Posted on November 15, 2013 in Divorce

If you're planning to get a divorce but you face a unique situation where an individual or group has particular feelings about your choice, it's really difficult to break the news and avoid some potentially awkward conversations. Getting divorced is a personal decision that will certainly impact you mentally to start with, which makes conversations with difficult individuals all the more challenging. If you're bracing for sharing the news, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

Telling Family Members

Perhaps your family members believe that you should have honored your wedding day vows and stay married, or maybe they never liked your spouse to begin with. Sharing the divorce news can bring out the worst in these individuals.

Those who don't support your decision will try to make you reconsider instead of supporting you, and even if you have your own negative feelings about your spouse, it's not always productive or a good mental exercise to listen to another person bash them. Don't be afraid to limit the conversation around the issue or cut people off when they cross the line. Tell them you appreciate their support but draw the boundaries of what's appropriate.

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 Posted on November 08, 2013 in Children

Because emotions tend to run high during a divorce, you may find yourself suddenly thrown into a difficult situation when forced to communicate with your spouse. Being prepared with some communication guidelines may make communicating during divorce easier.

Start by setting boundaries. Of course, divorce is a hard adjustment for everyone, but maintaining a civil conversation when you do need to interact with your soon-to-be former spouse can be beneficial, especially for the children. Children do not need the added stress of watching you square off against their other parent whom they love and respect. Decide early on in the process how you will act towards each other in front of the children. Laying boundaries before the situation arises is important.

You should consider setting a rule that prohibits either of you from bringing up old fights or points of contention that have to relevance to the issue at hand. If a conversation gets heated too quickly, diffuse the situation by walking away. Especially if your soon-to-be former spouse is good at pushing your buttons, the best thing you can do is to simply walk away. If you're exchanging the children for visitation time, for example, and the other parent starts to bait you into a fight, this is a good opportunity to hug the children, tell them you'll miss them, and leave the scene. Don't fall into old traps.

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 Posted on September 13, 2013 in Divorce

Attorney Joel Brodsky

Northfield resident and former Chicago Board Options Exchange trader Steve Fanady was dismissed of all charges relating to a 2012 case involving alleged forged divorce documents. Fanady was charged with forging a fraudulent document by the Cook County State's attorney's office. His attorney, Cook County defense lawyer Joel Brodsky, presented such strong evidence to the State's Attorney that the prosecution against Fanady was violating the First Amendment mandates of freedom of religion and separation of church and state, that the all charges against Mr. Fanady were dismissed with prejudice, a feat rarely seen in modern-day court proceedings.

Brodsky argued that the charges were a violation of his client's First Amendment rights. Fanady was accused of forging the stamp of a judge and signature of an attorney on divorce documents in order to obtain an ecclesiastical divorce. Brodsky stressed that prosecution by the State violated his client's rights to religious privacy and religious freedom by the state as a citizen.With strong connections to the Greek Orthodox Church, the separation of Church and State was the leading principle guiding Fanady in his quest for dismissal.

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 Posted on August 19, 2013 in Child Support

If you owe or are owed past-due child support in Illinois, Governor Quinn has just signed a new bill to help collect on the debt.

Illinois has now joined several other states that permit gambling winnings to be seized for unpaid child support owed by the gambler. All large winnings which qualify to be reported to the IRS can now be seized.

Here is how it works: A parent who owes child support wins big at the casino or the race track. The winnings are turned over to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. From there, the money is distributed to parents who are owed support.

This new law is effective immediately. So if the other parent of your children is a gambler, he/she could be gambling on their future without even knowing it. It's estimated up to $1 million in child support money could be brought in during the first year.

A qualified family law attorney is crucial if you are unable to pay child support, or if you are owed child support. Contact us today in DuPage County.

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 Posted on June 08, 2013 in Divorce

For the majority of people, information such as the names of the parties, their addresses, or sometimes inflammatory allegations of abuse or adultery will rarely be seen by anyone but the parties, the lawyers, and the judge.

But, with the recent stories, such like that of LivingSocial who had 50 million of their users' email addresses, passwords, and dates of birth compromised, it is only natural that people would be similarly concerned about how much information is available to the public in their court file. After all, before determining how much child support should be paid or how to divide marital assets, the Court must make a finding as to the extent of a person's income and personal property. This financial data becomes a permanent record in the court file for anyone to view.

