Divorce Attorney Elgin IL – Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – 847-628-8311
No Fault Divorce in the State of Illinois
Illinois is one of several states that provide what’s known as “no fault” divorce. A no fault divorce simply means that you don’t need to prove your spouse did something wrong. Rather, you just have to provide a reason that Illinois honors for granting a divorce. In Illinois, the reason is essentially that a marriage is broken “irretrievably”. It’s legal language meaning that spouses are not getting along and their marital relationship is beyond repair. In addition, Illinois provides alternatives to the conventional divorce, such as a legal separation or an annulment.
In the event you have children, it’s helpful to have some awareness of the state’s child custody laws. Plus, you’ll want to know some relevant information about Illinois laws relating to child support enforcement and guidelines. Your Divorce Attorney Elgin IL can inform you about these laws and how they may impact your divorce proceedings.
Going through the experience of a divorce can be a legally and emotionally demanding process. However, consulting with an experienced lawyer can relieve some of the stress that comes with divorce paperwork and negotiation with your spouse. Additionally, your spouse most likely will utilize legal representation too. If you are considering divorce, start today and consult with a Divorce Attorney Elgin IL at our firm. By simply learning a few basics about divorce in Illinois, you’ll gain a much clearer understanding of how to proceed. Retaining a lawyer is essential for protecting your best interests.
Basic Information About Legal Separation – Divorce Attorney Elgin IL
Often, married spouses will choose to separate while considering a permanent end to their union. Likewise, they may try separation while they work toward a reconciliation. However, legal separation is a specific reference to a court-ordered separation that defines legal obligations and rights. Note that it does not permanently dissolve the marriage. Legal separation is different from an informal separation. This is because a court must approve and issue an order for a legal separation. It’s also different from divorce in that a marriage still exists after a legal separation starts.
Advantages of a Legal Separation
Legal separation offers benefits to couples who don’t wish to divorce. However, they want to live apart and clarify issues like child support, custody and division of property. A formal separation generally applies to spouses who are planning to eventually separate permanently. Typical reasons that couple might want to separate, instead of divorce, include the financial advantages of remaining in a marriage.
For example, there are often tax incentives. Also, some spouses may have religious beliefs that are in conflict with getting a divorce.
Also, couples can benefits from the legal clarity of a separation. Separation divides property rights among the two spouses and sets the terms for important issues like spousal support obligations. Certainly, spouses can agree on such issues without involvement from the court. Nevertheless, getting approval from the court to separate makes it easier to exercise these rights in the event disputes arise.
Basis for legal separation usually state the grounds for divorce. They may include issues like incompatibility, adultery or abandonment. Similar to a divorce process, only approval from the court can modify issues like child custody, support and spousal support.
Divorce in Comparison to Legal Separation
A separation the court approves does not terminate a marriage. Although the rights and legal obligations of each spouse are clarified according to the separation order, the marriage still exists. Because of this reason, spouses who separate legally cannot marry another person without breaking laws.
A benefit is that spouses can easily resume their life together if they want to reconcile. In contrast to a divorced couple, a couple who formalizes their separation and wants to reconcile doesn’t need to remarry. Instead, they can simply submit a request to resume their marriage in court.
Alternatively, if a couple chooses to end their marriage, a legal separation order streamlines the divorce process.
Legal Separation vs. Other Forms of Separation
Many spouses opt to separate without intending to split permanently. They might utilize a trial separation in order to work toward getting back together. Or, they might choose to live in separate locations. Legal rights and responsibilities in regards to children, debts and property stay the same as they would in a marriage. Issues like division of property or what a spouse may owe for child support are subject to agreement. However, they don’t resolve as they might in a divorce or order for legal separation.
If you’re considering a legal separation, call our law firm to speak with a Divorce Attorney Elgin IL
It’s not easy to end a marriage. But in some situations it is the best option. Whether the case calls for separation or divorce, talking about these issues with a lawyer helps clarify legal options.
Divorce and Division of Property
A divorce court will try to divide up the properties of a marriage in the most economical way attainable. Many states will exclude from this any properties that were acquired before the marriage or that came through inheritance.
In some states that are community property states, this entails an even split of property spouses acquire during their marriage. Other states will look into the spouses’ financial situation, plans and other relevant issues to divide the property fairly.
Dividing marital property can be unpredictable. The best decision is to have a Divorce Attorney Elgin IL negotiate and property division. For example, you may choose that even though you like your home, you need to retain your commercial property. Consequently, you’ll probably want to relinquish the home in favor of keeping the commercial property. In this case, you can try to reach a mutually beneficial agreement for dividing marital property with your spouse.
Support Obligations and Divorce
Divorce procedures can help to determine a spouse’s child support obligations. Child obligation payments are typically set in accordance with state laws. However, deviating from those guidelines are not particularly unusual. Additionally, child support orders can depend upon the custody terms the court orders. Generally, spousal support will depend upon the facts of the divorce and the spouse’s financial condition.
Child Custody and Child Visitation
Aside from distributing property, divorce can also help determine custody and child visitation schedules. This can be difficult to predict. Although courts frequently attempt to make their decisions with the best interests of the children, each case is different.
What Getting a Divorce Will Not Accomplish
Obtaining a divorce will not necessarily result in the precise division of marital assets. Additionally, it may not result in an exact split of time with children. Since no two individuals, marriages and financial circumstances are the same, each divorce is unique. The judge who finalizes a divorce order simply makes a decision depending upon the available information.
Talk with an experienced Divorce Attorney Elgin IL to learn more about how to proceed if you want to end your marriage. With the legal expertise of our firm, you’ll be protecting your own best interests. A lawyer will help guide you through the system and help obtain the best possible outcome for you.
Call the Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo at 847-628-8311.
