Posted on April 02, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

One of the main goals of every divorce is to arrive at an equitable division of the marital assets. Note that this does not mean an even split. In many cases, one person will be entitled to more assets than the other. Those involved in the divorce process can spend a great deal of time and energy determining how this split should be made.

Though the process can be challenging, it can be simplified somewhat if each spouse has a clear idea of the family's finances. It is important, therefore, that spouses take control of their finances when the decision to divorce has been made.

Divorcing spouses should be sure to close joint bank accounts and credit cards, and separate buying and spending. This will not only make you aware of the state of your family's finances, it will also protect you from an unscrupulous spouse who may attempt to waste joint funds or run up enormous debts in both of your names.

Separating joint accounts and credit cards isn't the only action that should be taken as the divorce process begins. Spouses should also consider their life insurance policy — if it is designed to pay out in your spouse's name, you may want to have it altered or discontinued.

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 Posted on March 27, 2014 in Child Custody

Child custody is one of the most difficult and hotly contested areas of family law. Parents often feel very strongly about the long-term custody of their children, and about the visitation schedules that accompany a child custody determination.

In a child custody case, noncustodial parents often object to a perceived lack of parenting time. This can lead to difficulties and arguments in the child support determination.

Illinois lawmakers recently took a step to defuse these arguments by introducing a bill that would give noncustodial parents a greater amount of parenting time after a divorce. Under a bill known as HB5425, Illinois parents would have 90 days to come to an agreement about a child support plan that will work in their child's best interests. If they are unable or unwilling to come to such an agreement after 90 days, the judge would be obligated to create a parenting plan that gives the noncustodial parent at least 35 percent parenting time.

The 35 percent number is an increase over current statutes, though if the judge found evidence that the noncustodial parent is unfit or a danger to the child, he or she could award less parenting time.

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 Posted on March 19, 2014 in Child Support

When a couple divorces, the court goes to great lengths to ensure that the couple's children will be well cared for. Part of this process is the determination of child support, which requires the noncustodial parent to pay a certain amount each month to the custodial parent. When calculating child support in Illinois, the court takes each parent's wages into account, then assigns an amount based on each parent's current ability to pay.

Over time, however, the ability to pay can change drastically. If a parent suddenly begins to earn more or less money than he or she did before, he or she can apply for a modification, which will change the terms of the arrangement to better reflect the current situation. It's a process that will soon be initiated by actor Charlie Sheen, who says he wants to change the amount of money he must pay to his ex-wife each month.

Currently, Mr. Sheen must pay $55,000 per month to the mother of his two daughters, ages 8 and 10. According to a source quoted on AZ Central, the TV star hasn't seen his children in months, which has made him feel frustrated about paying child support. Mr. Sheen claims his ex-wife deliberately scheduled a vacation over Christmas so he couldn't see his daughters.

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 Posted on March 12, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

It has long been believed — and backed by scientific studies — that couples who choose to live together before they are married will be at a higher risk of divorce after they tie the knot. This is a statistic that has long puzzled researchers, who have been unable to find a reason for it.

Now, according to the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonpartisan organization, that mystery has been solved. The reason premarital cohabitation leads to divorce is because… it doesn't. According to researchers, the previous studies looked at the wrong variables when they made their determinations, leading to invalid results.

Previous studies did not take the couples' ages into account. According to a University of North Carolina, Greensboro, professor, this was an important oversight.

Young people are more likely to cohabit before they get married. Young people are also more likely to get divorced, but not because of the cohabitation — financial issues and maturity are leading factors. When the professor accounted for the age variable in the couples she studied, she found that cohabitation had no effect on the future health of the marriage.

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 Posted on March 05, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

High-asset divorce generally refers to separations between spouses who have a large number of particularly complex assets. These assets often include investments, real estate and valuable collections or antiques. This complexity means that Illinois residents often require a great deal of skilled legal.

Dividing the property is a challenge in and of itself. But, what happens when both spouses own a business together? What do you do if your spouse is also a co-owner of your company?

It's a difficult issue, and as one marriage counselor stated, no answer is right for everybody. But, there are certain considerations that co-owners should make during the divorce process.

