Posted on November 11, 2017 in Divorce

Married couples get divorced for an endless variety of reasons. For some, infidelity may an issue while financial stresses drive others apart. Of course, there are often many factors that play into a couple’s decision to end their marriage, and researchers are always trying to identify trends that could help married couples recognize possible red flags. According to several recent studies, however, a first-born daughter could be one of the potential warning signs.

Australian Team Studies Dutch Families

Dr. Jan Kabatek and Dr. David Rebar, faculty members at the University of Melbourne, conducted one such study. The pair examined more than two million marriages in the Netherlands over the course of 10 years. They chose the Netherlands because Dutch marriage and family records are very comprehensive and provide exact dates of marriages, divorces, and births. Other, similar studies have been based on participant’s responses to surveys-which rely on memory and recollection as opposed to objective data.

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 Posted on November 10, 2017 in Divorce

While some people see the end of their marriage approaching, others find that divorce is unexpected. But whether they are ready to divorce or not, people will often be blindsided by the legal complexities and financial costs of dissolving their marriage.

Divorce can be expensive and difficult, but one way to make the process easier is through mediation. If couples are able to work together with a trained mediator to resolve the issues in their divorce, they can complete the process much more quickly and efficiently.

Consider the following four benefits of divorce mediation:

1. Cost - A traditionally litigated divorce can be very expensive, with each spouse paying their lawyer to prepare documents, send communications, discuss issues, and attend court. During mediation, spouses will usually split the mediator’s fees, and even if they spend multiple sessions working out an agreement, the total cost can be 40-60 percent less than a traditional divorce.

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 Posted on November 07, 2017 in Estate Planning

Recently, a previous post on this blog discussed the definition and some of the possible benefits of reverse mortgages. In that article, we talked about how reverse mortgages are often taken out by seniors to supplement their retirement income by borrowing against the equity they have built in their homes. In many situations, a reverse mortgage may be an appropriate option, but it is important to consider that reverse mortgages could also have some disadvantages-including an impact on the assets passed down to a person’s heirs.

Unforeseen Costs

The entire point of a reverse mortgage is to give an elderly person-62 is the minimum qualifying age-access to additional money during his or her lifetime. The amount a person can borrow in reverse mortgage is dependent on a number of factors including the type of reverse mortgage, the borrower’s age, the value of the home, and interest rates. Of course, in most cases, the lender will also apply a number of costs and fees, including an origination fee, costs at closing, and servicing fees for the life of the loan. Some lenders also charge for mortgage insurance premiums for certain reverse mortgages.

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 Posted on November 06, 2017 in Divorce

When parents end their marriage, they must continue work together to co-parent their children after divorce. However, their parental roles and responsibilities can be complicated if domestic violence occurred during the marriage.

While it is essential to protect the safety of spouses and children who have suffered violence or abuse, it is also important for children to have a relationship with both parents. But how well are parents able to work together following violent situations?

A recent study from researchers at the University of Illinois looked at mothers who had experienced domestic violence during the first year after their divorce to see whether they had any issues or conflicts while acting as co-parents with their ex-spouse.

Two Types of Intimate Partner Violence

The study identified two different types of violence that were experienced during marriage:

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 Posted on November 02, 2017 in Child Custody

People do not stay in one place as often as they once did. With the global economy entirely interconnected and the job market in a seemingly constant state of flux, family moves are more common. However, so are divorces. In Illinois, the laws regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities-formerly called child custody-provide requirements that must be met before children can be moved a significant distance from their current home.

A Child’s “Home State”

For the purposes of parenting plans, a child must have a “home state.” This is the state in which a court would have jurisdiction to decide cases involving the child. Illinois is a child’s home state when (1) that child has lived in Illinois for six months (or since birth, if the child is not six months old yet), and (2) the child has no other home state, and/or the child (or their parent) has significant connections to the state. If a parent intends to move to another state and take their child with them, the child’s home state will change.

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 Posted on October 31, 2017 in Child Support

Whether parents are married, divorced, legally separated, or were never married, they both have an obligation to support their children financially. Failure to pay court ordered child support can result in serious consequences, and parents should be aware of the steps that courts can take to enforce a child support order and punish a parent for non-payment.

Illinois Child Support Enforcement Law

A person is guilty of the offense of "failure to support" when he or she willfully fails to meet his or her support obligations while he or she has the ability to pay them. Illinois law provides several remedies for parents who do not meet their child support obligations, including:

• Contempt of court - A child support order is a court order, and a parent who fails to pay his or her court-ordered child support may be held in contempt of court. This can result in punishments that include being placed on probation or sentenced to jail time of up to six months. During imprisonment, a parent may be permitted to be released in order to work, and the court may order some or all of the earnings from this employment to be paid toward child support.

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 Posted on October 26, 2017 in Estate Planning

If you watch television at certain times of the day, you are likely to see occasional advertisements for reverse mortgages. These ads often run in similar timeslots as commercials for arthritis medication and electric scooters. It is clear that they are intended to reach a certain demographic-namely, seniors who are starting to consider the reality that they will not live forever. As with most television pitches, it understandable that the audience would be skeptical, but a reverse mortgage may be an option for certain individuals and families.

Reverse Mortgages Defined

Most people understand that a standard mortgage is a financial arrangement in which a lender provides a borrower with money to buy real estate, including a home. The property itself is the collateral used to secure the loan. The borrower makes regular installment payments until the amount borrowed and any accumulated interest is repaid.

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 Posted on October 25, 2017 in Child Support

When parents complete the divorce process, their final divorce decree will specify how parental responsibilities will be allocated, the parents’ schedule for parenting time with their children, and the amount of child support that one parent will pay to the other. But while this is meant to be a permanent agreement (or, if parents were unable to reach an agreement, a judgment by the court), the law recognizes that people’s circumstances change, and a divorce decree may need to be modified at some point in the future.

Following the implementation of Illinois’ updated child support law, which went into effect in July 2017, parents may wonder if their divorce decree should be updated to reflect the new methods for calculating the amount of child support payments. However, before petitioning the court, they should understand when these types of modifications are allowed.

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 Posted on October 24, 2017 in Divorce

For years, scientists have known that children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced as adults. People have speculated that this was because children spend time with their divorced parents during their formative years and therefore grow up to have a similar lifestyle. However, a new study suggests that genetics may play a role in whether children grow up to get divorced or not.

The study was conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University and published in the journal Psychological Science. It examined data regarding divorce in adopted children and children who grew up around their biological parents. The study’s findings showed that children who did not grow up knowing their biological parents and siblings still had a tendency to match their biological family’s decisions regarding divorce. The adopted children were less likely to have similar histories of divorce as their adoptive parents. This could mean that many of the choices we make about our relationships as adults are influenced by our DNA. When it comes to divorce, nature may be a stronger factor than nurture.

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 Posted on October 20, 2017 in Estate Planning

Older men and women are often among the most vulnerable members of our society. Children, of course, are also vulnerable, but as a whole, we have been historically more likely to aggressively protect children than adults and seniors. Unfortunately, this means that is relatively easy for elder men and women to be exploited-often by those who have been entrusted with guardianship or other responsibilities. With proper estate planning that includes contingency clauses and protections, it may be possible to reduce the likelihood of such abuse. A new federal law will also provide additional help in the battle against elder abuse and exploitation.

Bipartisan Efforts

The Elder Abuse Prevention and Protection Act was drafted by Representative Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Representative Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican. The bipartisan measure passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

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