Any divorce involving children is exceedingly challenging and emotionally charged, but when a divorce involves disabled or special needs children, the stakes become much higher. The term the “best interests of the child” – one which is used in Illinois – becomes all the more paramount. As such, the approach to a divorce proceeding requires a more nuanced and open-minded touch because the needs of a disabled child will change the calculus and focus of the judge. There are four critical issues that must be addressed with when a divorce involves children with disabilities.

Critical Issues to Consider

The first issue that must be addressed involves visitation agreements and the transition between homes. Typically, in situations involving joint custody, parents alternate weekends or have visits scattered throughout the week. In the case of children with disabilities this may not be the appropriate approach depending on their physical and mental limitations. Changes to a daily routine can be exceedingly problematic for children with mental disabilities because it can be very disruptive and stressful. For example, even something as minute as a different lunch time or babysitter can be very disruptive to a child with autism or similar conditions.

Dealing with the marital home is one of the biggest pieces of the property division process. It is likely a significant portion of the marriage's assets; it is a complicated, unique piece of property that can be tough to price; and it often comes with a lot of emotional investment on both sides. Many spouses fight tooth and nail to keep their home in the divorce, but a report by Forbes highlights the fact that this is not always a good idea. While there may be legitimate reasons to fight for the marital home, people should go in with their eyes open about the true costs.

Reasons to Keep the Marital Home

Most people who want to keep the home do it for at least one of two reasons. First, they are worried about the kids. Divorce can be difficult for children, and the added stress of moving to a new, likely smaller, home and maybe even a new school can make it harder on them. Conscientious parents often fight to keep the house, so that they do not disrupt the kids’ lives more than necessary. Second, the pure emotional value of the home makes people want to keep it. Many people have grown attached to their houses. They made lives in them, raised families in them, and maybe even put work or money into rebuilding or remodeling them. This is a difficult issue. On the one hand, these are reasonable, valid feelings to have, and if the home is that important, it may make sense to fight for it. On the other hand, these emotional issues often blind people to the cost of keeping the home.

 Divorces, no matter the income level, can become very ugly very quickly. This is especially true for high value or high asset divorces in part because there is more room for mistakes. When a couple is attempting to divest various assets and properties, the more on the list, the greater the confusion, tension, and risk.

Common Mistakes

The first and most common mistake made by couples engaged in such a divorce is failing to properly account for all of their assets and liabilities. It is extremely important you take the time to list all of your assets and liabilities. While this may be a time consuming process, it will benefit you during the divorce proceedings. This way, you can account for all of the assets to which you may be entitled and you can account for any debts that may exist.

With the recent Supreme Court decision upholding vital components of the president’s Affordable Care Act, it is timely to review how health insurance coverage factors into divorces.

The Illinois Spousal Continuation Law is the state statute designed to protect a spouse and dependent children who lose group health insurance coverage due to death or retirement of the employee, or divorce from the employee, through whom they received coverage (i.e. the other spouse). It applies to Illinois group insurance and accident health plans offered to employees regardless of the size and to fully insured Illinois HMOs. It, however, does not apply to those who are self-insured employers or are part of self-insured health and welfare benefit plans (i.e. union plans). The Act is triggered when the individual holding the insurance divorces his/her partner, but the partner and dependent children were covered by the insurance plan prior to the petition for a divorce being filed.

Preserving Coverage

Divorce is the last thing a newlywed couple wants to consider in regards to their future. Yet sadly, not every couple remains happy throughout the course of their marriage. Marriages can result in separation, divorce, and eventually remarriage. While current statistics indicate that the remarriage rate has decreased 40 percent over the past 20 years, there are individuals who continue to embrace the opportunity to remarry. And surprisingly, when divorcees remarry, the new spouse may be required to contribute to child support payments.

Traditionally, new spouses were not considered when calculating child support payments because stepparents do not have a legal obligation to support their stepchildren. However, the law on this issue progressed with the Illinois Appellate Court decision. In the Marriage of Drysch, it was decided that "a trial court may equitably consider the income of a parent's current spouse in determining an appropriate award of child support."

Specifically, the court decided “it was appropriate to consider all of the financial resources available to both parents in determining whether they could meet their individual financial needs and still comply with the court's order for contribution towards their child’s educational expenses.” Hence, this decision “opened the door to consider a new spouse's income when calculating the basic child support obligation.” Courts are still required to “consider both the guidelines and any other factors that might support a potential deviation from guidelines.” These include: