Belleville, Illinois Family Law Blog
Child custody and allocating decision-making responsibilities
There are many factors to consider in an Illinois child custody case. Now generally referred to as parental responsibility, custody determinations can be complex and nerve wracking. It is preferable if the parties can negotiate an amicable agreement on their own, but...
Healthcare directives empower individuals to make decisions
Planning for future healthcare needs can offer peace of mind during trying times. Whether you know you have a progressive illness now or obtain an unplanned but serious injury later, advance directives, including healthcare directives, are ways to plan for your...
Legal requirements for divorce in Illinois
Making the decision to divorce one’s spouse is most likely a difficult one and taken after a lot of deliberation. Even though an Illinois resident has probably taken a lot of time to make this decision, once it is made, people are likely to want to proceed quickly....
Options for dividing home equity when you divorce
Once you married, you may have begun accumulating shared possessions with your spouse, and if you counted a home among them, you must figure out how to handle it if you part ways. For many former couples working their way through a divorce, the family home is the most...
Does my case warrant a simplified divorce in Illinois?
In Belleville and throughout Illinois, people who decide that they want to end their marriage and get a divorce will have a litany of issues to work through. While in some cases, child custody, child support, spousal support and property division results in acrimony...
Determining which parent will receive custody of children
There are many parents in Illinois and raising their children is an important job. This is not always an easy job though. It involves making many daily decisions and also major decisions regarding their well-being. These decisions include which school their children...
The advantages of divorce mediation
The conflicts that grow over time in a marriage can create seemingly unsurmountable barriers to amicably ending it. Not only are cash and property assets common points of contention, but the effects of a rancorous divorce on children can create emotional scars that...
When and how to use a special needs trust
One of the most talked-about estate planning techniques of the last 10-15 years has been the special needs trust. Special needs trusts (SNT) in Illinois are used to shield assets from taxes and the spend-down provisions in laws such as Medicaid and Medicare. The...
Amicable property division in same-sex divorces
Many same-sex couples may have chosen to marry long before 2014 if it had been an option in Illinois. So, even though many have been officially married in the state since then, they may consider their established relationship to have started years before. In a...
Can a ‘nesting’ arrangement work for my family post-divorce?
Parents who are in the process of getting a divorce are naturally concerned about how their split will affect their child. With all the upheaval that divorce brings to a child’s young life, parents may want to do what they can to help their child cope with these...
