Posted on August 25, 2025 in Divorce

Getting a divorce may be one of the most difficult situations you may face during your life. Resolving financial concerns, adjusting your living situations, and determining child custody can be a lot to handle for anyone who is going through a divorce. However, the process can feel especially overwhelming if you are a stay-at-home parent.

When you have devoted years to caring for your children and managing your household, you may worry about your financial future, your ability to return to work, and how your divorce will affect your children. An experienced Wheaton, IL divorce attorney can help you understand your rights and find solutions that will protect your well-being and ensure that you can provide for your children’s needs. Read on for some things to keep in mind as you approach the divorce process as a stay-at-home parent.

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 Posted on August 11, 2025 in Child Custody

Parenting plans are created based on the circumstances at the time of your divorce. If your work hours were long, unpredictable, or conflicted with your children’s schedules, you may have been granted less parenting time than you hoped for. If things have changed and you now have a more flexible schedule, fewer conflicts, and the ability to be with your kids more consistently, it would be natural to wonder whether you can go back to court and ask for more time with your kids.

In Illinois, it may be possible to modify your parenting plan to reflect your new situation, but the process involves more than just showing you are available. To understand your options, speak with an experienced Wheaton family law attorney about parenting time modifications.

How Can Work Schedule Changes Affect Parenting Time?

Work-related changes that might justify a modification include:

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 Posted on July 26, 2025 in Divorce

Dividing assets during a divorce can be stressful, especially when inheritance is involved. If you received money or property during your marriage and are now facing divorce, you may be concerned that your spouse might claim a portion. In Illinois, the way inheritance is addressed in the asset division stage of a divorce often depends on how that inheritance was handled. A qualified DuPage County, IL family law attorney can offer tailored insight into how this might apply to your specific circumstances.

Is Inheritance Considered Marital or Non-Marital Property in Illinois?

Under Illinois law, marital property includes most assets and debts acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. However, inheritance is listed as one of the possible exceptions. According to 750 ILCS 5/503 in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, property received by one spouse through inheritance is generally considered non-marital property, meaning it belongs only to the person who received it. That said, it is still possible for an inheritance, or a portion of it, to become marital property under certain circumstances.

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 Posted on July 10, 2025 in Child Support

When a couple divorces or separates in Illinois, financial transparency is absolutely necessary, especially when children are involved. Unfortunately, some spouses try to hide income in order to reduce their obligations for child support or spousal maintenance. If you suspect this is happening in your case, it is important to understand your rights and how Illinois courts handle these situations.

As of July 2025, Illinois courts routinely rely on detailed financial affidavits, subpoenaed records, and expert evaluations to verify reported income. If you believe your spouse is not being truthful, an experienced DuPage County, IL family law attorney can help uncover concealed income and present a strong case to the judge.

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 Posted on June 25, 2025 in Divorce

We have become a nation of DIYers. Sometimes, learning how to do something new can be an exceptional experience, leaving you proud of the results. Other times, you may wish you had consulted a professional. While a DIY divorce could sound appealing in the sense that it seems less expensive, faster, and simpler, handling your own divorce can have unexpected adverse repercussions that can last for many years to come.  

Think of it like this: Perhaps your car needs new brakes. You watch a few YouTube videos and read about the experiences of others who successfully put new brakes on their car. It seems relatively straightforward, so you begin the process on Saturday morning.

By Sunday evening, your car is still in pieces, and putting it back together seems highly unlikely. You have spent two days of frustration using every bad word in your arsenal, and you have no idea how you will get to work tomorrow or get your car to a real mechanic.  

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 in Domestic Violence

Every nine seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten; one in three women has been physically abused by an intimate partner. Overall, 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner every minute. Domestic violence is widespread, and while nobody would defend domestic violence, there are occasions when allegations of domestic violence are made during a divorce for a very specific reason.

Since domestic violence can potentially affect the outcome of a divorce, specifically involving the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, false allegations are sometimes made during the divorce. Despite the fact that Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, domestic violence allegations or a conviction for the offense can impact a divorce.

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 Posted on May 23, 2025 in Child Custody

Creating a parenting time agreement (formerly known as "visitation") and a comprehensive parenting plan can be among the most important - and stressful - issues in a divorce. The parenting time agreement is a legal document that outlines exactly when each parent will spend time with his or her child.

The parenting plan goes much further in-depth, detailing how pickups and drop-offs will be handled and much more. If you are going through a divorce, it can be extremely helpful to speak to an experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney who can guide you through the process, helping you achieve outcomes that work for everyone involved.

How is Parenting Time Determined?

Parenting time encompasses regular day-to-day schedules as well as holidays and vacations. When determining parenting time, the court will consider the best interests of the child. If the child is old enough or mature enough, the child’s wishes may be a factor.

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 Posted on May 09, 2025 in Divorce

Divorce proceedings are often complex, particularly when it comes to determining spousal support and child support. Both spouses must accurately report their income and expenses for these determinations. When one or both spouses fail to properly account for their income or expenses or deliberately pursue unemployment or underemployment to deflate support obligations, imputation can be considered an equalizer to rebalance the marital financial scales.

If you believe your spouse quit his or her job deliberately, is willfully underemployed, or failed to report his or her income and expenses accurately, it is time to speak to an experienced Wheaton, IL divorce lawyer. Your attorney can help you determine the best way to present these issues to the court and receive an equitable amount of spousal support or child support.

How Is Imputed Income Determined?

Imputed income allows a family court to ensure the right amount of support is ordered, even when the financial disclosures provided are unreliable. If the judge believes that one spouse deliberately quit a well-paying job so he or she would not have to pay as much child support or spousal support, the judge will impute income.

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 Posted on April 25, 2025 in Child Custody

Custody issues – known as the allocation of parental responsibilities in Illinois – are often the most difficult aspect of a divorce. Couples going through a divorce are usually required to try mediation, and if a mediated agreement cannot be reached, the Court could appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL), who is often another lawyer. The GAL will conduct an independent investigation into the child’s home situation before making a recommendation to the courts.

If there are still disagreements regarding parenting time or the allocation of parental responsibilities, the Court may choose to appoint a psychologist or psychiatrist who will conduct a more in-depth investigation into the parents to determine the best interests of the minor children. The power of the Illinois family courts to order such an investigation is found in Section 604(b) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, so a custody evaluation of this type is commonly referred to as a 604(b).  

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 Posted on April 07, 2025 in Divorce

One of the most common questions divorce attorneys get asked is, "How long will my divorce take?" Making the difficult decision to divorce can take months or even years, so when that decision is finally made, most people want to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Because there are many types of divorces and such a wide array of factors that influence the length of a divorce, this can be a difficult question to answer. In the state of Illinois, there is a mandatory waiting period of at least six months before a divorce can be finalized.

So, unless both spouses agree to waive the six-month requirement, you are immediately looking at six months, regardless of what other issues may potentially drag out your divorce. The best thing you can do to ensure your future is protected and your divorce goes as smoothly and quickly as possible is to speak to an experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney.

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