As couples consider marriage, they may also wish to consider prenuptial agreements. Prenuptial agreements are no longer something used to protect the wealthy. Prenuptial agreements are also used by couples from different financial backgrounds to determine how they will handle various issues if they divorce.

While it is common for parents to establish college saving funds for their children, the financial strain of a divorce may distract parents from saving for college. It is also possible that the divorcing couple may find they have different expectations about funding their child’s college. One parent may want to fully fund college, while the other parent only wants to cover certain expenses. These sorts of differences may make it difficult for a divorcing couple to agree on funding their child’s expected costs for college.

Couples deciding to divorce later in life will deal different issues than those faced by younger couples. Often, a couple's children are adults or are in college. Therefore, the couple will not need to focus on developing parenting plans or making child custody decisions.

Changing your name can be the last step in completing a divorce, and it may even assist you in leaving behind the emotional difficulty of the divorce as you shed your former identity. However, after the emotional turmoil, it may be difficult to give up a name. Still, it does not have to be done immediately. You can legally change your name after a divorce when it works best for you.

After a couple has separated and decided upon parenting and custody agreements, it is possible that the custodial parent may want to move out of state. The parent seeking to move out of state will need to follow a process before relocating with his or her child or children. Illinois has set up a specific statute that lays out the process for a parent seeking to move out of state with a child.

Divorcing couples must decide how to divide assets and marital property. If a couple can decide how to divide assets without contention, this process can be simple. Sometimes, however, it is not easy for a couple to identify marital assets or decide on how to divide the assets. When this happens it is important to understand how marital property is defined. Understanding basic differences will allow a divorcing couple to properly discuss marital assets with their divorce attorney. 

Parents who have a disabled or special needs child understand the complexity of ensuring adequate care for their child. A divorce adds to the complexity of this issue both financially and emotionally. Whenever possible, divorcing parents should seek to develop a parenting plan and come to an agreement on long-term care for their special needs child.

Divorce and child custody are complex issues. These issues are even more complicated when one parent attempts to prevent the other parent from seeing his or her child during a court ordered visitation.

Divorce is a complex issue. The complexity only increases when the divorcing couple has children. The couple must make many decisions about child custody, visitation and parenting plans. Some couples are able to arrive at a decision on custody issues. Other times, the couple is not able to make a decision even after trying mediation or other efforts to settle. When this happens, it is not uncommon for the divorcing couple to ask the court to decide issues of child custody. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act directs the court to seek the advice of a mental health …

When you and your spouse are going through a divorce, you already anticipate the division of property and assets. However, most people fail to realize that debts are also a major part of this process. Most divorcing couples focus on who gets the house, car, or big screen television; still, they must also consider who handles the mortgage, car payments, and credit card debt. These debts might have been manageable when both spouses were paying the debt down, but it might be much more difficult to pay those debts on one's own.

Today, in Illinois family courts, the divorce process is governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (“Act”), which was passed in 1977. Society was different back then, and the Act was created to address the many issues families were facing. Today, however, the landscape of society has changed and families have several new needs that the Act can no longer satisfy.