Recent Blog Posts
How Does Establishing Paternity Help to Secure a Father’s Rights?
In many cases involving unwed parents, establishing legal paternity is important to ensure that the child has the financial support of both parents, and that the mother can rely on assistance from the father by way of regular child support payments. However, establishing paternity can also be crucial for unmarried fathers who wish to be part of their children’s lives, in that it helps them secure important father’s rights.
Benefits of Establishing Paternity for Unmarried Fathers in Illinois
If you are an unmarried father, taking the steps to establish legal paternity can ensure that you have parental rights that may come into play in several different legal situations. One such situation is a potential adoption proceeding involving the child. If you have been legally recognized as the child’s father, the adoption of the child by another party will usually require your consent in addition to that of the child’s mother. By withholding your consent, you may be able to prevent an unwanted adoption and ensure that you remain your child’s legal father.
Why You Still Need an Estate Plan, Even if You Do Not Have Children
Those with children often create an estate plan because there is this sense of responsibility—a need to ensure their children are cared for in the event of a premature death. In contrast, individuals that do not have children tend to overlook the importance of an estate plan, either because they assume they have time and do not feel the same sense of responsibility, or because they simply do not believe that one is necessary. Whatever the reason behind it, failing to create an estate plan can have devastating results.
Where Will Your Assets Go?
When you are married or have children, it is fairly easy to determine where your assets will go. If you fail to create a will and have children or a spouse, they are typically the default heirs for anything you have left behind, even if the matter has to be resolved in probate court. But, where do those assets go if you have no heirs? If you have not named a charity or individual to receive your assets, most often, your hard-earned money will end up going to the government.
How to Keep Your Children Out of Your Divorce Conflict
Psychological research shows that when children are exposed to high levels of conflict between their parents, they may suffer from many long-lasting effects, including an increased risk of anxiety and depression. When you are in the midst of a divorce, it can be hard to shield your children from conflict entirely, but the more that you are able to do so, the better the position your children will be in to cope with the divorce and recover from the emotional trauma that it brings.
Protecting Your Kids from the Negative Effects of Conflict
The following suggestions can help you mitigate the effects of conflict on your children both during and after the divorce process:
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Avoid arguing with the other parent in front of them. Heated verbal, and especially physical, arguments with your spouse are never productive, and they can be especially damaging when your children are present. Consider alternative means of communication like phone or email if you cannot stay calm during face-to-face interactions and if you do need to blow off steam, do it when your kids are not around.
Additional Issues You May Want to Address in Your Parenting Plan
If you are a parent who is planning to divorce in Illinois, you may already be thinking about how you and your spouse will share child-related responsibilities. As part of the divorce process, you will be asked to describe the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time in your “parenting plan” and submit this plan to the court. If the court approves of the plan, the plan becomes a part of the legally enforceable divorce decree. Illinois law lists the issues that must be addressed in a parenting plan, but these are only the minimum requirements. You and your child’s other parent have the option of including additional agreements in the plan as well.
Common Estate Planning Concerns for Single People
For married individuals, estate planning is typically pretty straightforward, as most assets are often allocated to a surviving spouse and/or children. However, statistics show that more people are opting for the single life with no children—either permanently or at least until later in life. This creates some important considerations when determining what to do with your savings and assets in the future.
Should You Wait to Create Your Estate Plan?
It can be tempting to wait to create your estate plan until you are married or older. However, it is important to consider the unexpected. Accidents, health conditions, and other unpredictable incidents can end your life suddenly or place you in a vulnerable medical situation. Because of this, every person over the age of 18 should create and execute appropriate estate documents, including a will, powers of attorney, and an advance medical directive such as a living will.
How to Maintain Your Mental Health During Your Illinois Divorce
For many people, a divorce is a time of heightened emotions, including sadness over the end of your marriage, anger at your spouse’s behavior, and fear surrounding what will happen next. It can also be a huge source of stress, as you face the prospect of making important decisions that can affect the rest of your life, and possibly going through a lengthy trial or negotiation process. During this difficult time, it is more important than ever that you focus on your mental health while letting an experienced attorney help you navigate the legal proceedings.
