Posted on July 11, 2022 in Estate Planning

Estate plans specify how assets are handled after a person’s death or during a person’s incapacitation. This preparation provides a family with peace of mind and can help eliminate the burden of possible lengthy probate proceedings and costly legal fees. A will not only outlines how an estate is allocated but also assigns the executor. If the dependents are children, estate planning can determine guardianship.

Without a valid will, the person who died is considered to have died intestate, designating the state as the executor. The state then determines the recipients and handles the estate distribution according to state law. A detailed, legitimate will is essential if you wish your assets to be distributed a certain way. A will has ilmitations, so establishing trusts further protects one’s wishes. An estate planning attorney can explain the different types of trusts and help select the ones suitable to a client’s needs.

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 Posted on June 27, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

If you are paying or receiving child support, you know that the circumstances of your life and the life of your child may have changed dramatically since the original child support order was approved by the court. In Illinois, your child support order is eligible to be reviewed for a modification every three years. However, there are qualifying events that may allow you to modify the order between the normal review cycle.

Steps in the Modification Review Process

Either parent can ask the Illinois Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) to review the child support order for possible modification. The parent must demonstrate in their modification request that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred or that the other spouse has agreed to the change. Situations that may allow a child support modification include:

• The parent who is making the cild support payments has had a substantial decrease in income. This could be due to a job loss, an involuntary cut in pay, or a serious injury or disability. They could petition to have the monthly payments decreased.

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 Posted on June 03, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

Planning ahead for your future medical needs can feel like a daunting proposition and a difficult subject to consider. Nobody wants to think about a time when their own care may be out of their control. However, it is beneficial to ensure that important decisions about your own medical care are in the hands of someone you trust and who knows your wishes. An experienced estate planning lawyer can help you establish a power of attorney for health care and remove some of the uncertainty about your future care.

What a Power of Attorney for Health Care Can Cover

A health care power of attorney allows you to choose an agent, who should be a close family member or trusted friend, who will have the authority to make decisions about your care on your behalf. They will also have access to your medical information to allow for informed decision-making. It will typically take effect if you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions about your own care.

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 Posted on May 16, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

You finally finished getting your divorce, and you are ready to move on with your life. The terms of your divorce decree were fair and reasonable. Both you and your spouse are legally bound by these terms. That should be the end of it. However, after a few weeks or months you are starting to realize that your ex-spouse has no intention of obeying the terms of your divorce decree. They do not drop off your children when they are supposed to. They have not turned over property that you won in the divorce. You are not getting the spousal support you are entitled to. In this case, you may need to go back to court to ask the judge to enforce the terms of the divorce decree. It is in your best interest to enlist the help of an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Enforcing a divorce decree against an uncooperative ex-spouse can be an uphill battle - but it can be done.

How Can a Court Enforce a Divorce Decree?

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 Posted on May 09, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

 Child custody proceedings can be incredibly stressful, even when both parents are fit and amicable with one another. When the case gets a bit more contentious, or certain other circumstances are present, the court may appoint a special attorney or social worker called a Guardian ad Litem. It can feel alarming to learn that a Guardian ad Litem has been appointed for your children during your custody case, but there is generally nothing for you to worry about. When the judge appoints a Guardian ad Litem, it is not because they do not think that you are a good parent. Rather, the role of a Guardian ad Litem is simply to help the court understand what course of action might be best for your children. An attorney can help you better understand what the Guardian ad Litem’s role will be in your particular case.

When do Courts Consider Bringing in a Guardian ad Litem?

Guardian ad Litems are not automatically appointed in every child custody proceeding. It is more likely that the court will bring one in if: 

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 Posted on April 29, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

Estate contests can be messy. When a will or trust is questioned and challenged, it affects every beneficiary. These conflicts have been known to precipitate rifts between family members that may never heal. You probably want estate administration to be easy for your beneficiaries so that they can accept their gifts and remember you fondly. When someone calls the validity of your estate plan into question, the dispute can take years to resolve in some cases. This type of litigation can also become extremely costly for all involved. Fortunately, there are ways to substantially reduce the odds of an estate contest. If you suspect that there may be any conflict, you should alert your estate planning lawyer so they can take additional steps to prevent a challenge.

