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Divorce can be a financially crippling process, especially if you are not adequately prepared. Thankfully, with the right tools and knowledge, you can increase your chances of a favorable outcome. Learn more about managing your finances during and after an Illinois divorce, including why, how, and when to get started. You shall also learn how a seasoned divorce attorney can assist you in navigating your way through the process.
Understanding the Potential Financial Risks
While there are many potential risks of divorce, those that involve your finances are often the most devastating and long-lasting. For example, you could:
Infertility can strain a marriage, sometimes to the point of divorce. So what happens when the parties go through fertility treatments, decide to call it quits, and still have embryos? In most cases, the embryos are either donated or destroyed. The Governor of Arizona is hoping to change that, at least in their own state, and that could set a trend for others. Learn more about the new fertility bill in Arizona, and discover more about what your rights are in an Illinois divorce where embryos are considered an asset, rather than a chance at parenthood.
A New Ruling for Unused Embryos in a Divorce?
All across the country, couples are fighting for the right to use their embryos after a divorce. Sadly, most have been denied rights to them, and some have been ordered to have them destroyed. That is essentially what happened to an Arizonan woman. She and her spouse had created the embryos when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When the cancer treatment ended, her spouse said he no longer wanted to have children with her and filed for divorce.
Divorce is one of the more emotionally trying situations in life, so it is no surprise that many people want to move on shortly after it is over. There is such a thing as moving on too quickly, however, and it has nothing to do with the feelings of your ex-spouse. Learn how you can find love and happiness again (and when you should start to pursue it) with some help from the following information.
Relationships During Divorce Proceedings
Some parties chose to move on before their divorce has been finalized. Most of these relationships are short-lived, unfortunately, because the individual was not fully ready for the emotional challenges that tend to arise during and immediately after the divorce process. Grief and a sense of loss are common and to be expected. Anger and bitterness may come into play as well. That is not to say you cannot have a relationship while navigating your divorce; just know that it is likely to be far more difficult to keep the new romance alive and healthy while dealing with the end of your marriage.
Women have long been disadvantaged in divorce - and usually because they have sacrificed their earning years to stay home and raise children. Even for younger women, this can be a challenge, but those who are nearing retirement run the risk of severe financial loss. Learn how to protect your financial future during a gray divorce, and discover how the assistance of a seasoned divorce lawyer can help you mitigate some of the most common pitfalls and challenges that you are likely to face during the process.
Know Your Assets and Entitlements
Mature women may face many challenges in divorce, but the lack of knowledge is perhaps one of the most damaging. It also happens to be one of the most common issues that women over the age of 50 can face. Many stayed home to care for children during their childbearing years, so they had little to no earnings of their own. A lot of these same women were also left “in the dark” about their financial situation, which only complicates matters even further. Thankfully, women can take back the power and control in such situations.
Whether or not we want to admit it, celebrities are often the trendsetters in life. Trends in divorce are no different, which is probably why the concept of birds nesting divorce has gained so much traction in the past few years. In many ways, it is a positive thing; it can allow non-celebrity parents the time they need to save money (especially if they are sharing a non-home location as well). However, it is not the right option for every couple. In the following, you can learn some tips to help you determine whether a nesting divorce may work in your case, or if another type of parenting plan may be more suitable for your Illinois divorce.
How a Nesting Divorce Works
In a nesting divorce, children stay and sleep in the same home every night (usually the home they lived in before the divorce) while the parents rotate in and out. Some experts believe this is less traumatizing for young children who may not do well with going from one parent’s house to the other. However, there are other studies that indicate even infants and toddlers can switch houses with little to no issue. Still, there are some things to be said about keeping the children in the family home.
When one party is severely disadvantaged in a broken marriage, it can feel like an excuse to stay. Yet, unbeknownst to some, it is not necessary to do this. Instead, it may be possible for a party to obtain child support and/or alimony before a divorce has been completely finalized. Learn more in the following sections, including how to go about the process, and discover how a seasoned divorce attorney can assist and improve the outcome of your case.
