Vernon Hills Illinois Family Law Blog

People who divorce in Illinois may wonder about the financial effects of the end of their marriage, especially women. One study found that women who divorce see their income go down by over 20 percent, even while divorced men's income tends to rise by around 33 percent. However, another study from the Center for Retirement Research indicates that some divorced women may fare better than never-married single women if they are homeowners after the split.

Divorced women often fare better than never-married single women in terms of assets saved for retirement. There are a number of reasons for this, including access to shared resources during the period of a marriage while single women need to rely on themselves alone to accumulate assets or obtain a mortgage. One of the most significant factors, according to the study, was if a divorced woman was a homeowner. Some experts urged caution in interpreting the results of the study. Divorce lawyers cited cases in which women fought to walk away from the marriage with the home but did not have sufficient income or resources to refinance the mortgage, pay the bills and taxes or keep up the property. These women wound up in a worse financial position due to their insistence on keeping the marital home.

Future mothers that become pregnant during divorce proceedings have a lot to think about. On top of dealing with all of the stress that comes from separating from their spouses, now they have to worry about taking care of a child without a partner in a couple of months. The unborn baby also makes dividing assets much more complicated.

If you find yourself in these circumstances, it is important that you know what the laws of Illinois state about divorces during pregnancy and how mothers should approach the proceedings.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is having a major impact on how divorcing couples handle property settlements, particularly when it comes to alimony and spousal support. The effects are particularly significant for wealthy couples with high-asset divorces, as the tax effects are multiplied in higher income brackets. The changes will go into effect with the dawning of the new year in 2019, and many wealthy couples are moving quickly in order to finalize their divorces under the existing rules, which will remain in place until December 31, 2018. As long as a divorce is finalized before the end of the year, the former spouses will continue to retain their current tax treatment.

Under current tax law, people who pay alimony can deduct the amount from their tax bill. For people with significant income, they can achieve major savings on their annual tax burden. At the same time, the recipient will pay taxes on the amount in their own tax bracket, which is usually lower. The result of this system has been an increase in the amount of spousal support payments.

For most people, the family pet is their best friend, and some even treat their pet as a child. It is evident that pets play a significant role in the family home, but it’s challenging to redefine their role during divorce proceedings.

So how do we handle pets during divorce?