Strategies for Promoting Mental Health
It can be hard to put your mental health first with everything else competing for your attention during the divorce process, but here are some suggestions that might be beneficial:
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Know your limits. Divorce can be mentally exhausting, and trying to push yourself too far can lead you to a breaking point. It is okay to step away for a bit if the stress becomes overwhelming, or to ask for help when you need it.
How to Account for Interest Rate Increases in Your Illinois Estate Plan
When you are setting up your Illinois estate plan, it is important to consider more than just the laws that exist today. It is also a good idea to plan accordingly for rising interest rates. Of course, it is impossible to predict the future. However, there are some wealth-transfer strategies that could minimize the impact of estate taxes while also offering some additional tax breaks to trustees later on down the road.
Using Intra Family Loans
Some families opt to provide an intra family loan to their adult children, or they may transfer a promising investment to pass down an inheritance. Paired with a promissory note that requires the adult child to pay interest, the net returns of these investments are a tax-free transfer of wealth.
When using this form of asset transfer in your estate plan, it is important to understand the rules and potential pitfalls. For example, interest rates must adhere to the minimum requirements (currently 0.14 percent to 1.47 percent depending on the term of the loan) and increases in interest rates would necessitate a higher rate of return to achieve profit. For some, this may make this form of transfer less desirable.
Can I Receive Spousal or Child Support During the Divorce Process?
If you are getting a divorce and have limited financial means of your own, it is important to work toward a divorce resolution that allows you to support yourself and your children. Often, this means ensuring that your ex is required to make regular child support and spousal support payments after the divorce. However, these payments do not take effect until the divorce is finalized, which may put you in a difficult situation during the divorce process, especially if your spouse is unwilling to cooperate. If this applies to you, you may need to petition for temporary maintenance or support.
How to Petition for Temporary Support in Illinois
In the midst of the legal divorce process, you can file a petition with the court for temporary spousal support, temporary child support, or both. However, it is important to be sure that you have good reason to do so. With your petition, you will need to submit a financial affidavit explaining your need for support with fact-based reasoning. You will also need to submit documentary evidence supporting the affidavit, which may include your bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, and evidence of any other income.
Are You Leaving a “Tax Bomb” in Your Illinois Estate Plan?
When creating an estate plan, most parents have the very best of intentions in mind. By taking the time to lay out their wishes, they are usually trying to not only manage their assets but also to provide for their heirs well into the future. Unfortunately, a lack of understanding of estate tax laws can lead to serious and significant mistakes—sometimes in the form of “tax bombs” for their children and grandchildren. You most likely have no intention of leaving behind unpleasant surprises for your heirs, so it is important to work closely with an experienced estate planning attorney to ensure that everything is arranged properly.
Tax Levies Will Vary
Tax levies—or the amount owed by an heir after receiving an inheritance or gift—can vary drastically, depending on a number of factors. Such factors include the size and value of the inheritance and how the asset was transferred to the heir. If, for example, a parent passes down an asset before his or her death, hoping to protect the asset from long-term health care costs or to avoid having the asset pass through probate court, the item can usually be considered a gift. Depending on the value of the gift at the time of the transfer and the amount originally paid for the item, the child may be required to pay gift taxes on the difference. The bigger the difference, and the higher the value of the item, the bigger that tax will likely be.
How Often Do Couples Reconcile After a Legal Separation?
The decision to get a divorce is hardly ever easy, and it is understandable that you would want to pursue all other possible avenues before beginning the process of legally ending your marriage. You may even hold out hope for reconciliation if you and your spouse can find a way to work together to resolve your marital issues. If you feel that some time apart from your partner would be beneficial, a legal separation could be a good option, but you may wonder how, or if, reconciliation may be possible after you take this step.
Coming Together After a Legal Separation
A legal separation means that you and your spouse stay legally married but begin living separately. Depending on your financial and family situation, you may need to reach an agreement on spousal support, child support, and parenting time like you would if you were getting a divorce, but the option remains open for you and your spouse to end the separation if you both agree to do so.
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