to determine how certain issues will be handled. Once a temporary order is issued, it will remain in effect until the completion of the divorce, unless another temporary order is issued at a later date that modifies or reverses the initial order. Once the divorce is finalized, the terms of the divorce decree will supersede any temporary orders that had been put in place.
How Is Joint Child Custody Handled in Illinois Family Law Cases?
Addressing matters related to child custody is often one of the most difficult aspects of getting a divorce. Unmarried parents may also need to address this issue, and both parents may be looking to determine how they can share custody of their children. In Illinois, joint child custody is generally presumed to be in the child's best interests unless there is evidence showing that it would not be. However, understanding exactly what joint custody entails is not always easy, and parents will need to be aware of how legal and physical custody are addressed in Illinois law.
Understanding Joint Child Custody
When matters involving child custody are addressed in family courts, the decisions made will usually be separated into two distinct categories, commonly referred to as legal and physical custody. Legal custody, which Illinois law refers to as the "allocation of parental responsibilities," refers to decision-making power for things like education and medical care. Physical custody is known as "parenting time" in Illinois, and it includes any time that children spend in the care of a parent. Physical custody will address where children will primarily live and when they will stay in each parent's home.
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