Vernon Hills Illinois Family Law Blog

Financial issues are one of the main reasons people in Illinois might experience marital discord. A survey by SunTrust Bank found that more than one-third of respondents said money is their main source of conflict in their relationship.

People with higher credit scores and more financial stability are more likely to stay in long-term relationships. Couples who have a large disparity in their credit scores are more vulnerable to divorce than those without this disparity. However, wealth does not necessarily mean that a marriage is more stable. According to one attorney, some wealthy couples may have both a higher income and higher expenditures with very little in savings. In addition, one person may have a high income while the other has a much lower one or might not work outside the home at all. This income discrepancy can create stress in the marriage. Furthermore, the job of a high-earning spouse might require long work hours and travel, and this can strain a relationship. Different types of problems arise when people are in two-income families. Often, men still handle most financial matters, and this could create problems.

People in Illinois who are in opposite-sex marriages and who work in a field that is dominated by the opposite sex may be at a higher risk of divorce than those who work in fields that are more mixed or dominated by their own sex. This was the conclusion of a study that appeared in the journal "Biology Letters" on Sept. 25.

Researchers found a stronger relationship between potential partners in the workplace and divorce for men than they did for women. They also identified two fields where the risk was greatest, the hotel and restaurant industries, as well as two professions with the lowest divorce rate, farming and librarianship.

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.