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Recent Blog Posts
What Does a Mediator Do?
There are many ways to resolve a divorce with or without the court’s involvement. Mediation is one of many methods to finalize the end of your marriage with your spouse, with a focus on collaboration. A certified Illinois mediator can help facilitate a smooth, low-conflict divorce with your spouse, offering a more relaxed experience than you would likely find in the courtroom.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we can help you pursue mediation as a viable way to finalize a divorce. We will endeavor to ease your concerns through your divorce, working toward a solution that leaves all parties satisfied. Our St. Charles, IL family law attorneys are highly familiar with mediation, and we can review your case to see if it is the right solution for you.
How Do Mediators Optimize Divorce Proceedings?
Mediators who help couples reach a divorce settlement they can both feel comfortable signing can ease the process for those couples in various ways:
Questions You Should Ask Before Relocating With Your Child
Relocation can be a great opportunity for you and your child after a divorce. However, courts do not grant relocations without significant consideration first. Before you move forward with a parental relocation, you should make sure that it is in the best interests of your family, especially your child.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we have experience handling complicated child custody cases involving relocations. If your co-parent does not agree to the relocation, you may have to petition for a relocation in a hearing. Our Illinois family law attorneys can guide you through the process and address any concerns from the court.
Will It Infringe on the Other Parent’s Rights?
A relocation made in bad faith is unlikely to be approved. This means that if you are moving to cut your co-parent out of your child’s life, your petition may be denied. In Illinois, both parents have a right to reasonable parenting time unless either one poses a risk to the child.
Three Things You Should Know About Property Division
Few people look forward to property division in a divorce. Going through your marital estate can be a tedious affair, and if you and your spouse do not agree on how your possessions should be divided, it can quickly turn adversarial. If you are unfamiliar with the process of asset division, getting representation and advice from an Illinois divorce lawyer can be a major help.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we have years of experience in issues of divorce and family law. Our attorneys can help safeguard your assets while letting you know of any risks ahead of time. Understanding the finer points of property division will allow you to negotiate with leverage, and you can rest assured that we will arm you with knowledge during your case.
Can Property Division Affect Spousal Support?
Property division and spousal support tend to go hand-in-hand since both of them deal with a couple’s monetary assets. If you get a greater share of marital property, the judge may consider that as a factor when deciding whether or not to award your spouse with alimony, or vice-versa.
Questions to Ask While Drafting a Parenting Plan
As part of a divorce with children, you will have to settle the matter of custody with your spouse. Drafting a parenting plan is a crucial part of this process, as it details how parenting time will be divided as well as decision-making responsibility. With the help of an Illinois divorce lawyer, you can draft a parenting plan that accounts for your child’s needs in the long term.
Child custody concerns should be handled with care and attention. At Shaw Sanders, P.C., our family law attorneys have extensive experience working out custody agreements between spouses, and we can guide you through the process of creating a parenting plan.
Is Your Plan Best for The Child?
Before you submit your parenting plan to the court, you should ask yourself whether the plan is in your child’s best interests. Aside from simply doing the right thing, this should be a major consideration because the court will reject any plan that goes against the child’s well-being.
Does My Spouse Have a Claim to My Family Business?
If you have a longstanding family business, you may wonder what will become of it in your divorce. When making a decision about property division, a judge will take several factors into consideration. Depending on the judge’s ruling, your spouse could be entitled to a fraction of your business. An Illinois family law attorney can give you an idea of what to expect in property division and advocate for a favorable settlement on your behalf.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we understand just how much your business might mean to you. Our attorneys are skilled negotiators with experience handling complex divorce matters. We will pursue an efficient resolution outside of court, but if necessary, we are prepared to protect your family business in court.
Commingling Business and Marital Funds
One of the most common ways separate property becomes marital property is through commingling. This refers to the act of mixing a separate asset with assets from your marriage, often unintentionally.
