Category Archives: Wheaton Divorce Attorney

The Race to the Courthouse: Does Filing First Matter in Divorce?

Once you have reached the decision to end your marriage, the real work must begin. You and your spouse will need to decide how to divide your property, how to make arrangement for your children, and how to adjust to your new post-divorce lives. Before you can get there, however, one of you will need to start the legal process of divorce by filing a petition for the dissolution of marriage at the county courthouse. Many clients approach us with questions about this, often wondering how important it is to be the one who file for divorce and whether it makes any difference at all.

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High Asset Divorce Also Has Its Issues

There are times when divorce is a necessary step couples must take in order to promote a better life between both parties. However, if a couple’s divorce includes high assets or no assets at all, the process can be financially and emotionally straining.

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How to Apply for a Marriage License

Marriage is a huge milestone for couples. A lot of time and money is spent planning a wedding, and for everything to go as planned. Yet while a wedding makes for a very exciting day, there are several legal matters that need to be taken care of as well.

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Taxes and Divorce – What Every Disadvantaged Spouse Should Know

Couples often assume that a finalized divorce is the end of their separation journey, but nothing could be further from the truth. Steps must still be taken to complete the unraveling of finances, and there are still some areas in one’s life that can be impacted by a divorce. For example, a divorce can affect a person’s federal income taxes. Learn more about taxes and divorce for disadvantaged spouses, and how some of the decisions you make now may impact you when you file your taxes next time.

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Suspect Hidden Assets in Your Divorce? Here is What You Should Know

Are you going through a divorce? Do you suspect that your spouse may be hiding assets to get more than their fair share? You are not alone. In fact, research suggests that many Americans are guilty of hiding money from their spouses during the marriage. It stands to reason that they might continue hiding this money in divorce. Unfortunately, those hidden assets can leave one party disadvantaged, not just immediately after the divorce, but perhaps, for years to come. Learn how to minimize your risk and employ the following strategies and resources in your divorce case.

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Five Questions to Ask a Prospective Divorce Attorney

As you approach the process of divorce, you are probably hearing from friends and family that you should hire an attorney. In fact, you have likely had people recommending various lawyers who may have helped them with their divorces. With all the noise coming from so many directions, it can be difficult to narrow down exactly what you are looking for in a divorce lawyer.

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Understanding the Dangers of a DIY Divorce

America is a nation of do-it-yourselfers, and the internet is full of a wealth of information and advice. With a quick search, tenacious folks can learn how to rebuild an engine, build a new deck, or complete a shabby chic furniture makeover. Of course, there are some projects that even the most skilled DIYer should avoid. They are those projects that have dangerous and/or costly consequences. Electrical work, for example, is best left to the professionals. The same goes for a do-it-yourself divorce.

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Pets and Divorce Can Be Complicated

If a couple decides to divorce, who gets the dog? It is a very serious question, considering some 80 million households in the United States own pets according to the American Pet Products Association. When a couple separates, can a pet be given split custody between two homes? Will a judge hold a custody hearing on a pet? For most pet owners, dogs and cats are as much a part of the family as any human members, but divorce courts across the country have little to say on the matter, leaving the future of millions of pets caught in the middle of a divorce in jeopardy each year.

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Appealing a Family Court Decision

No lawyer or litigant likes to lose in court. This is especially true in divorce cases where a “losing” party can have his or her financial interests and/or parental rights adversely impacted. When this happens, the “losing” party – the one whose interests were adversely affected by the trial court’s decision – may be left wondering how such a terrible (relatively speaking) decision can be undone. Most individuals have heard the term “appeal” and know that an “appeal” can reverse a decision entered by an Illinois trial court. Can you appeal a trial court’s decision in a divorce or child custody case? More importantly, should you appeal a decision?

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Terminating a Child Support Obligation

If you have a child in Illinois and separate from the child’s other parent, one of you will be ordered to pay child support to the parent who has primary custody over the child. Illinois child support is calculated as a percentage of the payor parent’s take-home pay. The precise percentage depends on the total number of children the parents have in common (not necessarily the total number of children of the payor parent).

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