Posted on July 10, 2012 in Family Law

While divorce rates have slowed down for most Americans, amongst the Baby Boomer generation, the divorce rate is climbing.

According to data compiled by the federal government's 2009 American Community Survey, divorce rates for couples over 50 have doubled during the past twenty years. According to researchers, blacks were most likely to divorce after fifty, while whites were least likely. Hispanics fell in the middle of the numbers, once the rates were studied by ethnic group.

The researchers cited several reasons for the upturn in divorce rates among Boomers. Longer lifespans led to couples re-evaluating their choice of lifestyle and partner. For others, what defined a happy marriage in their youth has shifted to personal fulfillment. Now adults want to explore how to find that outside of a marital relationship.

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 Posted on July 08, 2012 in Personal Injury

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 Posted on July 04, 2012 in Family Law

While couples cite numerous reasons for filing for divorce, studies show than in an majority of the cases, the wife is the party that initiates the filing.

According to a survey conducted by the AARP, amongst couples aged 40-79, two thirds of all filings for divorce are initiated by women. While we think of the stereotype of middle aged men dumping their wives for younger women, the report finds that in most cases, men are blindsided by a filing for divorce.

More than a quarter of men surveyed responded that they never saw the divorce coming, as opposed to 14% of women who reported being shocked by a divorce filing. Most women filed for divorce due to verbal, emotional and physical neglect. In the state of Illinois, couples can file for a no- fault divorce which means that neither spouse has to prove that the other is responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.

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 Posted on July 03, 2012 in Personal Injury

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 Posted on June 30, 2012 in Family Law

After six years of what seemed to outsiders to be wedded bliss, Katie Holmes shocked the entertainment world by filing for divorce from her husband Tom Cruise on Friday. Whether a nasty legal battle will follow remains to be seen.

Holmes has filed for sole custody of the couple’s six year old daughter, Suri, leading to speculation that there are differences of opinion within the couple on how their daughter is to be raised. The natural assumption among entertainment news sources is that Tom Cruise’s controlling nature and deep involvement with the Church of Scientology have something to do with split.

Custody issues are the number-one cause of nasty legal battles in most divorce cases. Parents want to be with their children, and want to remain as involved with them as possible. Even the most amicable of splits can turn ugly when a custody battle is involved. In Tom and Katie’s case, things can turn even more sour because she has filed for sole rather than joint custody of their only child, which would give her complete power to make decisions on things such as where Suri lives, goes to school, and her religious upbringing.

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 Posted on June 27, 2012 in Family Law

Former Disney teen star Miley Cyrus is the latest celebrity to announce her engagement. The announcement is causing headlines because Cyrus is just 19, while her fiance is 22. And Cyrus isn't the only celebrity getting married young—many others have joined her in the trend. But are these young celebrities sending the wrong message to teens?

Teens are often stereotyped for doing anything that they see their role models doing, and many teens grew up watching Cyrus on television. Research shows that couples who marry before the age of twenty are three more times likely to divorce than those who marry at age twenty five or later.

In addition, many teens are not experienced in dealing with the issues that come with marriage. Many are uneducated about spending and saving money, which is the most common reason for divorce in the United States. Another significant contributor to divorce is disagreement on having chilren, or the number of children each spouse wishes to have. Many teens are still not ready to have open discussions on these topics.

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 Posted on June 21, 2012 in Family Law

In Illinois, as a filing for dissolution of marriage proceeds, your case will eventually get to the “discovery process.”  This is a legal term that refers to a time when your attorney and your spouse's attorney meet to discuss what information each party has about your case.

You have probably seen on tv a dramatic moment when one attorney gives a revelation during a trial that swings the divorce case on a drastically different course.  In real life, this rarely happens.  The court wants each side of a divorce proceeding to share information as soon and as thoroughly as possible to make the process of dissolution of a marriage as quick and as painless as possible.

Each spouses's attorney will carefully look over the marital estate, to determine how best to divide the assets during the settlement.  If both spouses agree to what the assets are, the discovery process will be in informal one.  But if one spouse objects to what the other presents, then the attorneys will have to follow a formal process that involves review of financial documents by accounting experts.

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 Posted on June 16, 2012 in Family Law

A prenuptial agreement is way prospective spouses to put their obligations in writing before a marriage ceremony occurs.  The stipulations in the agreement takes place as soon as the marriage ceremony is concluded.

In Illinois, a prenuptial agreement must be in writing, and must be signed by both parties.  And it is enforceable without consideration, meaning that it becomes legally enforceable without one or both of the spouses promising something of value to make it viable.

A prenuptial agreement can be revoked or amended, but it must be done with the consent of both spouses.  And Illinois law states that and revocation or amendment must also be in writing.

There are some cases in which an agreement or amendment cannot by law be enforced.  They include:

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 Posted on June 11, 2012 in Family Law

When determining which parent receives child custody, Illinois follows the tradition of determining what is in the best interest of the child. State law sets out several “relevant factors” that determine what living condition would be in the child's best interest:

1. The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to his custody. Contrary to what you may have seen on TV, the court takes the parent's rights and wishes very seriously. Unless some of the following factors have been involved, the parents' wishes are taken very seriously by the court.
2. The wishes of the child as to his or her custodian.
3. The interactions and interrelationships between the child and his/her parents, between the child and siblings and between the child and any other person who may affect the child's best interest.

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 Posted on June 05, 2012 in Family Law

When going through the process of divorce, you will probably hear the term alimony several times.  But did you know that there are several different types of alimony?  Here are some of the types of alimony the court may choose to award:

Alimony or maintenance:  First, do you know what the term “alimony” refers to?  Often we hear about outrageous sums celebrity spouses demand following the breakup of a marriage.  Alimony (known in some courts as maintenance) refers to payments from one spouse to the other spouse for the benefit of the spouse receiving the payment.

Temporary alimony is given while the spouses are separated, but before the divorce is final.  The alimony may or may not be continued once the divorce is final.

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