Keeping The Peace With Mediation
TV and social media tend to perpetuate the idea that divorce is always an explosive, dramatic affair. In reality, most divorces are much less bombastic. Sometimes, two people live with each other for a few years, and due to internal or external circumstances, they fall out of love. In these well-meaning divorces, nobody truly wants to go to war with their partner.
A mediator can help facilitate a low-conflict divorce between you and your spouse, even if there are things you disagree about. When you work with Shaw Sanders, P.C., you can reap the benefits of working with a mediator and an attorney, providing you with sound legal advice.
Preserving Relationships
Some couples going through a divorce have a good reason not to burn bridges. You and your spouse might genuinely work better as friends without the stress of balancing a relationship or living together. In other cases, you might have a shared social circle that you might not want to disrupt. Similarly, if you get on well with your in-laws, the last thing you want is a messy divorce to drive a wedge between you.
Look Out for These Unethical Divorce Practices
To put it mildly, many divorces end on unhappy terms. In a number of cases, the relationship may have been toxic from the beginning. Rather than a clean, civil split, some spouses may attempt to drag out the proceedings or hurt their partners during a divorce. If you suspect that your divorce is going to be difficult, an Illinois family law attorney can help protect your rights.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we have experience handling complex, arduous divorces. When you work with our firm, we will take steps to protect your best interests in issues like child custody, property division, and more.
Hiding Assets
If you and your spouse accumulated a good deal of wealth over your marriage, you should take care to account for all of your assets. You could end up falling victim to dissipation, an illegal practice where one spouse hides, wastes, or steals marital assets. For instance, if your spouse spends marital funds on an expensive vacation with a new partner while your divorce is still pending, you may have grounds for a dissipation claim.
Three Good Reasons to Consider a Prenup
Getting engaged to a partner is a wonderful milestone. At the same time, marriage is often a dramatic turning point. Once you are wed, many of your personal assets can end up becoming marital property.
A carefully negotiated prenuptial agreement with your spouse can lay property issues to rest. During this process, you should involve an Illinois family law attorney who can help you draft an enforceable marital agreement. At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we can provide you with legal advice and qualified representation to help protect your assets.
Protecting Your Business Interests
Even if you owned your business prior to your marriage, it can still become marital property if you are not careful. Any contributions your spouse makes to your business, such as marital funds or labor, can result in the business becoming commingled. This essentially means that your spouse will have a partial claim to your business in a divorce that may have to be paid out in asset division.
How to Make a Sensible Parenting Schedule
Even in the most amicable divorces, figuring out a schedule for parenting time can be a major struggle. Both you and your co-parent will have to manage your divorce and navigate your new lives all while trying to do what is best for your child.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we know how difficult a divorce can be for parents and our Illinois family law attorneys can help you negotiate with your co-parent for a realistic parenting plan. Attorney Matt Shaw is a certified mediator with experience helping spouses and families reach solutions through compromise. When you work with our firm, we can lend our insights to help you develop a reasonable schedule for parenting time.
Split Parenting Time Fairly
In 2016, Illinois officially scrapped the language of "visitation" around divorce. Instead, the state acknowledges that both parents have a right to reasonable parenting time. This division of parenting time does not have to be 50/50 throughout the year, but it should allow for both you and your co-parent to stay present in your child’s life.
Dealing With Fraud in Your Divorce
When a divorce seems imminent, some people get into a panic thinking about their finances. Some people even get desperate enough to attempt to hide marital assets, knowing it is against the law. If you think your spouse is attempting to cheat you in the division of the marital estate, an Illinois divorce attorney can use certain techniques to uncover hidden assets.
At Shaw Sanders, P.C., we have over 30 years of experience handling complex divorce cases across Illinois. We take your financial concerns seriously, and when you work with our firm, we will fight for a favorable resolution to your divorce.
How Are Assets Concealed in a Divorce?
When a divorce goes to court, all marital assets are divided fairly by a judge. Somebody who wants a greater share of the marital estate may attempt to fraudulently conceal these assets so that they are not split up in court. Common methods of hiding assets include:
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