If you and your child’s other parent are divorcing or otherwise going your separate ways but you both plan to remain very active in your child’s life, the court will likely insist that you draft a parenting plan as part of your overall child custody order. The process of creating a parenting plan will allow you both to set expectations concerning communication, transportation, co-parenting duties, and other aspects of raising your child in separate households.

If you and your co-parent cannot work through fundamental differences concerning how this document should be constructed, a judge will need to make a determination regarding whose approach best reflects your child’s best interests. But, if you and your co-parent are willing to work together and with your attorneys to reach mutually-agreeable terms, you can construct this document in whatever ways you both feel are best for everyone.

Sustainability

You and your co-parent can address a variety of issues within the boundaries of your parenting plan. For example, you can detail your parenting time schedule, how you will manage holidays and special occasions, who will be responsible for transportation between houses, and who will pay for your child’s extracurricular activities.

People often spend months and even years thinking about divorce before actually beginning the process. The reasons for this are myriad: not being sure whether you really want to end the relationship, concern about divorce’s effects on young children, uncertainty about the divorce process itself. Whatever the reason, gathering information about how to get divorced in Illinois is an important first step for eventually leaving an unhappy or abusive marriage. 

While there are seemingly endless resources available online to help coach people through divorce, the process can be very complex and there is no substitute for an experienced divorce attorney who is looking out for a client’s best interests. If you want to know more about the divorce process in Illinois, read on and then contact one of the divorce lawyers with NN Legal Group for more information about your specific case. 

Where Do I File for Divorce? 

A divorce case needs to be filed in the county where one of the spouses lives, or where the majority of the marriage took place. For example, if a couple lived in Cook County for most of their marriage but recently separated and one spouse moved to DuPage County while the other moved to Will County, any of those three counties could process the divorce. However, different counties sometimes have different reputations for ruling on certain divorce issues, so it may also be worth your while to gather information about each county’s court system. Before filing for divorce, make sure you meet Illinois’ residency requirements - either you or your spouse must have lived in the state for at least 90 days before filing, and if you have minor children, the children must have lived in the state for at least 180 days or since birth. 

Although Millennials and Gen Z are getting married at lower rates than previous generations, when they do get married, a significant percentage of them create and sign a prenuptial agreement. This is partly because they tend to get married at older ages and have more value in their personal belongings than previous generations. It is also in part because they have a heightened consciousness of the likelihood of divorce and its financial risks. 

Whatever the reason for creating a prenup, spouses may find that, faced with the prospect of divorce, their prenup no longer serves their interests or perhaps never did. An outcome that may not seem so bad in theory may suddenly sound terrible in practice. In cases like this, it is only natural to wonder whether the terms of a prenup can be disputed in court. 

What Can Invalidate a Prenup? 

The first thing that could invalidate a prenup is if both spouses simply agree not to abide by its terms. However, if one spouse is put at a disadvantage because of a prenup, it is unlikely that the other spouse will be willing to give up their advantage. Other options, then, are necessary. 

Illinois has enacted many changes to divorce and family laws in recent years. Child custody is now broken down into two main categories: A parent’s right to make decisions about his or her child’s education, healthcare, and other vital issues is referred to as “parental responsibilities.” The time that a parent spends directly caring for his or her child is called “parenting time.” Read on to learn more about parenting time in Illinois.

Parenting Time Schedules and Parenting Plans

Divorced parents are required to draft a parenting agreement or parenting plan. The plan contains important information about how the parents will divide parenting time and responsibilities. Some parents alternate weeks or months which their children. Others use a 2-2-3 schedule in which the children switch homes every two days and parents alternate who has parenting time on the last three days of the schedule. Sometimes, one parent has the child on weekdays, and the other parent has the child on the weekends.

If parents can agree to the terms of the parenting plan, they can submit one parenting plan to the court for approval. If they cannot agree, each parent can submit his or her own plan to the court and allow the court to make the final decision.

If you are getting divorced, you may understandably worry about the financial consequences of ending your marriage. In some cases, a divorcing spouse is entitled to financial assistance from the other spouse, which is referred to as spousal maintenance or spousal support. This financial support, called alimony in other states, can be a major source of financial relief for the recipient spouse. However, it can also be a significant expense for the paying spouse. It is important for every divorcing spouse to understand the role spousal support may play in their divorce.

Who Can Receive Spousal Support?

Some spouses are entitled to spousal support because they have already signed a prenuptial agreement that dictates the amount and duration of support to be paid in the event of divorce. Spouses may also be able to negotiate the terms of spousal support and reach an agreement without the court’s involvement during the divorce process. Spouses also have the right to petition, or ask, the court for spousal support. The court has the discretion to award spousal support or deny the request.

How Much Does a Spouse Pay?

The amount of spousal support a spouse pays is based on the spouses’ net incomes. Illinois law sets for the following spousal support formula: One-fourth of the recipient’s net income is subtracted from one-third of the paying spouse’s net income to find the amount of support to be paid.