First and foremost, spouses should learn to separate their emotions from the financial and the business side of the divorce. Divorce is an emotional issue, and that emotion can make it more difficult to make the correct decisions when the time comes to consider the company's future. Keeping emotion, financial issues and legal concerns separate can help the process go much more smoothly. This is advice that applies in all divorces, but it is especially true in complex high-asset cases.

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 Posted on February 28, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

Here in Illinois and across the country, the divorce rate has been rising among a certain unexpected demographic: people over 50. Whereas in 1990, only 10 percent of divorcing spouses were over the age of 50, today that number has increased to approximately 25 percent. It's a surprising trend, and one that has left many wondering what caused it.

The reasons seem to be based in gradual changes in our society. For one thing, people are simply living longer now than they ever did before. This means that by the time a couple reaches 50 years old, they can reasonably expect to have two or three decades left together. If the spouses are unhappy with their relationship, they are more likely to divorce and move on rather than spend this time in an unsuitable marriage.

The growing financial independence of women also plays a role. Women today are more likely to have a career of their own, and draw their own salary. In the past, a woman might have been reluctant to end her marriage out of fear of financial insecurity. Today, this fear is greatly diminished.

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 Posted on February 21, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

For years, researchers have studied the financial impact of divorce and the effect that the economy has on divorce rates. The financial downturn of 2008 certainly gave researchers a lot of new data to work with.

Many people might assume that when economic times are bad, divorce rates skyrocket as frustrated couples struggle to make ends meet, and even affluent, high-asset couples begin to feel the strain. According to the data, however, the reverse is true.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American divorces took a nosedive in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. They reached a 40-year low during the recession and did not begin to rise again until after the economy began to improve.

Researchers say this is because divorcing couples are often concerned about their ability to manage their finances with only one income. This leads many couples to resist divorce during difficult economic times and simply wait until the economy improves. Once spouses can be reasonably assured that they will be able to maintain their lifestyle post-divorce, they are far more willing to separate.

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 Posted on February 14, 2014 in Child Custody

As many Illinois couples know, determining child custody arrangements during a divorce case can be a very painful experience. Agreeing to a parenting plan can be exhausting and emotionally taxing, especially in divorces that are hotly contested.

Unfortunately, these highly emotional situations can sometimes cause parents to act in a slightly irrational manner. During a breakup or divorce, retaliation is often considered by parents as a way to get back at the one another. Unfortunately, this behavior often harms the people who are most vulnerable in a child custody hearing — the children.

In one example of retaliatory behavior, a woman learned that her husband was having an affair with a business colleague. The affair was a conflict of interest for the man and was against the rules set by his company. He likely would have been fired if his employer had found out. The man's wife expressed an interest in reporting the man's misconduct to the company as a retaliatory action.

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 Posted on February 07, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

We have written in this blog before about high-asset divorces and the issues faced by those who experience them. High-asset divorces often involve complex financial instruments; often, special legal processes are required to successfully divide couple's assets and finalize the divorce. Generally speaking, the more assets and the more types of assets that a couple has, the more complex the divorce will be.

Here in Illinois, high-asset couples get divorced every day with the assistance of skilled attorneys. Fortunately, most of these divorces are much simpler than one that took place in New York between two real estate magnates.

The New York Times recently profiled the Swigs, a pair of high-profile real estate investors. Both came from wealthy families; together, they used their wealth to invest heavily in large New York properties.

Following the economic downturn near the end of the last decade, however, things took a turn for the worse. The Swigs fell heavily into debt as property values plummeted. Eventually, the strain of the financial troubles led to divorce.

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 Posted on January 31, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

Prenuptial agreements are an excellent way to protect your assets as you enter into a new marriage. With a relatively high divorce rate in this country, many Illinois residents are considering their second marriage.

Second marriages can be difficult for many people. For one thing, many couples who are on their second marriage are further along in life and have acquired a greater amount of assets and wealth. They may also have special considerations from the first marriage to consider, such as maintaining control of assets they wish to give to their children, for example. While these issues can be resolved in a high asset divorce, they can be handled much more quickly through the use of a prenuptial agreement.

Many people in their second marriage, then, choose to pursue a prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement allows couples to dictate certain terms of a potential divorce before the marriage begins.

Prenuptial agreements are a difficult topic to broach for many soon-to-be spouses. This is because the prenuptial agreement is often considered just when a couple is planning their wedding. Many are unwilling to commit to a prenuptial agreement, feeling as that it is unnecessary.

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