Ways to Prevent Potential Future Challenges to Your Estate Plan 

Even if you think that your intended beneficiaries will get along and administer your estate in good faith, you cannot predict what could happen after you have become incapacitated or passed away. Some tips for creating a strong estate plan include: 

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 Posted on April 14, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

If you and your spouse have children together and you are considering a divorce, there is a good chance you are concerned about how the two of you will raise your children in the wake of your split. Presuming you wish to share parental responsibilities with your spouse—which is the recommendation of the courts in most divorce cases involving children—you and your spouse will need to work together as co-parents.

Successful co-parenting can be more challenging than it initially seems, but it can be done. It will be up to your and your spouse to come up with customized co-parenting arrangements that match your specific circumstances, but here are a few things to consider as you start the process.

Your Parenting Agreement Should Be Specific

Hopefully, your spouse is willing to cooperate with you because it is better for your children if the two of you are making parenting decisions together rather than having the court decide on things for you. As you sit down to figure out what will work best for your co-parenting situation, be sure to make joint decisions that address:

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 Posted on March 25, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

When a married couple experiences relationship problems, they may encounter multiple different types of issues as they determine whether to attempt to repair their marriage or proceed with a divorce. As spouses begin the process of separating their lives from each other, they will need to make decisions about how to handle ownership of the property they own. During the property division process, a variety of different assets and debts will need to be considered, including the couple’s marital home.

Addressing Ownership of the Marital Home During Divorce

Since the home that a married couple owns is likely to be one of their most valuable assets, it will be important to determine how ownership of the home will be handled going forward and how all types of property can be divided fairly between the spouses. If a couple purchased their home during their marriage, it will be considered marital property, even if it is only titled in the name of one spouse. If one spouse owned a home before the couple was married, it will typically be considered their separate property that will not need to be divided during the divorce process, although the homeowner spouse may be required to reimburse the other spouse for any contributions they made that increased the value of this asset.

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 Posted on March 14, 2022 in Divorce / Family Law

The decisions made during a couple’s divorce are usually meant to be permanent. However, since these decisions are based on the parties’ circumstances at the time of their divorce, a court’s orders may need to be adjusted if circumstances change. Spousal support is one issue that may need to be revisited in the years following a couple’s divorce. For those who pay or receive spousal support, it is important to understand when modifications may be made to these orders.

Modification or Termination of Spousal Maintenance

Illinois law refers to payments made by one spouse to the other after divorce as spousal maintenance. These types of payments are also commonly known as spousal support or alimony. The purpose of spousal maintenance is to ensure that both parties will be able to support themselves and continue living at the standard they were used to during their marriage. Most of the time, spousal support will only be appropriate if there is a significant disparity between the incomes earned by the parties, including in cases where a spouse is a stay-at-home parent who does not earn enough income to fully cover their ongoing expenses.

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 Posted on February 17, 2022 in Estate Planning

During the estate planning process, many people will focus on the legacy they will leave behind and how they can use their assets to provide for their loved ones. However, an estate plan can also address how certain matters will be handled during a person’s lifetime, including how their assets will be managed and how their medical treatment will be handled as they get older. Making decisions about these issues can be especially important for elderly adults, and a person will want to make sure their needs will be met and their wishes will be followed, no matter what happens. One of the best ways of doing so is to create durable powers of attorney.

What Is a Durable Power of Attorney?

As a person gets older, or if they encounter a situation where they need assistance from others, they can create powers of attorney and name a person they trust who will be able to make certain decisions for them. When a person creates this type of legal agreement, they will name an “agent” who is authorized to make decisions on their behalf. The agent may be a family member or close friend, and the person may grant their agent broad authority to do what they believe is best, or they may provide specific instructions for how certain issues should be handled.

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