Nonetheless, certain steps can be taken to minimize the risk of exposing too many unnecessary details. Parties and their attorneys can work together to ensure that all pleadings do not contain the full names of minor children, exact birthdates and social security numbers. Additionally, the parties may exercise good judgment when deciding how to resolve the myriad of issues that arise during a domestic proceeding. If the parties are able to work amicably, they may be able to achieve their desired goal without the unintended consequence of public disclosure of sensitive information.

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 Posted on June 03, 2013 in Divorce

The American judicial system relies on the premise that all parties are equal before the Court and nobody will be given special treatment. In order to ensure that Courts are administering justice fairly, our judicial system is open to the public. This means that anyone can go to the office of the local court clerk to review a court file. The theory behind this approach is that it would be more difficult for a Court to favor one party over the other if the Court's actions are done in public rather than in secret. In other words, sunshine is the best disinfectant. There are certain exceptions, of course. Juvenile Delinquency cases, for instance, are automatically impounded because they deal with sensitive information. Divorce cases, however, are not sealed…at least for most people.

According to the Chicago Tribune on Sunday, April 28, 2013, the wealthy and politically connected have had the option to seal their divorce cases or proceed with filing a new divorce case under their initials only, omitting their identities from their court files entirely. The reasons cited by these litigants for wanting to keep their records under seal were mostly about preserving their family's safety and avoiding public embarrassment.

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 Posted on March 23, 2013 in Child Custody

If you have decided that it is time for you and your spouse to part ways, there must be some underlying reasons. That being said, if you are able to work with your soon-to-be-ex through the divorce process, it may end up saving you money, time and aggravation. There are other ways to avoid high costs for getting divorced.

A good first step when contemplating divorce is by considering the lawyer you need. There are lawyers with backgrounds in mediation who can work towards a cost effective and timely divorce. They act as a neutral third party to guide you and your spouse trough the divorce process to a mutually beneficial agreement.

This has the additional benefit of avoiding a litigated divorce where a judge rules over the division of property, custody and support payments. Coming to an understanding with your ex might be more beneficial because you both know what is necessary to accomplish. Also, divorces that play out in court can last a long time, be very expensive and tie up your schedule with court appearances.

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 Posted on March 20, 2013 in Divorce

As much as we think that love is all you need like the famous Beatles song, there are other things that a marriage requires in order to last. There are many ways that a married couples' finances can lead to a divorce. Being honest and upfront with your partner about finances is a good way to limit these risks.

Most people find that it is uncomfortable to talk about finances early in a relationship or at all. As painful as it might be, the alternative can be much worse. What might start as an omission could turn into a trust or intimacy issue in a marriage.

A study run by the National Endowment for Financial Education and ForbesWoman exposed that nearly one in three Americans admit to lying about their finances to their spouses. It surveyed 2,019 adults between December 17^th and 21^st in 2010. The most prevalent money infidelity was hiding cash, minor purchases, and bills, at over 50%. About 10% to 15% of the cheaters also admitted to having secret bank accounts, hiding major purchases, and lying about their debt or earnings.

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 Posted on March 17, 2013 in Division of Property

If you have made the choice to divorce your spouse, it is essential to understand your home as an asset. Your home can be kept by one party after a divorce if they purchase the other party's stake. Another option is the sale of the house which would allow the proceeds to be split equally. That makes it important to make sure you receive a fair price for your home during the division of property.

A common step is to get an appraisal of your home. While an appraisal is the most expensive way to value your home, that is because you get what you pay for. When it comes time to divide your property an accurate appraisal can save you or make you up to a couple of thousands of dollars potentially. The appraiser can also be a valuable witness if your divorce becomes contested. Unless you money is tied up in the divorce process, this is the most useful way to evaluate your house's value.

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 Posted on March 15, 2013 in Child Support

Most Americans are familiar with at least some provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) that Congress put into effect as of January 1, 2013 in an attempt to avoid the fiscal cliff. What many people may not know, however, is that ATRA may create some sticky financial situations for former spouses once their divorce is final if they fail to take its provisions into account in crafting a settlement agreement.

As recently reported by Forbes, one provision of ATRA significantly raises tax rates for higher income people. Therefore, if you will be receiving alimony following your divorce, you may be pushed into a higher income tax bracket, which now will mean that you owe an increased amount of taxes. In most cases, your periodic alimony payments will be considered to be taxable income by the IRS, and the payments will be tax-deductible for the paying spouse.

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