Best Chicago Divorce Law Firm

Best Chicago Divorce Law Firm

Divorce combines a complicated legal process and an emotional rollercoaster that can be difficult to reconcile. The marriage that you’ve poured considerable effort and care into is coming to an end, but in the process, you have a lot of work to do. Because your divorce will directly affect your parental and financial rights, the surest path forward is with the best Chicago divorce law firm in your corner. 

Negotiating Your Divorce Terms

The legal crux of every divorce involves negotiating the basic terms, which do not vary from couple to couple, including (as applicable):

• Parental responsibilities, including both decision-making and parenting time (what you may think of as your child custody arrangements)
• Child support 
• Maintenance, which is also known as alimony or spousal support
• The division of your marital property
• The determination of your non-marital property
• Appraisals or valuations of properties and businesses
• Evaluation of retirement and investment accounts marital versus non-marital portions

Parental Responsibilities

Parental responsibilities in Illinois refer to the responsibility of making important decisions on behalf of your shared kids and the allocation of parenting time for each parent. The kinds of decisions involved include:

• Decisions about your children’s schooling and education
• Decisions about your children’s healthcare needs
• Decisions about your children’s extracurricular activities
• Decisions about your children’s religious education

You and your ex can share this decision-making responsibility between yourselves, one of you can take it on, or you can divide the responsibility according to the kind of decision being made. 

Parenting Time

Parenting time determines how you and your ex will share your time with your children. If you are able to negotiate the terms between yourselves, your parenting time schedule can be as unique as your family. If not, however, you can expect the court to provide you with input – oftentimes considering the input of a court-appointed representative for the children.

Child Support

Parents are required by law to support their children financially, and child support helps to ensure that each parent’s contributions are commensurate with his or her income and contributions to child-related expenses and obligations. State guidelines determine how child support is calculated in any given case, but a couple of the many the factors with the most weight include the number of overnights each of you has with the children and each parent’s income as it is now an income shared model in calculating child support. 

The Division of Marital Property

Those assets that you and your spouse acquired together as a married couple, or acquired/contributed to during the course of the marriage, are seen as marital property in the eyes of the law. And because Illinois is an equitable distribution state, these assets must be divided fairly (in relation to wide-ranging factors) and equitably between you upon divorce. 

Maintenance/Alimony

Maintenance or alimony, which is also known as spousal support, is set forth by Illinois statutes and is a calculation taking income, needs, and the duration of the marriage into consideration (among other factors).

Turn to the Best Chicago Divorce Law Firm for the Help You Need

Because your divorce determines your parental and financial rights moving forward, you need the best Chicago divorce law firm in your corner, and WARD FAMILY LAW fits the bill. Our trusted divorce attorneys are on your side and here to help, so please don’t wait to contact us for more information today.