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What are Parental Responsibilities?
Parental responsibilities include making decisions, providing care, and financially supporting the child. These responsibilities are allocated between the parents during a divorce or child custody case. Just as parenting time must be split between the parents, so must these responsibilities. The concept of parental responsibility used to be referred to as “legal custody.” The parent who could sign a medical consent form or choose their child’s school was said to have “legal custody” regardless of which parent the child was physically with at the time. Now we might say “medical decision-making responsibility” and “responsibility to place the child in an appropriate school.” While the wording has changed, the general effect has not. It is very important to be represented by a qualified Rolling Meadows, IL, divorce attorney if you have a child custody case.
Issues in High-Asset Divorce
Any divorce can become very complicated very quickly. Even when the spouses share very little marital property, there can be substantial conflict that makes the divorce hard to resolve. When the spouses share substantial marital assets, it can be reasonably assumed that the divorce will be a bit more complicated than most. Neither spouse is likely willing to be left with what they feel is less than their fair share of the marital property. This can produce a lot of conflict. The court may need to make these decisions in cases where the parties are unable to agree. Under Illinois law, all marital property is to be divided in an equitable manner. This largely means that after considering all the relevant factors, the court can largely divide assets in any way it deems fair. It is especially important that individuals in high net-worth marriages be represented by an experienced Illinois divorce lawyer. Unrepresented parties are frequently taken advantage of.
Do I Need a Court Order to Leave My Home with My Kids?
You are not the first person to ask this question. Many people, for many reasons, wonder whether they can simply pack up their children and leave the home they share with their partner. The answer can depend on several factors. Usually, if there is no court order in place regarding parenting time, either parent is free to take their children anywhere in the country they please. So long as the children are considered to be safe with the parent who has them, the court will generally not take action against that parent. Visitation problems in the early stages of a divorce are common. However, it is important to be careful in how you handle parenting time arrangements before you are able to get a court order. How you and your spouse cooperate will be a factor the court may consider later on. It is wise to speak to an attorney before taking any such action, however.
Do Courts Favor Mothers in Child Custody Cases?
Illinois law dictates that both of a child’s parents, regardless of their genders, are to be treated equally under the law in all matters, including those concerning child custody. Our state has historically been very progressive about how parents of varying genders are treated in parentage and child custody cases. To begin with, Illinois uses the gender-neutral term “parentage” rather than “paternity” in nearly all formal documents. Fortunately for fathers, Illinois recognizes that a child’s relationship with each parent is equally important and worthy of protection. Courts tend to favor parenting time schedules that give both parents roughly equal meaningful time with their children for this reason. However, it is also critical for fathers involved in custody cases to be represented by a knowledgeable attorney, as experiencing some latent bias is always a risk.
Divorce for Homemakers
Homemakers do real work with real economic value. Many find that it makes more financial sense for one spouse to stay home to raise children or manage the household. In other cases, one spouse may not work outside the home due to a disability but is still able to contribute to the family in other important ways. When spouses who were homemakers during their marriages get divorced, they often worry about how they will find the money they need to live comfortably after separating from their spouses. Fortunately, Illinois law protects homemaker spouses during divorce in several ways, such as by making spousal support a possibility in some cases. It is important to talk to a qualified Illinois divorce lawyer about how your status as a homemaker might matter during your divorce.
Surviving Divorce as a Domestic Violence Survivor
Domestic violence is something no one should ever have to face. Your spouse has no right to use violence against you no matter what. If you are currently in a marriage where you are being abused, getting divorced may be one of the necessary steps towards safely escaping the relationship. There are certain precautions you may want to take before you start the divorce process. It is important to inform your lawyer if you have suffered abuse during the marriage so that they can make sure to put your safety first. You may need to find a safe place to stay before filing if you are afraid that your spouse could react violently, or alternatively, your lawyer may be able to get a special kind of court order that forbids your spouse from coming near you. Safety planning is of the highest importance when you are divorcing your abusive spouse.
Will My Mental Illness Affect My Custody Case?
Illinois’s laws regarding child custody do allow courts to consider the mental health of all individuals involved. However, merely having a mental illness does not mean that the court will deem you a poor parent. Many excellent parents have mental health diagnoses that do not interfere with their ability to raise their children. If your condition is well managed and you are otherwise stable, you likely have little to worry about. However, there are some circumstances under which courts will strongly consider reducing the amount of time a parent with a more serious mental illness can spend with their children. A major mental illness that impacts your ability to function in daily life may become an issue during your custody proceedings. If you have concerns about how your mental health could impact your child custody case, it is important to consult an experienced attorney.
The Most Hard-to-Divide Assets in Divorce
When a couple gets divorced, their assets must be equitably divided between both spouses. Some types of assets are easier to divide than others. Simpler assets that are easily valued, such as the cash in a married couple’s joint bank account, can usually be divided with minimal complication. However, other types of assets can be more challenging to split, often due to difficulty in valuation and the potential for each spouse to receive different valuations.
If your divorce involves multiple complex assets, it is particularly important to be well-represented. Dividing complex assets often takes the legal skill of an experienced attorney and sometimes the help of other professionals, like forensic accountants or valuators. Mediation can be a valuable tool for achieving compromise, but contesting the divorce may become necessary to preserve equitability.
How is Child Support Handled in Illinois?
In a divorce with children, child support is one of the most important subjects that must be addressed. Child support is meant to ensure that children’s basic needs are met and that one parent does not have to pay to raise a child by themselves. If you are getting divorced or pursuing a paternity case, it is important to work with an experienced child support attorney to ensure the process is fair.
How Is Child Support Calculated in Illinois?
The Income Shares model is used in Illinois to determine child support. This model aims to give children the same financial support they would have had if their parents had stayed together. It does this by accounting for the combined net income of both parents and considering the amount of time each child spends with each parent, and then distributes the cost of child support accordingly.
How Should Illinois Real Estate Be Handled in Divorce?
Divorce does not just call for the dissolution of a marriage. It also calls for a complete separation of two lives. This separation includes all things financial, such as real estate assets. Managing real estate during a divorce proceeding can be difficult. Fortunately, a divorce attorney can provide information to assist you throughout the process.
What Are My Options for Handling Real Estate in a Divorce?
An important part of divorce and real estate is the accurate valuation of real estate assets. The value of a property can impact the distribution of assets as a whole. Real estate values are calculated using market analyses, expert judgments, and assessments. Here are a few options that you can use to handle the division of your real estate in the middle of a divorce.
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Sell and divide the money between spouses
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