Recent Blog Posts
The New Trend of Divorce: Mediation
In all movies and TV shows depicting divorce, there are caricatures of people who are terrible to each other. They seek out the other party in the divorce and seem only interested in destroying them and their lives. While it is not false that contested divorces can become very ugly, there is a new inclination for people to select mediation as the way to achieve dissolution of a marriage.
Often time’s people who are interested in an amicable divorce choose this option as it allows for people to create a safe environment. The only people that have to be in the mediation process are a mediator, a lawyer and the two parties seeking to settle difficult issues such as child custody, division of property, and spousal support. A mediator tries to emphasize cooperative problem solving and keeping the process on track.
Babyboomers Still Pushing Up Divorce Rates
For the past 50 years or so, Baby boomers have had a significant effect on demographic trends in many issues. As young adults, this generation took the divorce rate up to new heights, and now that these people are over 50, they are still the subject for divorce studies. Huffington Post Divorce posted a story about the question.
A study called The Gray Divorce Revolution by Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin says that the divorce rate for couples over 50 in the United States has been notably going up over the last 20 years. Their study looks at divorce rates from 1990 to 2010, concentrating on people who are 50 years old or older. Brown and Lin discovered that the divorce rate in this age group has doubled over the 20-year period in question. From 4.9 divorces in 1,000 married people in 1990 to 10 divorces in 1,000 people by 2010.
While the divorce rate for over-fifties has doubled, the overall divorce rate has stayed more or less the same, with 19 per 1,000 in 1990 and 18 per 1,000 in 2010. There are also more people in their fifties and beyond now than there were in 1990 as can be seen from the 200,000 people over 50 divorcing in 1990, compared to about 600,000 in 2010. For more information, read the Huffington Post story or the actual study.
Going One Step Further Than Divorce and Annulling an Illinois Marriage
While divorce is the most common means of dissolving a marriage, annulment is also a way to end a marriage in certain instances. When the court rules that a marriage is annulled, it is saying that the marriage was never legally valid. Grounds for annulment, legally called "declaration of invalidity of marriage," vary in different states.
In Illinois, grounds may include the following circumstances:
- A person lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time that the marriage was solemnized, or else was forced into the marriage, either because of mental incapacity or infirmity or because of the influence of alcohol, drugs or other substances.
- A person committed fraud by his or her unwillingness to disclose information such as a criminal record or the unwillingness to have sexual intercourse.
- A person lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage, within one year of the marriage date.
- A person was under age 18 and did not have the consent of his or her parents or guardian or judicial approval.
The Relationship between Social Media and Divorce
Current statistical data has shown that first marriages are nearly 50% as likely to fail as they are to succeed before the 20th wedding anniversary. This trend has increased throughout the years 2006 to 2010, almost the same timespan that social media sites were becoming more and more popular. But this is not to blame sites like Facebook for divorces but merely to point out an unhappy coincidence. The use of evidence from social networking sites is becoming more and more prevalent in divorce cases.
Another survey of divorce attorneys compiled by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) has tried to measure the impact. They have found that over 80 percent of divorce lawyers believe that the use of evidence from social networking has increased considerably since 2006. Yet the sad truth is most people do not know how something as harmless as posting a party pic on Facebook can negatively impact any divorce settlement.
Invalidating a Premarital Agreement Under Illinois Divorce Law
When a party desires to have a prenuptial agreement held invalid under Illinois law, the first factor that must be considered is the date of execution. Different standards will apply depending on when the parties entered into the agreement. The principles of the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (“IUPAA”) govern any agreement executed on or after January 1, 1990, while common law controls prior agreements.
A prenuptial agreement signed prior to 1990 will be upheld so long as:
- It does not create an unforeseen state of poverty.
- Both parties had full knowledge of the other’s finances prior to signing.
- It was entered into voluntarily.
- The agreement is fair and reasonable at the time of enforcement of the agreement.
