Posted on April 12, 2012 in Family Law

Marriages lasting more than 5 years often involve disagreements over property distribution. Although one partner may threaten to take everything from the other in a divorce action, this threat is fundamentally without merit. Illinois law is precise and specific regarding who receives what property in a divorce, and a spouse's threats of having the power to take the house, furniture and other valuable items from another spouse are usually unfounded.

Under Illinois divorce law, an "equitable" distribution of material goods during a divorce is legally recognized, not an "equal" distribution. This means that while a married couple may have two cars, one of which is worth more than the other, and two motorcycles, the distribution process does not necessary give each spouse a car and motorcycle. If one car is worth $15,000 and the other is worth $5,000, then one spouse may receive the less valuable car in addition to the two motorcycles (each worth $5,000). In other words, each spouse would then have "liquidable" assets worth $15,000.

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 Posted on April 05, 2012 in Family Law

Last month, after 33 years of marriage, Donald Ratcliff’s wife, Brenda, filed for divorce alleging irreconcilable differences. The so-called “differences” may very well be related to the fact that DuPage County prosecutors have indicted Mr. Ratcliff on at least five charges of possessing pornographic images of young children.

According to the Arlington Cardinal, Mr. Ratcliff’s home computer allegedly contained at least 500 pornographic pictures. Prior to his arrest and being held in DuPage County jail, Mr. Ratcliff taught Christian education at Wheaton College, a religious school. Wheaton College terminated his employment in March. Mr. Ratcliff holds his PhD from The University of Georgia.

Ms. Ratcliff is suing for spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony) from her 60-year-old soon to be ex-husband. Ms. Ratcliff was extremely surprised and humiliated about the revelation that her husband was leading a double life. The couple first met at a small college in Ohio, where Mr. Ratcliff began his teaching career. According to the a document he wrote as a part of his application to teach at Wheaton College, Mr. Ratcliff bragged that he and Brenda “served as missionary teachers on a small island in the West Indies for a year.”

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 Posted on April 01, 2012 in Family Law

Illinois divorces can generally be classified as either contested or non-contested. When one partner doesn’t want a divorce, this constitutes a contested divorce. Yet even if the parties agree to divorce, there are other issues that can make the divorce contested, including disagreements over child support, child custody, or division of marital assets and debts. When there are no conflicts in any legal aspect of the divorce, the divorce is considered uncontested.