Posted on February 01, 2017 in Divorce

Divorce settlements come in all manner of shapes and sizes, and the best ones are customized to what each spouse and their children need. While Illinois law and previous case results can be a guide, you and your spouse have a great deal of discretion in how to divide your assets and plan for the future. Whether you want to go through mediation, negotiate your divorce settlement directly with your spouse, or head to court and litigate the issues, you have the right to an attorney. You should work with an experienced Naperville divorce attorney to ensure your rights are always protected and you understand your options. For more information on negotiating a divorce settlement, call Fay & Farrow at 630-961-0060 to schedule a consultation.

Divorce Settlement Considerations

If you want to maintain control over your divorce settlement, keep these 7 factors in mind:

1. An honest budget: When you are trying to decide on the division of the marital estate, spousal support, and child support, you have to have an honest look at your finances. Sit down with a financial professional, such as an accountant or financial planner, and determine a realistic budget for now and down the road. Without this tool, you may not realize you agreed to too little property or alimony.

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 Posted on February 01, 2017 in Divorce

There is nothing easy about developing a parenting time plan with your child’s other parent. In theory, you could each take every other week and handle the rest as you go. But life cannot be neatly divided into week-long increments. Holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions may disrupt the regular schedule. Also, your child’s particular needs may require that both parents are involved every week or day. When you and your child’s other parent sit down to discuss parenting time, you will need to determine your child’s specific needs first. For help in developing a parenting time plan outside of court, contact the Naperville family law attorneys of Fay & Farrow.

Identifying Your Childs Needs

As a parent, you know what your child needs and what works best for him or her on a daily basis. However, instinctively knowing your child’s needs and specifically identifying them are two different things. You must be able to articulate your child’s requirements and preferences to support your ideas for the parenting plan.

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 Posted on February 01, 2017 in Divorce

In most marriages, one spouse earns more than another. Unfortunately, a significant income disparity between spouses can cause extreme hardship upon divorce. For instance, if you have always earned less than your husband or wife, or if you have not worked because you devoted yourself to the family, then you may be left in financial trouble or living well below your accustomed lifestyle after a divorce. You may already be keenly aware of the difference between living on both of your incomes versus living on yours alone if you are separated. In this situation, you need spousal maintenance to be able to maintain your lifestyle – or simply make ends meet – after the divorce. However, maintenance is not guaranteed. To learn more about obtaining spousal support after a divorce, contact the Wheaton divorce lawyers of Fay & Farrow.

Illinois Spousal Maintenance Law

You may need to formally request spousal maintenance during your divorce proceedings. The first step to obtaining maintenance is convincing the judge that it is appropriate. Under Illinois law 750 ILCS 5/504(a), the judge will review at least 13 factors, including your current occupation and incomes, your ability to earn more in the future, and your needs.

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 Posted on February 01, 2017 in Divorce

When the court is left in charge of determining child support, the judge must turn to Illinois law. Under Illinois’ current child support guidelines, if you have the majority of parenting time, you will receive a set percentage of the other parent’s net income. For one child, you will receive 20 percent of his or her net income. For two children, 28 percent, and for three children, 32 percent. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to make this amount work. However, there are a number of instances in which the money you receive is just not enough to make ends meet. In this situation, you need an experienced DuPage County child support attorney to seek a higher amount of child support from the court. The lawyers of Fay & Farrow have years of experience helping moms and dads obtain child support that is in the best interests of their children.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Divorce

When you and your spouse decide that divorce is the right thing to do, your next discussion must be about how you want to move forward with the process. If you and your spouse work together well and are on the same page as to what you both want from the end of your marriage, then mediation may work for you. Mediation enables you and your spouse to:

• Decide how to divide your marital assets, including future retirement benefits
• Decide whether spousal maintenance is appropriate, how much, and for how long
• Allocate parenting responsibilities and time

7 Reasons to Divorce Through Mediation

The mediation process offers a calm and effective environment to decide the issues of your divorce between the two of you and outside of an adversarial courtroom. There are numerous benefits to mediation, including:

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Divorce

It used to be called custody and visitation. Now, Illinois takes a more equitable and less adversarial approach by discussing parental responsibilities and time. Legal custody, meaning who has decision making authority over the child, has become parental responsibility. You may have all parental responsibilities or these may be shared between you and your child’s other mom or dad. Instead of sole or joint physical custody, you and your child’s other parent divide parenting time. Your child may live predominately with you or the other parent, or split his or her time between your homes. When you are divorcing or welcoming a new child while unmarried, it is crucial to understand Illinois’ new vocabulary and how a court will decide parenting time.

