Posted on May 30, 2024 in Child Custody

It is common for parents who are going through a divorce in Illinois to disagree on issues in the divorce process. When these issues involve a child, a judge might appoint a guardian ad litem. Guardian ad litem is Latin for “guardian for the lawsuit,” and it is the guardian ad litem’s job to represent the child’s interests during the divorce process.

A guardian ad litem is an attorney who has received guardian child advocacy training and certification. This means that he or she is uniquely qualified to represent a child in court. A guardian ad litem can be extremely helpful in situations where parents disagree and it is hard for a judge to know what would be best for the child.

What Does a Guardian Ad Litem Do?

Once appointed, a guardian ad litem will do some or all of the following things:

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 Posted on May 28, 2024 in Divorce

Sexual intimacy is widely considered to be a crucial part of marriage. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a married couple to experience a lack of sexual intimacy. This happens when:

• A spouse suffers from sexual dysfunction.

• A spouse withholds sex from the other.

• The spouses lose sexual attraction to each other.

Some couples believe that a lack of sexual intimacy is important but not a reason to get a divorce. Others feel that if there is no sexual intimacy, the marriage cannot (or should not) survive. You must do whatever you feel is best in your situation.

Legally, lack of sex can have certain consequences. It is important to consult a divorce attorney if you and your spouse are experiencing a lack of sexual intimacy serious enough to make you consider ending your marriage.

Is Lack of Sex Grounds for Divorce in Illinois?

Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, which means that no one has to be at fault for a divorce to be granted by a court. The only valid legal reason to dissolve a marriage in Illinois is that there are "irreconcilable differences." 

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 Posted on May 28, 2024 in Property Division

In Illinois, assets that are gained by either spouse during a marriage are considered marital property. When a couple gets divorced, both spouses are entitled to a share of the marital property, with some exceptions. During the divorce process, a court will review the marital assets and divide them between the parties. This procedure is called asset division or property division. Once the divorce decree is finalized, asset division is permanent.

But what can you do if you feel the court made an error when dividing the assets? Consulting with a qualified divorce attorney would be the best course of action. Here is some information about appealing a court’s judgment on asset division.

Can I Appeal a Court Judgement on Asset Division?

You can appeal a court’s decision on asset division just like you can appeal any other court judgment. If you feel the judge made the wrong call, you can ask another court to review the decision. However, appealing on the basis of “fairness” might not get you the result you want. There are valid grounds for appealing a court decision, including:

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 Posted on May 26, 2024 in Divorce

Getting divorced in Illinois is challenging enough. Getting fired during your divorce is an incredible hardship.

Luckily, some courts understand that. If you lose your job during a divorce, contact your divorce attorney. He or she will explain how your job loss may be able to earn you some reprieve in other areas of the divorce process. This article will discuss some of those areas, such as:

• Spousal support

• Child support

• Debt division

However, keep in mind that if you want a court to be sympathetic to your job loss, you will need to explain why it happened.

Why Does the Court Care Why I Got Fired?

The court cares why you lost your job because it wants to know if you could have avoided it. Some spouses going through a divorce want to quit their jobs or get themselves fired so they can avoid having to pay child or spousal support. This strategy does not find sympathy in the eyes of the courts. Someone who genuinely lost a job and could not help it, however — such as a person who was let go in a mass layoff — might receive some compassion from a court.

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 Posted on May 21, 2024 in Divorce

There is a lot of emphasis placed on the divorce process, and for good reason. Getting divorced in Illinois is a massive legal undertaking that requires a skilled divorce attorney who knows how to navigate the process.

As if that is not difficult enough, many people who get divorced must cope with the five stages of grief, also known as the Kübler-Ross model. This model is usually used to explain how people feel after the death of a loved one. Because the human mind often treats divorce as a loss similar to death, the five stages of grief also apply to many people whose marriages come to an end.

Here are the five stages of grief as they apply to divorce.

Denial

There are many ways that spouses who are getting divorced experience denial. Some examples include:

• A spouse may be in denial about the need to get divorced. For instance, he or she might make excuses for why an abusive marriage does not need to end.

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 Posted on May 20, 2024 in Property Division

When a couple gets divorced in Illinois, both spouses are entitled to marital property. Marital property refers to assets that were acquired during the marriage by either spouse, with some exceptions:

• Inheritances

• Gifts exclusively for one spouse

• Property that was acquired by using non-marital assets as collateral

During a divorce, marital property must be distributed between the spouses equally. Sometimes, a spouse tries to hide his or her assets so that they are not divided with the other party. It is illegal to hide assets during a divorce, but hidden assets are sometimes hard to find. An experienced Illinois hidden asset attorney, however, will know what to look for.

Here are three ways spouses try to hide marital assets during a divorce.

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 Posted on May 16, 2024 in Divorce

In any child custody dispute, an Illinois court tries to accommodate both the rights of the parents and the best interest of the child. When those two things conflict, the court will side with the child’s interests. To determine what is in the child’s best interest, courts can use several tools at their disposal, one of which is a psychological evaluation.

A psychological evaluation of one or both of the parents can be ordered by the court if the judge is concerned that the parent may be harmful to the child. However, a spouse can also request that the other parent be evaluated.

Psychological evaluations are taken seriously by courts and should only be ordered in certain cases. If you feel your co-parent needs to be evaluated, first speak with an Illinois child custody attorney who can advise you on how to proceed.

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 Posted on May 08, 2024 in Divorce

Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, which means that spouses who want to get divorced do not need to show that someone is to blame for the divorce. A court only needs to know that there are “irreconcilable differences” such that the marriage cannot survive.

Unlike some other states, Illinois divorce law does not generally care whether a spouse engaged in marital misconduct. Courts are not allowed to take such misbehavior into account when:

• Deciding how assets should be divided

• Making decisions about family maintenance, including spousal support and child support

There are certain cases, however, in which marital misconduct can impact a divorce. An Illinois divorce attorney can help you understand how your specific divorce might be affected.

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 Posted on May 07, 2024 in Asset Division

When navigating an Illinois divorce, splitting assets in an equitable manner is crucial to the dissolution of the marriage process. But what if your spouse is not as forthcoming about his or her finances as you are? There are three common methods your spouse may use in an attempt to hide assets in your divorce. Understanding these tactics can ensure that, if your spouse does attempt to hide assets, you can be ready to identify his or her deceitful actions and make sure they do not influence your final divorce decree and damage your financial future.  

The knowledgeable attorneys at Goostree Law Group are ready to defend your rights throughout your divorce and ensure your spouse does not get away with any deceitful actions during the divorce process, such as concealing assets. With more than 80 years of combined experience, clients can trust that we know the law and are ready to fight for them.

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 Posted on May 03, 2024 in Paternity

When a woman gives birth in Illinois, her husband is automatically considered the legal father. This is also the case if:

• The parents divorced less than 300 days before or after the birth.

• The parents entered into any other kind of legal relationship, such as a civil union, within 300 days of the birth.

If the parents do not enter a legal relationship, however, then the law does not assume that anyone is the father. In this case, the father must declare his fatherhood and, in some cases, prove it. This is called establishing paternity.

However, if the father does not want to establish paternity, the mother can take certain steps to force paternity to be established.

This article will discuss why establishing paternity is important and how it can be done without the father’s consent. If you want to establish paternity, consult with a qualified Illinois paternity lawyer who can help you through the process.

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