May 25, 2013 312-288-8985
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More women being ordered to pay spousal support

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Family Law on Friday, May 24, 2013.

Married women in Illinois who are high income earners may be in for an unpleasant surprise should they decide to file for divorce. As greater numbers of women make more money than their spouses, they are also increasingly being required by courts to pay spousal support to their ex-husbands. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 40 percent of working wives are now the breadwinners in their home. However, while this is clearly a good thing, women are not nearly as happy about how larger earnings translate into spousal support in the case of a divorce.

For a long time, alimony and child support were assumed to be the responsibility of men. It was automatically believed that women would stay home and forgo careers in order to take care of their family. Alimony was used to help support women who would not have the same earning potential as an ex-husband due to these sacrifices. Today, women split household duties with their husbands and sometimes, in increasing cases, husbands stay home while women go out and work. In the last decade the number of stay at home dads has doubled.

Splitting life insurance policies in a divorce

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Thursday, May 16, 2013.

Illinois residents may be wondering how life insurance policies are divided among spouses in a divorce. In a divorce, spouses must divide all the property accordingly, including any cash, annuities, bank accounts, insurance policies and so on. However, life insurance policies generally have no cash value if both the owner of the policy and the beneficiary are still living.

Typically, the owner of a life insurance policy, the one who pays the premiums on the policy, retains the rights to the policy in a divorce. The intent of the policy can affect how it is divided as well. For instance, if the life insurance policy was intended to help the other spouse care for their children in the event of the policy holder's death, then the policy owner might transfer ownership to the other spouse. However, if the intent of the policy was to pay off a mortgage, then the need for the policy probably won't exist after the divorce.

Rethinking college funds during a marital split

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Thursday, May 9, 2013.

In Illinois, planning for the future of the children and their financial security is a part of the divorce process. One aspect of this includes saving for college. Parents should communicate with each other to arrive at a divorce settlement.

Parents will should make decisions about 529 plans, which are investment accounts with a number of tax advantages that can be used for college. They may decide to freeze the account or split the account and determine what amount each will put into the account.

The pros and cons of permanent alimony

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Family Law on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

Illinois residents who get a divorce could be required to pay alimony for the rest of their or their spouse's life. However, lawmakers in many states with permanent alimony laws are looking to change this. One of the main issues that supporters of changing these laws is that someone who has been married for only a decade could end up paying spousal support for 40 years or more. On the other hand, some say that changing these laws could end up having a disproportionately negative impact on women.

Many people who advocate changing current alimony laws want to tie the amount of alimony required to the length of a marriage. This way, someone who divorces when they are young will not be saddled with alimony payments for the rest of their life. Additionally, individuals who want to see the law changed point out that alimony has no time limit or requirements in the way that welfare and unemployment do.

Custody case goes before Supreme Court

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Child Custody on Friday, April 26, 2013.

Residents of Illinois may be interested to learn that a father in Oklahoma awaits a Supreme Court ruling on whether he will regain custody of his daughter. The case, which is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, is unusual in that it involves a Native American parent who seeks to re-establish his rights to child custody.

Before the birth of his daughter and with an upcoming deployment to Iraq, the man assumed that signing away custody to his former fiancee and the child's mother was the best interest of his daughter. He learned after signing papers giving away his custodial rights that the mother intended to give the child up for adoption. Instead of simplifying custody, he unknowingly gave up his rights to his daughter altogether. 

Negotiating divorce when roles are reversed

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Friday, April 19, 2013.

Marriages with traditional role expectations in Illinois and across the nation call to mind images of the husband leaving for work each day while the wife stays home, takes care of the kids and cleans the house. While some people, especially those under 30, might laugh at those stereotypes, at least one study shows that roles have been slow to change in the area of divorce.

According to statistics compiled from the U.S. census, about 33 percent of women earn more than their husband. However, couples rarely expect this difference when they begin a marriage together. When they end their union, higher-earning women might not want to give up their hard-earned money in the form of alimony payments or shared assets with their former partner as they feel it adds insult to injury.

Does filing first for divorce confer any benefits?

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Friday, April 12, 2013.

The arrival of divorce papers is sometimes a surprise, but both parties often see it coming in advance. A Forbes contributor and professional divorce financial analyst states that, in some cases, it may be to one partner's benefit to file first. In many marriages, one partner works and oversees financial affairs, and this can place the other partner at a serious disadvantage in negotiations and even open them up to fraud. Filing first requires advance preparation that can prevent this disadvantage and offer other benefits as well.

From a legal standpoint, the first spouse to file generally has more control over the jurisdiction. This can make a big difference as laws governing child custody, property division and other important aspects of divorce vary significantly between states. Some states, for instance, enforce an automatic temporary restraining order on marital assets pending property division.

Changes to filing taxes after a divorce

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Friday, April 5, 2013.

Those living in Illinois who file for divorce can expect an enormous number of changes to take place in their lives, especially regarding their finances. One of the ways that people's finances will change dramatically is in the way they file their tax returns. Divorce affects filing status, which deductions one has access to, and taxes related to transferring property.

No longer being able to file as married will generally raise people's rate of taxation. If a couple's divorce is completed after Dec. 31 of the previous year, they have the option of filing as "Single" or "Head of Household." "Head of Household" provides the most benefits, but there are requirements that have to be met to file under this status. Additionally, unless someone keeps custody of a child, they will usually no longer be able to take advantage of deductions for having children.

Divorce costs can be reduced with advance planning

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Divorce on Friday, March 29, 2013.

Most Illinois residents are aware that divorce can be complex and emotional. With lack of sound preparation, Divorce can also be expensive. Many spouses who are contemplating divorce do not realize the financial impact until after the process is over as there are other, hidden costs.

A big cost that many people are unaware of is the unexpected costs of raising the children of the marriage. Child support is supposed to help the custodial parent with the costs of taking care of the children, but in reality, it doesn't usually stretch to cover many of the actual costs. Child support amounts are set by state law, so the non-custodial parent may not be required to pay more if support is inadequate.

Paternity bill stalls in Senate committee

On behalf of Lake Toback Attorneys posted in Paternity on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

On March 5, Illinois SB 1867 hit a bump in the road before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would allow fathers to stop paying child support until they determine paternity through DNA evidence. The legislation would affect at least one Edgar County man, who thought a teen boy was his son and, after DNA testing in 2011, discovered that he was not. However, he still pays child support for the boy because he did not comply within the two-year time frame allotted by a statute of limitations.

Currently, a statute of limitations can run out before fathers have time to question paternity. Although the Department of Healthcare and Child Services may be able to handle the problem without passing new laws, federal regulations that place strict time limits on paternity challenges could complicate the issue and require the passage of updated legislation.