Infidelity in marriage is one of the most common reasons people choose to file for divorce. Once one person in a marriage commits adultery, their partner may feel that their trust has been broken and that they cannot repair the relationship. Couples in Illinois may wonder how adultery can affect their divorce case. 

Grounds for Divorce

The state of Illinois does not accept adultery as a reason to file for divorce. Illinois offers what is called “no-fault” divorce, meaning that neither party is considered to be at fault for the dissolution of the marriage. In the past, the law included a list of several different reasons that could be used as grounds to file for divorce. However, the only grounds for divorce that are currently recognized is “irreconcilable differences,” which means that a couple’s marriage has broken down and is beyond repair. 

Usually, there is no need to demonstrate that irreconcilable differences exist, and a divorce will be granted if both spouses agree to end the marriage. However, if one spouse objects to the divorce, adultery could be shown to be the cause of the irreconcilable differences, and if the petitioner can make the case that the marriage is irretrievable due to these differences, the divorce will typically be granted. If a couple is separated for at least six months, it is presumed they have met the requirement for irreconcilable differences. 

When a person files a petition for divorce, they are required to make the other person in the relationship aware of the petition by legally serving them with the divorce papers. Once the divorce petition has been served, the other party has a window of 30 days to file a response. After the respondent has filed a response, a hearing date will be set. In rare cases, it is possible that the person being served will not respond to the divorce petition in time. If that does happen, the court may judge the divorce to be a default divorce.

What Can Happen With a Default Divorce?

If the respondent does not file their response to a divorce petition in time, a default divorce will occur. Since the court does not have a response from the other party, they will typically grant the requests in the initial divorce petition after a brief hearing. These requests can involve issues such as spousal maintenance or child support payments, property division, or child custody.  

If you are served with divorce papers, it is possible to ask for an extension before filing a full response. If an extension is granted, the petitioner will not be able to ask for a default judgment right away. After the judgment has been granted, there is also a limited period of time in which the respondent can ask the court to reconsider the judgment. It is usually necessary to have a legitimate explanation for why you did not respond to the divorce petition, and it is likely the judge will ask for proof of your explanation. 

It is never easy to break the news of divorce, especially to children. Depending on their age, they might not really understand what getting a divorce means or why it is happening. How you bring up the decision that you and your spouse are getting a divorce can make a difference in how your children understand and react to the news. Here are five tips on how you can talk to your children about divorce and break the news to them in a healthy way:

1. Know the Right Time to Tell Them

You should make sure that you figure out the best time to tell your children that you are getting a divorce. If you and your spouse have been toying around with the idea of divorce, you should not bring your children into your conversations. You should wait until your divorce is in full swing or in its final stages before you bring it up with your children.

During divorce, many of the most contentious disputes between spouses involve decisions made about their children, including how they will share parenting time and parental responsibility. For many years, it was presumed that living primarily with one parent was in children’s best interests. However, a number of recent studies have found that it is beneficial for both parents to be closely involved in their children’s lives. With that in mind, many states, including Illinois, have passed or are considering legislation that would presume that children should spend equal amounts of parenting time with each parent following divorce.

Illinois’ Possible Equal Parenting Law

The Illinois House of Representatives is currently considering a bill which would affect the decisions made about parental responsibility and parenting time in divorce cases. HB 4113 would make the following changes to Illinois’ divorce laws: 

Ending a marriage is a difficult process. As you come to terms with the break-up of a long-term relationship, deal with complicated legal issues, and adjust to new living situations and changing relationships with your children, family members, and friends, you will likely experience a great deal of stress. The following tips can help you reduce the effects of this stress and prepare for your new life following your divorce: 

• Join a support group - Meeting with others who are going through the same thing you are is a great way to help you understand that you are not alone and learn strategies for coping with the difficulties you are going through.
• Spend time with friends - It can be easy to withdraw from contact with others during divorce, but reaching out to close friends and family can help you avoid becoming lonely and provide some much-needed support.
• Consider your emotional needs - It is okay to feel sad or angry about your situation, but you should avoid becoming consumed by negative emotions. Work to let go of what you cannot control and focus on the positive aspects of your life.
• Exercise - Being active is a great way to relieve stress, and it can also help improve your mood. Whether you are regularly working out at the gym or simply taking walks around your neighborhood, focusing on your physical fitness can give you goals to work toward and help you maintain a consistent routine.
• Eat well - Maintaining a healthy diet is another good way to elevate your mood and help you feel good about yourself following divorce. Exploring new foods and cooking techniques can also help you broaden your horizons and connect with others who have similar interests.
• Avoid being hasty - Before making any significant changes to your life, such as beginning a new relationship or making a major purchase, take time to consider whether it is the best decision for you. Rather than acting out of emotion, try to be patient and rational, ensuring that you maintain the stability you need and avoiding stressful situations.

