Posted on March 28, 2024 in Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

A prenuptial agreement can often be an excellent thing for an engaged couple to sign as they prepare for married life. It will get them in the habit of thinking about their money and assets not as theirs individually but as theirs as a couple. It can also give them a great deal of peace of mind, knowing that if the marriage does not succeed, their finances will be protected and they will have a fair settlement.

However, many couples do not sign a prenup. For some, the idea of planning for a hypothetical divorce before even giving their marriage a chance seems unpleasant. Others might get so swept up in the romance and excitement of planning their wedding that they accidentally overlook this step even if they find it reasonable. Whatever the reason, some people find once they are married that they regret the fact they never signed one. If this describes you, a postnuptial agreement might be a good option for you. Speak with an experienced Kane County, IL divorce lawyer to find out more.

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 Posted on March 28, 2024 in Child Support

One of the most commonly discussed topics in parental divorce is child support. Sometimes, one parent has more time with the children and responsibility for them and the other has more flexibility to work and earn a living. In that case, it is generally straightforward; the parent who works more pays child support to the parent spending more time raising the children. But sometimes, the parents have equally shared custody, and neither parent can claim to be spending more time with the kids. If you believe you will have a 50/50 custody arrangement with your spouse, you will likely have questions about child support calculations. Speak with a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL divorce attorney to get some answers.

How Does Shared Parenting Work?

Child custody, or parenting time, refers to when the child is with each parent. There is no specific template for a parenting time schedule that will work for everyone. Every family that has been through a divorce has a unique parenting time schedule based on factors that include the child’s needs, the parents’ abilities, and others. 

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 Posted on March 25, 2024 in Child Support

Child support obligations generally end on a child’s 18th birthday. In some cases, they end when the child graduates high school. However, under certain circumstances, parents might be required to continue making payments for their children even when they are no longer considered minors. For example, divorced parents in Illinois can be obligated to create a plan to cover their child’s college education. Additionally, child support obligations can extend beyond that point for several years and might never end in the child’s lifetime if the child has special needs. If you are going through a divorce and your child has disabilities, you should speak with a knowledgeable Kane County, IL child support attorney to understand what sort of obligations you might have and start preparing accordingly.

Paying for Your Adult Child’s College Education

While judges in Illinois cannot tell married parents what to do with their money, they do have the option of ordering divorced parents to help cover the costs of their children’s college or trade school education. Divorce settlements are supposed to ensure that the parents and child can continue enjoying the standard of living they had when the parents were married, and a college education might be included in that standard. However, it is not an obligation, and the judge might decide not to order this.

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 Posted on March 20, 2024 in Child Custody

Custody disputes can be quite complicated to resolve when parents get a divorce. The people involved often feel tense and emotions can run high. Trying to figure out how parental responsibilities and rights will be divided can be especially challenging if either parent’s mental health and emotional regulation are in question. If one parent expresses concerns that the other is psychologically incapable of properly caring for their children and providing them with a safe and stable home, the courts will take such concerns very seriously as they attempt to draft a settlement that will ultimately serve the child’s best interests. In such cases, psychological evaluations can be very helpful. A knowledgeable Kane County, IL child custody attorney can provide more thorough information about this and examine whether a psychological evaluation might be suitable in your case.

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 Posted on March 20, 2024 in Child Custody

When thinking about domestic abuse, physical violence often comes to mind. Of course, being physically harmed within your family is a horrible thing to experience. But something people discuss less often and can still be detrimental is emotional abuse. When one parent pits their child against the other parent, manipulating the child into having less of a relationship with them, this is a form of emotional abuse otherwise known as parental alienation, and it is a big problem for parents going through a divorce. If you believe your spouse is doing this to your children as an attempt to manipulate your child custody arrangement, speak with an experienced DuPage County, IL divorce lawyer to see what you can do about it.

What Is Involved in Parental Alienation?

When a parent manipulates their child against the other parent, it is a form of psychological and emotional abuse that can be extremely damaging to both the other parent as well as the child. The child trusts her parents to have her best interests at heart, so if one parent tells her that the other is dangerous, does not care about her, or has let her down, she might believe it rather than thinking that her parent is lying to her. She can gradually start to change the way she feels about the other parent.

