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For divorcing couples with children, it is essential that you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse author and agree to a written parenting plan, often referred to as a parenting plan or allocation judgment, during the course of finalizing a divorce. This plan should clearly articulate how much time the children will spend with each parent and how decisions will be made regarding the health, education, religious studies and extracurricular activities of the children. Even if you and your soon-to-be ex-s...   Read more ...  

The military divorce rate is significantly lower than the national average. According to an article in Military.com, the overall military divorce rate was recently at a decade-long low at 3.1 percent. That figure suggests that the overall military divorce rate is declining, but it nonetheless suggests that married couples have to deal with significant stress in the marriage, especially when one of the spouses is deployed. Notably, the divorce rate for male military service members is markedly lo...   Read more ...  

If your spouse has filed a petition for divorce in Chicago or surrounding areas and you do not want to get divorced, do you have any options? For instance, can you refuse to accept the divorce papers when they are delivered to you, thereby preventing the divorce from moving forward? Or, if you do not believe the marriage should end and you want to continue working on the relationship with your spouse, is there a legal way to contest your spouse’s petition for divorce? Generally speaking, as lo...   Read more ...  

Let’s assume you grew up outside of Illinois, resided in Chicago for your married life, had children while married and living in Illinois, and then get divorced in Illinois. If you wanted to move back to your home state to take advantage of: your family’s support network, job opportunities, or for other reasons, it could be difficult to move return to your home state if the other parent objects.   In short, you will need to learn more about “relocation” and how Illinois courts make ...   Read more ...  

Published in the December 18, 2017 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin   When dividing martial assets during a divorce, certain assets require special attention such as 401(k)s and other retirement accounts, employer-provided deferred compensation, life insurance policies and college savings accounts.   In this edition of “Discourse on Divorce,” I take a closer look at what laws govern different benefit plans and other unique assets and how they should be handled in a divorc...   Read more ...  

For any parents living in the Chicago area who recently got divorced and have a parenting plan or an allocation judgment in place, it can be stressful to think about moving out of state—especially during holidays. In Illinois, parenting schedules typically are developed in one of two ways: either through an agreement by both parents, or by a judge who decides how to allocate parenting time. Most parenting time schedules include different schedules for parenting time during normal weeks and mon...   Read more ...