Are You Eligible for Alimony or Child Support?
Not all parties are eligible for alimony or child support in a divorce. In fact, alimony is becoming less common in divorce, and some recent changes to Illinois’ child support laws have created situations in which neither parent pays support (i.e. parents have near equal income and near equal parenting time). However, if you are disadvantaged in your marriage - perhaps because of a health condition or because you stayed home to raise your children - you may be eligible for alimony, child support, or perhaps even both.
While most spouses embark on their divorce with no malicious intent, there are others who attempt to “get even” before they have even told their spouse that they want to separate. Some do this by running up debt, taking out new lines of credit under their spouse’s name, and intentionally dissipating their marital assets. Still, there are some who cash out an investment account, such as their pension plan or retirement account, and then spend or hide it to keep it from being added to the marital estate. Learn how to deal with this challenge in your Illinois divorce, and discover how the assistance of a seasoned divorce attorney can improve the final outcome of your case.
Tracking Down the Missing Money
Most partners who remove money from their pension or retirement account to avoid having it added in the divorce will allow a great deal of time to lapse before divulging their desire to divorce. The reason for this is simple: by waiting, they hinder your ability to track down the missing money. However, it may still be possible to determine whether they spent the money or are simply trying to hide it. In most cases, there is a paper trail or large and frivolous purchases. Financial experts and a seasoned attorney can help you in this step by providing you with support, assistance, and valuable knowledge and resources.
While divorce can be financially devastating at any stage of life, those who are nearing retirement are considered to be at the greatest risk for severe financial losses. Thankfully, it is possible to mitigate against this all-too-common gray divorce issue. Learn how in the following sections, including how a seasoned divorce attorney can help improve the outcome of your Illinois divorce case.
Understanding the Risks of a Gray Divorce
The risks associated with gray divorce are no different from those seen in other divorce cases. Instead, it is the age and stage of life of the divorcee that creates additional risks. Financial losses are more difficult to overcome because the individual is nearing the end of their income-earning years. That also means that the individual is nearly done contributing to the account. When one considers that retirement accounts are often one of the more valuable assets that a party owns, the risk of severe financial loss in a divorce becomes clear and extremely real.
During an Illinois divorce, a couple’s marital estate is totaled and then divided according to the law. In that marital estate is not just a couple’s assets and income; debt is factored in as well. Unfortunately, this can be especially problematic in a divorce - and not just because it can affect the amount of one’s settlement.
Couples might have different values when it comes to money and debt, and one party may have contributed more to the couple’s debt load than the other. Alternatively, one party may have less of an ability to repay the debts because they have a fixed or limited earning ability. Whatever the situation, parties are encouraged to educate themselves on dealing with debt in a divorce, and that includes learning how to go about deciding who should pay for the couple’s credit card debts.
Making the Decision Through Negotiation
Although some divorces are far too contentious to go through a negotiation, most find it to be an affordable alternative to litigation. Unfortunately, debt is a hot topic that can stand in the way of reaching a final settlement. In some cases, it may even completely derail a couple’s hope to end things amicably.
Divorce can be a massive undertaking with numerous pitfalls, and many can cause extreme but unnecessary stress and financial loss. Thankfully, divorcing parties can mitigate against some of the issues using a strategy known as divorce planning. Learn more about this process in the following sections, including the role and importance of an attorney while navigating through it.
What is Divorce Planning?
Although the emotional toll of divorce cannot be denied or ignored completely, parties are encouraged to see the legal process for what it really is: a detangling of assets. What that really means is that legally speaking, divorce is more like a business transaction. Certainly, your feelings are valid, and you have every right (and should expect) to be angry, confused, or hurt - but these emotions will not benefit you in the courtroom. In fact, if anything, they could cause you to make irrational or hasty decisions.
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