Contact a Wheaton Divorce Attorney

The decisions you make as you set out on the next phase of your life following divorce will affect your life for years to come, so it is important to protect yourself and build an environment that allows you to thrive. If you need help resolving any legal issues in your divorce and establishing a foundation for success in your new life, Anderson and Associates, P.C. can work with you to help you reach a positive resolution to your divorce case. Contact our DuPage County divorce lawyers at 630-653-9400 to schedule a free consultation.

When spouses divorce, they will both often struggle to support themselves financially as they adjust to living in on a single income rather than two combined incomes. In some cases, a person may be able to receive financial support from their former partner. This support may include either child support meant to provide for children’s needs or spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony in Illinois) meant to help a spouse maintain a similar standard of living to what they were accustomed to while married. In some cases, unallocated support may be beneficial for both parties, but divorcing spouses should be aware of how recent changes to the law affect this type of support.

What Is Unallocated Support?

Under current laws, spousal support payments may be deducted from the payor’s taxable income, and they must be reported as taxable income by the recipient. Child support is taxed in an opposite manner: it is not tax-deductible for the parent paying support, nor is it taxable for the parent receiving support.

In our modern society, divorce is an unfortunate reality that affects couples of all ages and income levels. But while the overall rate of divorce has remained steady, the divorce rate of people over the age of 50 (known as “grey divorce”) has doubled since 1990. These divorces can become especially complicated, due to the length of marriages and the complex financial issues that can arise. Here are some issues which couples will need to be aware of during a grey divorce:

• Spousal maintenance - In a long-term marriage in which one spouse earns more than the other, that spouse will likely be required to pay maintenance (alimony) to their former partner following divorce, and the duration of these payments is based on the length of the marriage. According to Illinois law, for marriages of 20 years or more, maintenance payments will last for the full duration of the marriage, or for an indefinite period. 

• Pensions and retirement funds - As spouses near retirement, they will likely be planning to live on the savings they have made in a 401(k) or IRA or the pension provided by their employer. However, retirement savings and pension benefits are subject to equitable division following divorce, and spouses should be sure they understand how these assets will be divided. Transferring these funds or benefits between spouses typically requires the use of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).

• Dividing marital property - Older spouses will often have acquired a large amount of assets during their marriage, and determining how to divide this property can be a complicated matter. One important question is who will retain ownership of the marital home. A spouse may wish to continue living in their long-time residence, but they should be sure they will be able to afford the costs of maintenance, upkeep, and property taxes while meeting their other obligations.

• Social Security - If spouses were married for at least 10 years, an ex-spouse may claim Social Security benefits based on their former partner’s earnings, but only after they have been divorced for at least two years. During grey divorce, spouses should be sure they understand their Social Security benefits and how they will affect their retirement planning.

Contact a Wheaton Divorce Attorney

At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we understand the issues that couples face during grey divorce, and we can answer your questions, help you understand your rights and responsibilities, and work with you to reach a settlement that will meet your needs. Contact our knowledgeable, experienced DuPage County divorce lawyers today at 630-653-9400 to schedule a free consultation.

The end of a long-term relationship is difficult for everyone involved, but children of divorcing parents are often hit the hardest as they experience major changes to their lives and routines. A contentious divorce can have especially negative effects on children, including long-term health problems and psychological issues. However, even if parents are unable to agree on many of the various issues that must be settled during their divorce, they should consider their children’s best interests when making decisions about the allocation of parental responsibility and parenting time.

Research Shows the Benefits of Shared Parenting

Throughout the 20th century, many experts believed that children of divorced parents needed the stability of living in a single home rather than dividing time between parents. Divorce decrees typically reflected this, with one parent (usually the mother) being granted sole custody of children, and the other parent receiving limited visitation time. However, these types of arrangements no longer reflect the reality of modern parenting, in which both mothers and fathers are often highly involved in their children’s lives.

