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Lawyer Near Me – Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles – Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – Free Consultation – 847-628-8311

Searching for a Lawyer Near Me in the Tri Cities? The family law practice areas we specialize in at the Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo includes Divorce, Child Custody Issues and Mediation.

Divorce Lawyer Near Me – Basics of Divorce in Illinois

Illinois state law permits any person who has been a resident for a minimum of 90 days to file for a divorce. The grounds for seeking a divorce can be either fault or no fault. For a no fault proceeding based on irreconcilable differences the spouses must reside separately for two years at least. However, a court may permit spouses to divorce in some cases if they’ve been separated for six months.

With respect to a fault divorce under state law, any of the following can serve as grounds: impotency, adultery, bigamy, abandonment for a year or longer, abuse of alcohol or drugs for at least two years, physical and mental cruelty and if a spouse gives the other a sexual transmitted disease. Other grounds include if a spouse attempts to murder the other or receives a felony conviction.

Divorce Lawyer Near Me – Property Division

Illinois is an “equitable distribution” state, which means that marital assets are split equitably in a divorce proceeding. Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean an even 50/50 division. The court views properties a couple acquires after marrying as marital property. According to state divorce laws, the court divides property regardless of whether there is fault as part of the divorce. A divorce court considers factors each spouse’s contributions, duration of the marriage and each spouse’s financial circumstances.

Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – Free Consultation – 847-628-8311

Tri Cities Lawyer Near Me – Alimony

Either spouse might be able to receive alimony payments from the other with no regard to fault. In determining alimony payments, state law considers factors such as duration of the marriage, earnings and standard of living.

Child Support and Custody

In the state of Illinois, a divorce court determines matters of child custody in terms of the child’s interests. In doing so, the court takes into account the wishes and well-being of the child. Other factors are how the child interacts with each parent and others who live in the residence. Also, the court considers how the child adjusts to the home and the local community and how both parents encourage beneficial relationships. The court calculates child support based upon the paying spouse’s income and the number of children in the family.

The court recognizes legal and physical child custody. Legal custody refers to the parent’s right to issue significant life decisions on matters like education and religious practices. Physical custody entails which parent the child shall live with. As is the case in many other states, either one or both parents might retain physical or legal custody.

For instance, joint legal custody arrangements permit each parent to decide on major issues for the child. The state’s custody laws hold that children age 14 and older can select which parent they wish to reside with. However, a judge may overrule this if the child’s decision is not within their best interest.

Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – Free Consultation – 847-628-8311

Mediation Lawyer

Family mediation is just one alternative to dispute resolution available to spouses in Illinois who wish to settle issues. Other alternatives are arbitration, collaborative and cooperative divorce. When it comes to divorce, family and custody mediation, both parties look to cooperate in order to solve conflicts and come to an agreement on the issues at hand. This can include child custody and support, alimony (also known as spousal support) and division of marital properties and liabilities with the help of a third party mediator. The mediator serves to assist each party to clarify and define their issues and to facilitate communication between them. The goal is for the mediator to help the spouses reach solutions they can both agree to.

There are two types of mediation: voluntary and court ordered. Mediation can be started voluntarily at any time – even prior to filing for a divorce in Illinois. Or, the court can order mediation as part of a domestic relations matter. Even if both parties go to mediation because the court compels them, any agreements they reach from mediation is still voluntary.

The circuit court system here in Illinois requires mediations for divorces that involve child custody or child visitation matters. The parties, however, may be exempt from a mediation program in the event the court decides that there is an obstacle to successful mediation such as a domestic violence problem.

Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – Free Consultation – 847-628-8311

Mediation Lawyer Near Me – How Lawyers Help During Family Mediation

Generally with respect to family law mediation efforts, a lawyer represents each spouse. Although, if the mediation process is started voluntarily before the case is filed in divorce court, there are some couples who select to go through mediation without a lawyer. But even when mediation is voluntary it is still beneficial for both spouses to retain a Lawyer Near Me to facilitate matters and protect their interests. An experienced family law attorney is particularly beneficial in situations where there is a significant difference in the power dynamic between the spouses. If the divorcing parties decide not to be represented by lawyers for mediation, they will still be necessary at some point in order to file the mediation results in court and receive a final court order.

Uncontested Divorce

This is a form of divorce where the parties work together to negotiate an agreement on all of the matters at hand in their divorce before they file. An uncontested divorce may be finalized with just one court appearance and is relatively inexpensive.

Legal Separation and Divorce

Similar to a divorce, legal separation is a court procedure that serves to resolve matters like spousal and child support, schedules for parenting time and responsibilities while the parties are living separately and apart. Unlike a divorce, a separation doesn’t dissolve a marriage permanently and takes into account the possibility of getting back together. If reconciliation doesn’t happen, the eventual divorce may well be less involved and costly following a legal separation because a lot of the matters have been settled already.

Law Offices of Anthony R. Scifo – Free Consultation – 847-628-8311

Joint Parenting Agreement in Illinois

This form of agreement is basically a settlement between the parties (divorced or unmarried parents) that states how they will parent their child. This includes a schedule for parenting time and how the responsibilities are divided. When parents are unable to reach an agreement, the court will typically order mediation in which a third party will try to help the parents settle their disputes. If mediation is not successful, the court enters a parenting order.

For help and confidential advice on these matters in the Tri Cities, talk with a Lawyer Near Me at 847-628-8311