You Can Develop Your Own Plan

You and your child’s other parent have the right to come up with your own parenting plan, including how you will divide parental responsibilities and time. This can be faster and less costly than having your attorneys fight for what each of you want in court and attending multiple hearings for a decision. However, even when you and your child’s other parent intend to determine a plan yourselves, you should still work with an experienced Chicago family law attorney. Your lawyer will ensure you go into planning sessions fully aware of your rights as a mother or father. Additionally, your lawyer will help you prepare to arrange parenting time, including considering birthdays, holidays, school calendars, vacations, your child’s special needs, and transportation.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Divorce

Have you decided on your New Year’s resolutions yet? If not, January is the perfect time to use your New Year’s resolutions as a way to grow closer to your children and help them cope with the changes associated with a divorce. Whether you just began the proceedings or your divorce was recently finalized, it never hurts to take a close look at your and your children’s situation and see what could improve. If you have been particularly stressed lately, you may need to focus on yourself so you can be more present for your kids. If your children’s behavior has changed for the worse because of the divorce, it is time to figure out what can help them get back on track.

Here are a few New Year’s resolutions that may help you and your children cope with a divorce:

• Dedicate Time For Your Children

You are the most stable part of your children’s lives. They need to spend quality time with you to know their feelings matter and they are loved. Consider focusing on family dinners every night or make one night a week family night where distractions like cell phones are not allowed. You can expect some push back from teenagers who may feel too cool for family night, but over time, they will see that you make them a priority.

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 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Divorce

The perceived cost of working with a family lawyer is why so many people try to resolve divorce, maintenance, custody, and child support issues themselves. They believe it will be cheaper and easier to tackle the paperwork and go to court without the help of an attorney. While some individuals struggle through the process alone and achieve their desired goal, most people end up spending more time and effort than they can afford reviewing free legal advice and searching for free documents online. These individuals also encounter a tremendous amount of stress trying to learn Illinois law and understand their local court’s rules. However, wasted time and extra stress can be avoided by working with a lawyer. There are tremendous benefits associated with hiring a DuPage County family law attorney that you cannot receive using free documents, including legal knowledge and efficiency.

The Law and Court Rules Are Complex

It is all too easy to believe you can handle a divorce yourself. When you are on a tight budget, doing so may even seem like a necessity. However, there is a reason so many people have trouble understanding the law and navigating the court system: it is complicated. Illinois law regarding divorce and child matters has changed in many ways in the past year and child support rules are set to change in 2017. It can be difficult to find accurate and up-to-date information online. Even if a portion of the law has been the same for years, it can be hard to interpret lengthy statutes full of legalese. Further, without the knowledge of how appellate court decisions have shaped the court’s interpretation of the statutes, you are at a disadvantage.

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 Posted on December 01, 2016 in Divorce

When family law judges determine child support, they are well aware this amount will need to change in the future. Parents’ incomes fluctuate and children grow up and have different needs. However, that does not make obtaining a child support modification less stressful. When your child support obligation becomes too much for you to handle or as the receiving parent, you are not getting enough, a modification is crucial. Whenever you need to return to court to alter a part of your child support arrangement, you should work with an experienced Chicago area family law attorney at Fay & Farrow to ensure everything is done the right way the first time and you walk into court with the best chance of success.

Reducing Child Support

To have your child support changed, you usually need to file an action in court. Next, as either the paying parent or recipient, you must show that there has been a substantial change in circumstances that warrants an increase or decrease in the child support award. Many child support modifications are sought by paying parents who wish to have a lesser monthly payment.

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 Posted on December 01, 2016 in Divorce

Spousal maintenance is never automatic during a divorce. You and your spouse can either agree to maintenance yourselves or a judge can decide the issue. Sometimes this is a contentious topic, and other times your ex may readily agree to support you following the divorce. No matter how your maintenance is determined, once it is set, your ex-spouse has a duty to uphold the arrangement. However, despite a legal obligation to do so, some individuals choose not to pay. If your ex is behind on payments, it is time to look into how you can enforce spousal maintenance.

Contact a Lawyer

If you do not receive your spousal maintenance as defined by the court order or settlement, the first thing you should do is call an experienced spousal maintenance attorney from Fay & Farrow. Contacting your ex-spouse about the issue may be enough to get your support back on track. However, you should not communicate with him or her without understanding your rights and your options if talking does not resolve the issue. You may also have more leverage with your ex if you are backed by an experienced lawyer and prepared to return to court.

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