Elgin Family Law Blog

Whether you and your former spouse cooperated to reach a balance of parental responsibility during your divorce or a court recently issued a joint child custody order, you may not have felt the burden of this arrangement more painfully than now as the holidays approach. However, even during the ordinary days of the year, sharing parenting time can be stressful and frustrating as you and your parenting partner adjust to the changes in your life.

You may be able to take comfort in the studies that show how much children of divorced parents benefit when they have as much access to both parents as possible. To make the most of those benefits, you may have to work hard to see past your own emotions and build a respectful working relationship with your former spouse.

Couples in Illinois who live together before marriage might struggle more and may have a higher likelihood of divorce than those who do not. According to a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, what researchers have called the "premarital cohabitation effect" does not disappear during the marriage.

Earlier research found that couples who lived together before marriage struggled during the marriage, but the recent study's authors said those researchers did not look closely enough at the long term when they said the premarital cohabitation effect vanished. In fact, only in the first year of marriage are couples who did not live together before marriage more likely to get a divorce.

Starting over can be a challenge for anyone ending a marriage in Illinois. However, the difficulties are often greater for older adults. It's an increasingly common occurrence since the divorce rate among adults 50 and over has doubled since the 1990s. Some so-called "gray divorces" do involve second marriages or unions of a short duration. However, it's not uncommon for knots to be untied after many years together. This could mean having to make decisions about jointly owned accounts, investments and savings.

Regardless of the circumstances involved, a later-life divorce may put retirement savings at risk if certain precautions aren't taken. A common recommendation is for divorcing older couples to be cautious with spending, especially with larger investments like a new home. Having copies of tax returns and receipts, insurance documents and bank statements may further minimize unexpected hassles and surprises during the transition back to a single life.

Couples with children who separate need to be aware of custody issues that can arise during divorce proceedings. Divorce in Illinois is a straightforward process; however, custody disputes can make the process take longer. While parents may initially agree on custody arrangements, sometimes they may find that as the divorce proceeds, they change their minds.

There are different types of child custody that need to be considered during any divorce. One parent may have sole physical custody of a child; however, the parents may be ordered to share legal custody of the child. This means that even the non-custodial parent will have a say in how the child is raised, including where they go to school and what religion they are raised in.