For premarital agreements signed after 1990 under the IUPAA, the “fair and reasonable” standard is no longer applied. A party seeking to invalidate a post-Act agreement must prove only that (1) he or she did not sign the agreement voluntarily, or (2) that at the time of execution, the agreement was unconscionable, meaning that it was improvident, totally one-sided, or oppressive, and that party neither was given a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party waived the right to the disclosure. Thus, the enforcement of a prenuptial agreement may hinge on its date of execution.
Divorce Parties make for Big Business
According to party planners, a divorce is not a cause to be down anymore. As a matter of fact, some planners are reporting that their businesses have tripled in recent years due to the popularity of divorce parties, not only in Illinois, but all over the country. It may seem like an awkward trend, but the numbers don’t lie. There are party planning businesses all over the country that are reporting upwards trends in these types of parties.
These parties are reported to get a little raucous with Champagne flowing, unique decorations such as voodoo dolls and even divorce cakes. These parties can range in price and are usually take place after the divorce proceedings have ended and a settlement has been reached. Some planners report that lump sum settlements often fund these parties. The parties often take place in nightclubs, dance halls and are arranged in VIP sections of establishments and often are accompanied with limo rides.
Advantages of a Mediated Divorce Vs. Divorce in Court
One alternative to the litigated divorce is the mediated divorce. Mediation offers a neutral approach to handling your divorce and offers a more private, self-controlled, and usually more affordable means by which to handle your case.
In a mediated divorce, both parties usually work with a single, neutral, mediator. The mediator helps the parties reach an agreement. Mediated settlements are not imposed on parties by attorneys or judges, but rather are drafted by the parties themselves (the mediator does the typing, the parties dictate the language). In sum, you will not be handed a preformed, boilerplate, settlement that may be unacceptable – you will craft your own agreement in your own words. More important, because of the slower, more personable, more focused approach afforded by mediation, you will be able to address emotional and psychological issues that the court system simply cannot even begin to approach.
Divorce Proceedings Turned Reality Show?
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Fox has approved a pilot for a new reality show that offers unhappily married couples an instant divorce over the course of a single weekend. Arthurt Smith, CEO of A Smith and Co, which is also the U.S. maker of the Fox show “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares,”has struck a deal with Jim Halfens, the Dutch entrepreneur who has made headlines recently for his real-life Divorce Hotel service that currently operates in the Netherlands, to develop the show. Smith has partnered with Mickey Stern and John Brenkus of Base Prods, a U.S. company specializing in sports science series.
The concept behind the Divorce Hotel service, as well as the reality show, is to save divorcing couples the misery, length of time, and high dollars typically involved in many divorce proceedings. After working through all of their issues, along with their legal teams, the goal is for the couple to be happily and legally divorced by Sunday night.
Spousal Maintenance or Alimony Under Illinois Law
Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/504, a spouse can seek maintenance, or what is commonly known as alimony, from his or her spouse in the context of a dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or annulment proceeding. Maintenance may be temporary or permanent in nature. The amount and duration of a maintenance award is up to the discretion of the court, which must take into consideration all relevant factors, including the following:
- The income and property of each party
- The needs of each party
- The present and future earning capacity of each party
The Daunting Process of Divorce Proceedings in Illinois
A. Requirements for filing for Divorce in Illinois:
Grounds - In order to file suit for divorce in Illinois, you must prove that you have met the necessary "grounds" for divorce. Those grounds include:
- Residence for six months in state
- Irreconcilable differences; and
- No chance for reconciliation.
B. Temporary Orders Hearing:
If you and your spouse cannot agree as to how your property will be divided, your debts paid, how your property will be temporarily divided, your debts temporarily paid, and if you have children, how your children will be temporarily cared for, then you will need to have a hearing on temporary orders. Temporary Orders allow the court the opportunity to make orders that will exist during the time between the filing of your divorce suit and ending with the entry of the Final Decree of Divorce in your case.
C. Discovery Process:
