Recent Blog Posts
Couples who use a “strategic divorce” could see major tax savings
When couples divorce, the common assumption is that there will be significant impacts on their finances. They may need to divide retirement accounts. Alternatively, they may need to sell real estate holdings or other assets as part of the divorce agreement.
While the potential negative downsides are well documented, there can be some financial advantages for a couple to divorce. Referred to as a “strategic divorce”, some higher-income couples could see benefits from this prudent approach.
A tactical strategy to avoid the “marriage tax penalty”
The federal tax code does offer some advantages for joint filers. Those benefits start to evaporate as couples move up the income ladder.
The marriage penalty refers to situations where a married couple’s combined income pushes them into a higher tax bracket than if the individuals filed separately. A couple who divorces may be able to earn more separately – and pay a lower rate – than a couple who remains married.
Do divorced parents have to pay for college expenses?
Once children grow up and become legal adults, questions arise surrounding how much financial support do divorced parents need to provide. A ruling from the DuPage County Circuit Court May 2018 seemed to limit the financial responsibility that divorced parents may have when it comes to paying for college.
After more than a year of legal limbo, the Illinois Supreme Court has weighed in. In a unanimous decision, the court overruled that previous decision, thereby reaffirming an Illinois Supreme Court decision dating back to 1978.
What is Illinois’s Section 513 law?
The duty of divorced parents to finance educational expenses falls under Section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The law allows courts to award money for education expenses out of the property and/or income of either or both spouses.
Furthermore, the law allows these payments to continue until the student’s 23rdbirthday unless a party can demonstrate a good reason to continue the payments longer. The absolute latest education expenses may be covered, for any reason, is the child’s 25thbirthday.
New law will make name post-divorce name changes easier in 2020
Divorce is a time of new beginnings for both spouses. For those who adopted a new last name during the marriage, a divorce may mark a time to return to the maiden name that he or she had before marrying.
Previously, Illinois law made it a tedious process for married women to go through with a name change. Recent legislative changes will make it significantly easier for women to change back to their maiden following a divorce.
Current process creates unnecessary headaches
Under current law, if divorced individuals want to change their names, they needed to publish a notification in the newspaper. This process, which primarily affected women, is highly intrusive of people’s privacy and is often a laborious process.
Beyond the time and unwanted attention, the person changing their name needed to pay the newspaper to publish the legal notice. The only exception is if the person received a court-issued marriage certificate. Another option is to ensure that the attorney includes the name change within the divorce decree.
Emotional and financial challenges plague gray divorces
Divorce creates significant uncertainty for couples, regardless of their age, income or if they have kids. For older couples who may have accumulated a significant amount of assets, a divorce becomes more complex – and potentially more hazardous for both spouses as they transition out of the marriage.
Gray divorce, when spouses age 50 or older decide to end their marriage, has been increasingly dramatically in recent years. Since 1990, the divorce rate of these older couples has doubled. As these numbers of older divorcees increases, the risk of emotional and financial turmoil increases, too.
Financial and emotional burdens complicate gray divorces
As the divorce rate increases for older couples, more research is investigating what impacts, if any, these gray divorces have on people.
Emotionally, it is becoming increasingly clearer that a gray divorce has a major psychological impact on people. Recent data suggests that people who are involved in a gray divorce experience higher levels of depression than widowed spouses who saw their partner pass away.
Not the Father – Can I Take My Name Off of the Birth Certificate?
At the time a child is born in Illinois, the parents' names are added to the child's birth certificate. The mother's name is always added, and, if the mother is married, the man to whom she is married is considered to be the father and is added to the child's birth certificate as well. What's more, if a child's parents are not married, both can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, which also can be used to add the father's name to the birth certificate.
Of course, there are some cases when a man's name is added to a birth certificate in error; there may be a presumption (based on marriage) that the man is the father, but in truth, the man is not the biological father. If you are a man whose name was added to a birth certificate erroneously, here's what you need to know about removing your name from a birth certificate.
Why You Want to Remove Your Name
If a man is not a child's biological father but is named as such on a birth certificate, the man has legal parental rights. In addition to providing the father with the right to petition the court for custody of or visitation with a child, there also are legal obligations associated with paternity. A man whose name is on a birth certificate may be asked to pay child support, or otherwise support a child financially, including through the man's health insurance, Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, and more. Rejecting paternity and removing one's name from a birth certificate will legally dismiss these obligations.
Tips for a Successful Divorce
Divorce, even when parties to the divorce are amicable, can be emotional and complicated. While there is no doubt divorce can be tough, there are things an individual, and a couple, can do to improve the experience and achieve a successful outcome. Here are some tips for a successful divorce. For information specific to your case, please reach out to our Illinois family law lawyers at the office of Fay & Farrow
Put a Plan in Place
Failing to have a plan in place for yourself and your life, both during and post-divorce is something that will only complicate the divorce process. Before you even start the divorce process, ask–and answer–important questions, such as:
- Where will you live before and after the divorce?
- Where will any children live during the divorce?
- How will you support yourself financially before and after the divorce?
- How will you tell friends and family about the divorce?
- What do you want in terms of spousal support, child custody, child support, and a property division arrangement?
Religious Holidays and Parenting Time
For many parents, spending holidays with their children is more than just celebrating culture and togetherness; there is a religious element that makes the holidays feel that much more important. What’s more, divorcing parents who are religious and want to spend time with their families and children during the holidays may find reaching a custody or parenting time agreement more challenging. Here’s a look into how parenting time during religious holidays is often decided in Illinois.
Reaching a Determination without the Court
The best thing parents can do when facing any custody determination decisions, including one involving shared time during religious holidays, is to work together to reach an agreement everyone can live with. Ideally, parents will be able to sit down together and determine with whom a child will spend each holiday. If one parent is more religious than the other, hopefully the parties can take this into consideration. If parents need assistance in reaching an agreement, working with a family counselor, professional mediator, or another third party can prove helpful.
Rental Property Division in a Divorce
Dividing property in a divorce isn’t always a big deal for couples, especially those with few assets and who are renting. Couples who don’t own real estate together may divide property simply by each taking their own personal effects and perhaps divvying up the furniture, or selling it and dividing the proceeds equally. However things get more complicated when the couple owns real estate property together. The couple must decide how the marital home, as well as any rental properties the couple owns together, will be split. Consider the following overview of how property, including rental property, is divided in a divorce.
Equitable Division in Illinois
The law in Illinois requires couples divide marital property–that is, any property acquired during the course of the marriage by either spouse–in a manner that is equitable, but not necessarily equal. Couples are highly encouraged by the court to work together to reach a property division arrangement, as this gives the couple more autonomy in making a decision and is also less expensive and faster. However, in the event the couple cannot decide how to divide property, the court will intervene. If the court makes a decision, the decision will be based on a number of factors, including the existence of a premarital agreement, the length of the marriage, each spouse’s liabilities, the economic circumstances of each spouse and more. Rental Property Division Options
Guardianship
In Illinois, guardians are used to provide care and representation to children who are under the age of 18 and do not have (competent) parents, as well as adults who are disabled due to a physical or mental disability. The process for appointing a guardian is complex and should not be initiated without the experience of a qualified attorney.
Guardianship of Minor Children
As explained by the 19th Circuit Court of the State of Illinois, a guardian for a minor child is necessary in the event that the child’s parents are:
- Deceased;
- Missing; or
- Unable or unwilling to care for the child.
There are both guardians of the person, who are responsible for the physical care of a child, and guardians of the estate, who are responsible for the management of assets of children who have money or property valued at $10,000 or more.
In order to be a guardian of a child, a petitioner must be at least 18 years of age, must be of sound mind, must be a legal resident, and must not have a criminal background. Further, the applicant must also be able to fulfill the duties of a guardian. Often times, guardians are family members, such as an adult sibling, aunt or uncle, or grandparent of a child.
Sibling Visitation
For parents who are getting a divorce, often times, the parties who are most affected by the divorce are not the adults but are instead any children involved. This statement is even more true when siblings of a divorce are separated, with one sibling living with one parent, and the other living with the other parent. It can also be difficult for a minor child to live with one parent, and for an adult sibling (18 years of age or old) to be denied visitations rights with the minor child.
When a divorce presents a question regarding the rights of siblings to visit with one another, working with a qualified lawyer is recommended. Consider the following about sibling visitation in Illinois and call our experienced family law attorneys for counsel that is specific to your situation.
Minor Children and Custody and Visitation
When the children involved in a custody or parental allocation determination are both minor children, the court may issue a decision that encourages the relationship between the children to be maintained. The court issues custody decisions that are within the best interests of children involved. In fact, unless extenuating circumstances exist that make doing so inappropriate, minor children are usually kept together in a custody determination.
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