Part of any attorney’s job is educating his or her client about the law. When clients first retain an attorney for any legal matter, they often have misconceptions about the court system and legal process. If a lawyer allows his or her client to hold onto these misconceptions and does not correct them, the client may end up feeling frustrated and may lose confidence in his or her attorney. Divorce and family law are no different. Many clients who retain an attorney have had a friend or family member who experienced a divorce and who shared with the client stories about the process. This, in turn, results in clients who have false beliefs and expectations about the divorce process. The following includes some of the most common misconceptions about divorce in Illinois:

• “We’ll split everything 50/50.” Clients mistakenly believe that all of the property they own with their ex-spouse at the time of the divorce is split evenly between them. The truth, however, is more nuanced. Property division requires a court to identify “marital assets” – those possessions and things the spouses acquired during the course of the marriage – and then divide those marital assets in a fair and equitable manner. In general, property acquired before the marriage or after the divorce is filed is not considered marital property but instead belongs to the person who acquired it.

• “The Court is Going to Assume the Mother (or Father) is the Better Parent, So Why Fight for Primary Placement?” While courts may have had the opinion that one parent was most often better than the other parent, courts are no longer permitted to “presume” the child should go with the mother or father just because he or she is the child’s mother or father. Instead, courts will look at the entire situation and determine which primary placement – mother or father – is in the child’s best interests. The parties can also agree as to which parent should receive primary placement of the child.

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No one will argue with the assertion that divorce is a stressful time. Part of what makes the process so nerve-wracking is that you often have little concrete evidence that your ex-spouse is treating you fairly and respecting the rules of the court. And while there are some divorcing spouses who flagrantly ignore court orders and clearly indicate they have no desire of following the law, it is more common for ex-spouses to attempt to covertly manipulate the process so as to disadvantage the other spouse. One popular means by which one ex-spouse attempts to get an advantage over the other spouse is through “hiding marital assets” he or she may have in his or her possession. By either failing to list certain property on required disclosures or by affirmatively representing to the court and to you that he or she no longer has certain valuable property, the ex-spouse is hoping to gain a larger share of the marital assets when they are divided.

How Can I Tell if My Ex Is Hiding Assets?

It can be difficult to know if your ex is hiding assets or not. Some of the more common “red flags” that assets are being hidden include:

There has been an increasing push for child custody laws across the country to be reformed so as to ensure children get equal time with both parents. This movement was in part supported by recent studies indicating children do best in divorced households where they spend time living with both of their parents.

There are two types of custody: joint and sole custody. Sole custody means only one parent makes all of the decisions related to the child. Joint custody on the other hand is granted only if both parents can show they have the ability to cooperate consistently on issues that directly affect the child. Typically speaking, one parent is labeled as the custodial parent and they are the one with whom the child primarily resides.

Custody Reform

As annoying as growing up in a family full of siblings can be, people with good marriages may just owe their brothers and sisters a thank you. A sociology study published by researchers at the Ohio State University has found that there may be a link between having more siblings and having marriage that is less likely to end in divorce.

In order to come to this conclusion, the researchers used data from the General Social Survey, which records information based on interviews with 57,000 U.S. adults. The researchers examined several generations, using study data from 1972 to 2012.

The Study's Findings

There has been an increasing push for child custody laws across the country to be reformed so as to ensure children get equal time with both parents. This movement was in part supported by recent studies indicating children do best in divorced households where they spend time living with both of their parents.

There are two types of custody: joint and sole custody. Sole custody means only one parent makes all of the decisions related to the child. Joint custody, on the other hand, is granted only if both parents can show they have the ability to cooperate consistently on issues that directly affect the child. Typically speaking, one parent is labeled as the custodial parent and they are the one with whom the child primarily resides.

Custody Reform