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 Posted on March 14, 2024 in Divorce

Acknowledging that your marriage has failed is no easy task. With a divorce looming, you might find you are emotionally and even physically overwhelmed by everything you need to think about. Who will get our home? What will happen to our retirement funds? If you have children, these questions only increase. Trying to make plans for an uncertain future can be stressful, especially if you do not have any previous experience with divorce.

It is wonderful if you have friends and family around who want to help and support you during this difficult period. But beyond the emotional and even logistical support they can offer you, it might be a good idea for you to hire the services of a divorce coach who can help you navigate this complicated process.

At Goostree Law Group, we are pleased to offer our clients the opportunity to work with Paulette Theodosis, a client liaison and certified divorce coach who uses her extensive family law background and her own experience with divorce to assist our clients in moving forward from their own circumstances.

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 Posted on March 13, 2024 in Family Law

Living in the United States affords you a great deal of freedom and civil liberties. People are largely free to make decisions for themselves and eat, wear, think, and do whatever they want unless what they want could pose a threat to them or others. That is why there are speed limits, food and drug regulations, rules about how a business needs to treat its customers, and countless other ways the law restricts us to protect the greater good.

One area you may not expect there to be regulations involves who you can marry. In the state of Illinois, certain types of relationships are prohibited. If your marriage falls under this category, it can be annulled, meaning you can end your prohibited marriage without needing a divorce. The law would simply recognize that it was never legal to begin with, and it is essentially canceled. If you have questions about the validity of your marriage, a Wheaton, IL family law attorney can offer you answers.

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 Posted on March 08, 2024 in Divorce

The first official step that needs to be taken when a couple understands that they want to begin divorce proceedings is to file for divorce. You might worry that if your spouse files for divorce first, it could somehow influence how it will play out. In truth, this does not have much of an impact. This article will explain why. If you have any further questions about whether your divorce will be affected by whoever files for divorce first, a knowledgeable St. Charles, IL divorce lawyer can offer more detailed explanations.

Will I Seem Guilty if My Spouse Files for Divorce?

It used to be that a spouse who wanted to get a divorce needed to offer grounds, meaning they had to explain why they wanted to end their marriage. The state of Illinois changed this requirement, and now the only acceptable grounds for divorce are irreconcilable differences. Neither spouse is blamed for the breakdown in the relationship, and the resulting divorce settlement reflects this as well. Since Illinois divorce proceedings do not include placing blame on either spouse, there is no need to worry that if your spouse files first, it can make it seem like they are the injured party, and you should be punished in your settlement. it does not matter who files first; any arrangements for child custody, asset division, and other aspects of the divorce will be decided without any consideration for who filed.

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 Posted on March 04, 2024 in Asset Division

A common divorce topic is the division of assets and property. Typical assets that a couple needs to divide in divorce include bank accounts, savings accounts, apartments, and cars. People with significant wealth sometimes have local bank accounts as well as offshore accounts abroad, which is perfectly legal. However, offshore accounts are of particular interest in divorce because they are sometimes used by a spouse to try to hide assets and avoid dividing them, which is not legal. If you are preparing for a divorce and are concerned that your spouse is using offshore accounts to hide assets, a knowledgeable DuPage County, IL asset division attorney can advise you on how to navigate this situation.

Why Would Someone Have an Offshore Account?

Some people have bank accounts in other countries if they also have a residence or business there. Overseas accounts can also be beneficial for international transactions as well as for various financial considerations. While using an offshore account to hide money from the IRS and avoid paying taxes you owe is illegal, managing your finances in multiple countries is not. However, hiding assets in offshore accounts in order to avoid dividing them with a spouse during divorce proceedings is against the law.

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 Posted on March 04, 2024 in Child Custody

When parents get a divorce, they generally try to figure out where each ex-spouse will live and come up with a schedule for which home the children go to when. That is certainly the most common custody arrangement, but not the only one available. Some parents decide to keep the children in the family home, and instead of the children moving from home to home, the parents alternate when they stay at that home. Otherwise known as birdnesting, this option is not for everyone, but under certain circumstances, it can work wonderfully. If you and your spouse are considering birdnesting, speak with an experienced Kane County, IL divorce lawyer to help you understand your options. 

How Does Birdnesting Work?

When divorced parents decide to try birdnesting, it takes a great deal of pressure off the children. They don’t need to remember to pack important things frequently as they shuttle back and forth between their parents or make sure to have multiple of all their favorite things. The children keep on living in their home, sleeping in their own room, and it is the parents who alternate sleeping there. 

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