Lake County and Cook County Divorce Law Blog

Many Illinois spouses want to try couples counseling before they move forward with a divorce. Marriage counseling can be an effective way to save a relationship, and some couples experience a strengthened bond and renewed appreciation for one another as a result. However, some spouses avoid counseling based on fear that the therapist will suggest that the relationship cannot be saved, paving the way for a high asset divorce. 

The best way to enter couples counseling is by sitting down with the therapist and expressing one's concerns and hopes for how the process will work. If saving the marriage is a top priority, be clear about that from the very first meeting. If moving toward a divorce with dignity and respect for one another is the primary goal, communicate that clearly. 

Many Illinois spouses believe that their social media has nothing to do with their divorce. In reality, however, Facebook and other social media sites are becoming a commonly tapped source of information for divorce attorneys. Even property division can be directly impacted by Facebook. 

Perhaps the biggest way that Facebook factors into divorce is related to infidelity. Many affairs begin with a simple message to an old flame, or someone who played a role in one's past. Facebook offers the chance to gain a peek into the lives of people who would otherwise be firmly part of one's past. For far too many people, the ability to reach out and reconnect is just too tempting to ignore. An affair is often the end result, even if that was never the intent. 

No matter how many of your friends have gone through a divorce, their tales of woe did not begin to prepare you for your own divorce. It is one thing to watch it happen to a friend's marriage or to a character on TV, but when it is happening to you, you can't know what to expect.

This is not only true during the emotional upheaval of the divorce, but you may be concerned that you will meet the same confusing uncertainty when things are finalized and you are on your own. You may have special concerns about how to get yourself financially on track after your divorce. Fortunately, you can take some steps to try to improve the chances of having a solid financial post-divorce future.

The typical Illinois couple is waiting longer to get married. As a result, each individual has likely become established in a profession and begun to accumulate assets. In some instances, one or both individuals have already experienced another serious relationship and may also bring children into the new marriage. All of this adds up to the reality that each individual may have assets that should be treated as separate property rather than marital assets when it comes to property division in case of death or divorce.

One way to address these issues is through the use of a postnuptial agreement. This agreement, which is executed after the marriage has taken place, addresses that fact that there are nonmarital assets that should be treated in a manner other than what the state may deem appropriate. For example, although the current family home is occupied by both husband and wife, it may have been owned by one of the individuals prior to the marriage. If this individual has a child, he or she may prefer that the home pass to the child rather than the current spouse.