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Most people that have written an estate plan or considered the task assume that upon divorce, any part of that plan that designated money or property to the now-ex-spouse would no longer be in effect. While that is the case with some common estate plan components, it is not always true. It is essential that anyone considering or undergoing a divorce take a look back at any estate planning documents and make some necessary changes.
Changing Beneficiaries of Estate Planning Documents
Many documents in an estate plan list certain beneficiaries designated to take on a certain power or to receive certain assets at a particular time. For example, a trust will have a designated trustee, a will will have designated beneficiaries set to receive assets, a will will name a designated executor, and powers of attorneys will name specific agents to act on behalf of the documents’ creator. In Illinois, a dissolution of marriage will automatically revoke any provisions in a will, trust, or power of attorney that pertain to an ex-spouse. A party pursuing a divorce will not need to worry about changing these particular estate plan pieces after a divorce to ensure that the ex-spouse will not benefit from any prior designations.
If you have been ordered to take a parenting class by a judge, it does not mean anyone thinks you are a bad parent. In Illinois, every person with a minor child who is involved in a divorce, custody, visitation, or paternity case is required by the Illinois Supreme Court to participate in a parenting class. If the thought of taking a class on parenting skills sounds intimidating, hopefully this quick overview of the process will help ease your concern.
The Caring, Coping and Children Program (CCC)
In DuPage County, the mandatory in-class parenting class that may be ordered by the court is called the Caring, Coping and Children Program (CCC). The CCC class is a one-time, four-hour seminar designed to build and enhance not only parent/child relationships, but also co-parent relationships. According to the Family Center page of DuPage County’s website, the course “encourages parents to develop a way to relate to each other that keeps children out of conflict” and “emphasizes the need for parents to set aside personal differences in order to provide the healthiest environment for children.”
Whether individual parents originally wanted to share custody with their ex or not, they often find themselves in formal, court-ordered joint custody arrangements. Each parent needs to figure out how to make the best of the situation for themselves and, more importantly, for their children.
Key Points
Figure out the channel of communication that will work best for you and your ex. Phone calls, texts, emails, or even face-to-face meetings (without kids present) are the likely options, but if those do not work, there are other methods to help you, such as computer programs that can help provide a channel of effective communication between you and your ex-spouse. There is simply no way to avoid communication, so consider which of the many options will be the easiest and least stressful way for you and your ex to talk effectively about your child’s life. Effectively communicating with your ex when emergencies arise that will impact your child’s regular schedule will ensure there is no added stress on your child when the change occurs.
Social media currently plays a major role in our society. More and more people of all ages are signing up for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media websites. Many people increasingly turn to social media during their divorce to voice their feelings, meet new people, or in hopes of gaining support from loved ones. As much as you may enjoy using Facebook or another preferred social media platform, it is important to understand that certain actions on social media websites may be used against you during your divorce.
The Reality
As strange as it may seem, there may be people actively searching your social media accounts in an attempt to dig up information to use against you in your divorce case. A study a few years back stated that Facebook was the biggest source of social media evidence to use during divorce cases at the time. Although your spouse’s attorney may not be actively searching the web for your accounts, mutual friends, your ex’s family members, or often times your ex may be doing just that.
There are a multitude of articles and blog posts expressing opinions about the consequences of people dating during the divorce process. The problem is that most of those posts contain conflicting information, and include some facts and a lot of fiction. This post aims to explain a bit about what issues dating during divorce may actually pose.
What You Really Need to Know
One very real danger of dating during the divorce process involves the concept of dissipation. Dissipation occurs when one spouse uses marital property for something solely for his or her own benefit and unrelated to the marriage, at a point where the marriage is breaking down. Money spent on new relationships commonly falls within the definition of dissipation. Birthday or anniversary presents for your new boyfriend/girlfriend, inviting them to join you on vacation, or even taking them to a nice event in downtown Chicago, can all become the basis of a dissipation claim your soon to be ex’s attorney may bring against you.
These days, many people contemplating marriage consider entering into a prenuptial agreement. This legal document was traditionally used almost exclusively by the very wealthy in order to protect their assets in the event of divorce. However, it is increasing in popularity among people with average income today in order to set expectations and come to an agreement on certain terms in the event of divorce long before a marriage ever breaks down.
While such a conversation may be uncomfortable for a couple to have as they are planning to spend their lives together, the taboo that used to be associated with entering into a prenuptial agreement may have faded somewhat in recent years. This is good news for those who may be interested in entering into such an agreement, but one question remains: how effective is the document in successfully determining each spouse’s rights in the event of divorce and being held valid in the face of challenges?
Perhaps the only thing more challenging than navigating a divorce is doing so when there are children involved. Cases differ in circumstances, but for the most part, it is generally true that parents are very concerned with the well-being of the children as they go through this process and their family is ultimately changed. There is no shortage of advice for divorcing parents with children, and many parents welcome ways to make the transition easier for their kids. A recent article suggests 10 things that all parents who are going through a divorce should say to their children for encouragement and reinforcement during this difficult time.
Advice for the Children
Assure them that what is happening between you and your spouse is not their fault. It is normal for them to look for reasons their parents are divorcing, and some children may blame themselves.
There are many organizations dedicated to advocating for social equality among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. This plight often includes the voiced need for legal equality on the local, state, and federal levels. While many areas of the law may be relevant to the fight for equality among the LGBT community, the area of family law can be considered especially relevant. One such familiar example of this is the fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples. Although many states in the country have chosen to recognize same-sex marriage, the fight for equality continues among LGBT equality advocates in other areas. Perhaps in light of this, a local media outlet recently published a news article discussing a report that ranks U.S. cities in their laws and policies relating to LGBT equality.
Municipal Equality Index Report
Developments and changes are constantly made in the legal world. Whether they be changes to relevant law, local procedure, or evaluating a constitutional challenge, rules and procedures can and do change over time in addition to new laws coming into practice. This is just one of the reasons hiring an experienced attorney to handle a legal matter can be so important. It is part of a lawyer’s professional responsibility to keep up to date on the latest changes and decisions in the law, and this is especially true for the area of law in which an attorney practices. One such change may have an effect on those hoping to pursue a divorce in Illinois.
Pending Court Decision
In Illinois, the coming months could see a court decision that has an effect on divorce law in the state. The Illinois Supreme Court has decided to issue an opinion on a case involving the issue of property settlement in a divorce. More specifically, the particular case deals with the treatment of Social Security benefits in a property settlement during a divorce.
In Illinois and likely in other states across the country, many court systems are hearing arguments by groups and other organizations advocating for equal parenting time in child custody cases. These groups make their case based on reason, as well as appeals to emotion, to some extent. It is often argued that a child benefits the most from having an ongoing, consistent relationship with each parent. In many cases, this makes sense, and even those who are adamant that equal parenting time is in a child’s best interest acknowledge there are certain exceptions to this general rule. However, a recently published article points out that there are those on the opposite side of this issue, regardless of how prevalent equal parenting schedules are becoming.
Legal Measures
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