When a married couple decides to divorce, they will need to resolve a wide variety of legal issues, including how to divide their marital assets and debts and, if they have children, how to allocate parental responsibility and parenting time. However, one area which is often less recognized but which can still cause contentious disputes is the ownership of pets. Illinois law was recently changed to better address the role that pets often play in modern families.

Pet Ownership Under Illinois Divorce Laws

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), pets fall under the umbrella of marital property, and until recently, they were not treated any differently than other assets a married couple owned, such as furniture, jewelry, cars, or other possessions. However, for many families, treating pets the same as inanimate objects does not feel appropriate, and disputes over who will retain “custody” of pets can be a difficult issue to resolve during divorce.

The end of a marriage can be very difficult for everyone involved, but children are often especially negatively affected during this emotional time. During divorce, it is important to protect children’s best interests, and they should be able to maintain a positive relationship with both parents.

Unfortunately, conflicts between spouses often spill over into their children’s lives. Whether parents involve children in these conflicts intentionally or unintentionally, they can cause serious harm to their children when they do so.

Types of Parental Alienation

When parents decide to end their marriage by getting a divorce, decisions about the allocation of parental responsibility and parenting time can often become contentious. In the past, it was often expected that the mother would retain primary custody of a couple’s children after divorce, but this is no longer the case.

In today’s culture, fathers often take a much more active role in parenting children and enjoy equal or even primary custody of their children after divorce. By taking the following steps, fathers can improve their chances of positive results in divorce disputes involving children:

1. Be an involved parent - Take an active role in your kids’ lives, attending school activities and sports events, doctor’s appointments, and parent/teacher conferences, as well as spending quality time with them during your parenting time.

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Even though divorce is an unfortunate reality of modern life, people still get married every day, and they hope that their partnership with their spouse will stand the test of time. Whether you are planning to get married or have been married for years, you will likely want to be aware of aspects of your life that may make divorce more likely.

According to a variety of studies, the following factors may play a part in whether you are likely to get divorced:

1. Your parents’ marriage - People whose parents got a divorce are 40 percent more likely to divorce than people whose parents remained married. Interestingly, while this may seem to be a behavioral factor caused by children observing the breakdown of their parents’ marriage, studies have looked at adoptive children and their biological parents and found that it is actually a genetic factor.
2. Your age when you get married - People who get married in their teens or early 20s are more likely to divorce, but the likelihood of divorce also increases by 5 percent for every year for people who get married after the age of 32.
3. Your education level - People with a college degree have a 65-78 percent chance of staying married for at least 20 years, while this rate is only 41-47 percent for people with a high school education and 49-54 percent for people who have attended college but have not obtained a bachelor’s degree.
4. Religion - Studies have shown that people who grew up in a religious household were less likely to divorce. Married couples who practice religion and attend church regularly also have a lower divorce rate, and couples who have the same beliefs are more likely to stay together than those who do not practice the same religion.
5. Smoking - When only one spouse smokes, a couple is 75-91 percent more likely to get divorced than when both spouses smoke.
6. Drinking - In one study, 45-55 percent of couples in which one spouse was a heavy drinker and the other spouse was not got a divorce within 10 years. If both partners drank, or if neither partner drank, this rate dropped to 35 percent.
7. Assets and debt - Couples who live in poverty and couples with a lot of debt are more likely to divorce, and couples who have more assets when they get married are less likely to divorce.
8. Income - Marriages in which wives earn more than their husbands or spouses earn about the same amount are more likely to end in divorce than marriages in which the wife earns less.
9. The cost of the wedding - One study found that couples whose wedding cost more than $20,000 were 3.5 times more likely to get divorced than couples who spent between $5,000 and $10,000 on their wedding.
10. Cohabitation - If a couple lived together before getting married, they are about 12 percent more likely to get divorced.
11. When kids were born - If a couple’s first child was born less than eight months after the wedding, they are 24 percent more likely to get divorced.
12. Age difference - When there is a large difference between spouses’ ages, they are more likely to get divorced, especially if the wife is older than the husband.

Contact a Wheaton Divorce Lawyer

If you believe your marriage is in trouble, the compassionate family law attorneys at Anderson & Associates, P.C. can help you understand your rights and options and advise you of the best path to take as you either pursue a divorce or work on repairing your marriage. Contact our DuPage County divorce attorneys at 630-653-9400 to schedule a free consultation.