Posted on July 28, 2018 in Divorce and Finances

A recent report by the website Student Loan Hero claims that student loan debt is contributing to couples’ decisions to divorce and affecting when they divorce. In a survey of more than 800 divorced adults:

• 13 percent of the respondents blamed student loans for their divorces;
• 35 percent of the respondents with student loan debts said that the debt caused them to delay their divorces because they could not afford the process; and
• 58 percent of divorcees with student debts had to take on additional debt to pay for their divorces.

With the cost of higher education increasing, student loan debts are likely to continue to be a problem for people during their marriages and divorces.

Student Debt Leading to Divorce

Financial stress is one of the main causes of divorce, and student loan debt can be particularly stressful because:

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 Posted on July 23, 2018 in Divorce

The divorce process is designed so that neither side will have a complete victory over the other. You will not keep every property that you owned during your marriage. If you are making more money than your spouse, you may be required to pay spousal maintenance as compensation. Unless there are unusual circumstances, you will be dividing your parenting time with your children. If you measure winning in absolute terms, then there are no winners in a divorce. However, redefining winning can help you feel that your divorce was successful:

1. Winning with Realistic Goals: You should start your divorce negotiations with goals that you want to achieve. Identify marital properties that are priorities for you to retain. Understand what an acceptable allocation of parental responsibilities would be. Determine the value of the financial assets you will need for short-term financial stability and long-term prosperity. You will lose some marital properties to your spouse. Instead of losses, think of them as assets you are trading in order to retain other assets you value more.

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 Posted on July 20, 2018 in Order of Protection

Illinois recently signed the Firearms Restraining Order Act into law, which allows someone to petition for the temporary removal of firearms from the possession of a family member who is deemed to be a threat to him or herself or others. With recent mass shootings in mind, lawmakers created the bill as a legal means for law enforcement to act on credible warnings of potential gun violence. Victims in domestic violence cases could petition for a firearms restraining order if they fear that their abuser may use a gun against them. However, the petitioner must prove that there is a need for the restraining order.

Order Details

Illinois already has a law that revokes a person’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card if he or she is convicted for domestic violence. However, an alleged offender may be a threat to use gun violence before a conviction can occur. An order of protection can immediately make it illegal for the domestic violence suspect to contact the alleged victim. A firearms restraining order addresses the specific threat of gun violence by:

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 Posted on July 17, 2018 in Property Division

Choosing where you will live is one of your most immediate concerns when you file for divorce but also one of the most consequential decisions you will make. The spouse who lives in the marital home will have an advantage when deciding who will keep the home during the division of property. When there are children involved, it is logical for the primary parent to stay in the home with the children. Absent children, you have more flexibility in deciding your living arrangements. Each option has its own financial and practical implications.

Keeping the Home

The instinct of many divorcees is to try to stay in the marital home and retain possession of it after divorce. The home is likely the most valuable property in your marriage and something you have greatly invested in. There is also an emotional benefit to keeping some stability in your living situation while going through a turbulent divorce. However, owning the home without your spouse can be expensive. You must consider whether you can afford:

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 Posted on July 14, 2018 in Child Custody

Parents commonly disagree on how much supervision and protection their children need. While many parents seek a balance between freedom and control, some parents skew heavily towards one side. Helicopter parents believe their constant involvement protects their children and guides them towards the right path. Free-range parents believe that giving their children independence teaches them self-sufficiency. Both parenting styles have some merit, but laws favor helicopter parenting over free-range parenting because allowing a child to roam freely can be viewed as neglect. A divorcing parent who believes in a free-range style may also be at a disadvantage when a court determines the allocation of parental responsibilities.

Definition of Neglect

Parents in a divorce may accuse each other of neglect as a reason why they should be the children’s primary parent. Illinois has a legal definition of child neglect that includes:

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 Posted on July 10, 2018 in Divorce

From the perspective of Western secular society, arranged marriages seem immoral and unlikely to succeed. How could someone feel fulfilled in a marriage that has been forced upon him or her? Women are sometimes viewed as victims in arranged marriages because the practice commonly occurs in religious and conservative cultures that treat women as subservient. Forcing someone into an arranged marriage does not prevent him or her from using secular laws to seek a divorce. However, people in arranged marriages may feel pressured to remain in the marriage, even if they are unhappy.

Being Shunned

Arranged marriage is a tradition that is rooted in people’s religious and cultural beliefs. Parents agree to the arrangement because they believe that is what is best for their child and family. People who reject their arranged marriages are also rejecting their culture and may be ostracized as a result. A family may be angry at a relative who decides to divorce because:

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 Posted on July 05, 2018 in Divorce

Your mind can convince itself that you are not feeling stressed or depressed, but your body is more difficult to fool. Thus, your body may surprise you by feeling ill during your divorce. If your divorce is not causing you some stress, you either have nerves of steel or are completely oblivious to the high stakes of your divorce. Stress puts your body on a state of high alert as it prepares to react to a real or perceived threat. The constant stress of a divorce can wear your body down, and the mental strain may cause you to make poor decisions that do additional harm to your body. Here are seven symptoms that divorce-related stress can cause:

1. Weakened Immune System: People who experience excessive stress are often more susceptible to contracting colds and illnesses. Stress strains your body and makes it less capable of defending against sickness.
2. Fatigue and Insomnia: High levels of stress may cause your body to secrete hormones that tire you out but also make it more difficult for you to fall asleep. Insomnia can cause additional fatigue and stress, which perpetuates the cycle.

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 Posted on July 02, 2018 in Child Custody

After the stress of completing your divorce, you deserve a summer vacation to help yourself relax and find some enjoyment. Just as importantly, your children need the positive experience of a summer trip as a consolation for the turmoil in their personal lives. However, it is different to plan a family vacation as a single parent after divorce. You must consider the rights of your co-parent and your own financial limitations when deciding on a trip.

Parenting Schedule

Before you plan a long vacation with your children, you should remember that the parenting schedule from your divorce dictates when your children must be with their other parent. The schedule may conflict with vacation plans because:

• It is uncommon for parents to have a block of uninterrupted parenting time that lasts more than four or five days; and

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 Posted on June 29, 2018 in Child Support

Each parent’s net income helps determine the total child support obligation owed to pay for the expenses of raising their shared children. Illinois’ Supreme Court has defined child support income as a gain to a parent’s wealth that allows him or her to better support the children. Income commonly comes from recurring sources such as job wages and gifts but also includes one-time, lump-sum payments, such as a personal injury award. A sudden gain of thousands of dollars changes the amount of money a parent has available to pay child support, at least temporarily. However, Illinois courts do not count the entire personal injury award as part of a parent’s child support income. A recent case helped define how much of the award can go towards child support.

Break Down

The total award or settlement in a personal injury case is meant to pay for specific damages related to the injury, including:

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 Posted on June 25, 2018 in Divorce

The effects of divorce can be difficult for spouses to handle, both emotionally and financially. However, some spouses seem to feel a greater effect and have greater difficulty adjusting. The fairness of the divorce agreement and the personality traits of each party can determine how people respond to divorce. Divorce researchers also wonder whether a spouse’s gender can predict how a divorce will affect him or her. Divorcees seem more likely to face certain challenges depending on their gender, but this idea may be based on gender stereotypes.

Problems for Women

Wives are often thought of as being more sensitive to their emotions and having less lucrative careers than their husbands. When applicable, these traits can have negative consequences for women:

• Women may identify themselves more by their marriage and family role than men do;
• A woman who made her own ambitions secondary to her marriage is less capable of supporting herself;

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