If you are planning to divorce, you should do everything possible to spare yourself the potential strife and conflict that many people encounter during this process. The same problems that have caused you to decide to end the marriage-animosity, disagreements, difficulty communicating-can easily be magnified by the pressure of a divorce. You should retain an attorney who can help you avoid the financial and emotional costs of a drawn-out contested divorce. You want someone representing you that is qualified and devoted to your betterment; that is what you gain at our firm.
A divorce settlement may include some form of spousal maintenance or alimony. This is a payment that is given to one of the spouses that may be deemed a dependent by the court. The dependent spouse could have become reliant on the other while they remained at home with the kids or could have grown accustomed to a lifestyle. A couple may be able to come to a decision on the terms of their alimony or the court will make a ruling based on a number of factors.
Divorces between parents can be especially difficult, and it is important to have an attorney to defend your position. Both parents usually feel very strongly about preserving their relationship with the children, but it is vital to shield them from the negative emotional impact of a drawn-out legal conflict. The court will rule in favor of a plan that serves the best interests of the children. Â Child “custody” is now a determination of allocating parenting time and decision-making.
Parents are obligated to provide financial support for their minor children, oftentimes in the form of child support and/or contribution to child-related expenses. WARD FAMILY LAW, LLC, works closely with clients at the onset of their case to obtain the full financial disclosure of both parties to be able to properly and accurately calculate child support under the guidelines provided by Illinois law.
If your former spouse is refusing to comply with a court order, you can take legal action to enforce your rights. This is also true when the other parent is violating the custody or visitation agreement. If you bring the matter to a judge, the other party could be held in contempt of court and penalized.
If you are the victim of domestic violence, you can get compassionate support at our firm. We may be able to assist you with seeking a protective order from the court in conjunction with the filing a petition for dissolution of marriage.
State divorce law seeks to divide marital property fairly, rather than evenly. Because there may be a large disparity of income between you and your former spouse, as well as a substantial difference in individually owned assets and cost of living, the court may assign more of the marital property to one party than the other. You can influence the outcome by retaining an effective lawyer.
Family relationships are of vital importance in our society, and the legal system takes a strong interest in protecting the stability of families in the community. Having a family lawyer to advise you and provide representation can make a significant difference in the outcome of any type of dispute.
The term “fathers’ rights” refers to the innate rights that every father has to develop and maintain a relationship with his children.
Divorcing couples who are capable of constructive and respectful communication will often benefit from retaining an attorney who is trained in mediation to help them resolve any outstanding issues. A mediator will not represent either person but will act as a third party, neutral in every discussion.
You can petition the court to modify your final decree of divorce or other court order when some aspect of the settlement is no longer workable for you. Whether you need to increase or decrease the amount of alimony or child support, or if you are seeking to alter the custody agreement, you should seek the counsel of a lawyer who can help you make your request successful.
The parent who has primary custody of the children cannot usually move a great distance or out of state without approval from the other parent or a court order. If you need to move for work, to be closer to family, or for any other reason, the court will have to grant permission to do so. The non-custodial parent can attempt to block the move if it is not in the children’s best interests.
Some couples are afraid to discuss prenuptial agreements because they involve the possibility of divorce. Divorce is a reality, but establishing a premarital agreement does not necessitate a future separation. In fact, prenuptial agreements can be a growing experience for couples. Prenuptial agreements are designed to protect the financial assets of each spouse so that, in the event of a divorce, the couple will not have to deal with a complicated asset division dispute.
Illinois is an equitable distribution state, seeking to divide marital property fairly, rather than evenly. Because there may be a large disparity of income between you and your former spouse, as well as a substantial difference in individually owned assets and cost of living, the court may assign more of the marital property to one party than the other. You can influence the outcome by retaining an effective lawyer.
If you feel threatened by your spouse or former spouse, you can go to court and request that the judge issues a protective order. The other party will be prohibited by law from harassing or abusing you, and you will have the safety and peace of mind you deserve.
It is to your advantage to get an uncontested divorce if at all possible. In an uncontested divorce, both parties are in agreement about all the issues involved, including custody, division of property, and spousal support.
The first step to take when filing for divorce is to retain the services of a professional. If your divorce is contested or uncontested there will be many important distinctions to be made and legal counsel is a key component in that process.
It was quick and easy and those are two words I did not think I would say about my divorce. We are still friendly too. We just were not meant to be together anymore. Ward Family Law made sure to draft the documents with the terms that we agreed on which kept us on good terms and there was no fighting. I cannot recommend them enough if you are looking for a clean, honest, quick, easy divorce.
We were set to get married in a little over a month and my family insisted on a premarital agreement. On my very first call Jennifer explained the entire process and timing. They hit the ground running and got everything completed and signed well before our wedding date. That made everything much less stressful so I thank them so much for their professionalism and timeliness.
Our plan was to get married after the baby was born and then a year later we still were not married and we were going our separate ways. I had no idea that the birth certificate alone did not make me the legal parent of our baby in Illinois. Luckily, Ward Family Law handles these cases and established paternity through a DNA test and submitted the results to the court. We now have an agreement on time with our kids and support too.
Cannot recommend Jennifer, Emily and the entire team at Ward Family Law enough. If you have a divorce, custody or other family law matter then stop looking. They will have your back until the end. While my case was messy, they kept it on track and brought it through to the end. It was the best that I could have hoped for.
We already split up all our accounts and had no debt. We just needed the paperwork for the divorce. We started it on our own and then realized just how complicated it all was and needed to make sure it would get accepted by the divorce court. In came Jennifer and she explained the "friendly" divorce process that they oftentimes do and that allowed us to get it all done on our terms and fast.
When our child graduated high school I needed a lawyer to file papers to stop my child support payments and to figure out how we were going to pay for college. Jennifer at Ward Family Law got everything together and filed with the court. From start to finish it was smooth and by filing at the right time my child support payments did not continue for months and months. That saved me so much money - enough to cover the retainer in the first place. Well worth it to do it right
My kid was graduating high school and I needed to end my child support obligation and also needed to get money for college costs and expenses. While these are two different things, the attorneys at Ward Family Law handled the court filings and had the right order entered by the Judge terminating my child support obligation and then also got a contribution order entered for college costs and expenses. What a relief and I cannot say enough good things about the family law team.
I wanted a legal team that could do it all since I didn't know which way it would go. I was unsure about mediation, settlement, or litigation and my research showed that they could do it all. They did. Mediation was guided by my attorney, Jennifer, at Ward Family Law and although it was not a great outcome it was because the other side would not compromise. No problem. Jennifer transitioned the case to litigation to push for what I knew was right and what I knew I needed to fight for. We fought the good fight for my kids…
I am already a very anxious person. Ward Family Law walked me through the process and was with me every step of the way. Emily is patient and communicative. She would call or email me back the same day and made sure I was comfortable. The divorce was a difficult time but she made it so much better and I couldn't be happier about the outcome.
We were getting married in a month and needed to get our premarital agreement done quickly but also done right. Ward Family Law got us a list of talking points for me and my fiance to figure out what we wanted included and they walked me through the financial disclosures and other things that have to get done to make sure the premarital agreement is valid. Otherwise, what is the point, right? They did the draft of the premarital agreement and since we had talked through it with their guidance prior it made the entire process so easy. Highly recommend!!
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