Money and financial disagreements are common causes of marital discord. It is natural for these disagreements to carry over even once a divorce is inevitable. However, until the divorce decree is final, both spouses must refrain from frivolous spending that only benefits themselves and negatively impacts the joint marital assets that are to be equitably divided. You may have found out that your spouse bought an expensive new car or took a trip with the person they have been having an extramarital affair with. This type of wasteful spending is known as dissipation, and it can have repercussions during the divorce process.

Impact of Dissipation on a Divorce in Illinois

For wasteful spending to be considered dissipation, it must have occurred after the marriage has undergone an “irretrievable breakdown.” Illinois law limits claims to spending which occurred five years before the claim is made and three years from when the other spouse found out about the spending.

Dissipation occurs when money is used or spent in a way that only benefits one of the spouses. If it is a purchase that you disagree with but which is generally for the benefit of the family, it is unlikely to be ruled as dissipation of marital assets. Behaviors that can qualify as dissipation include:

During a divorce involving minor children, significant decisions always surround the division of rights and responsibilities of each of the parents in the children’s lives. Illinois law requires a comprehensive parenting plan during a divorce to clearly describe the detailed responsibilities of each parent. An experienced attorney can help you negotiate a parenting plan that serves your children's best interests while also meeting your needs.

Components of a Parenting Plan

Here are components that should be included in a parenting plan. While the first two are the most important, all parts of the plan are required by law and can help remove subjectivity over future decisions the parents may face.

• Parenting time schedule – This describes how the children’s time with each parent will be divided and the specific plan for days or weeks spent at each home.

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Any parent can tell you that having a child dramatically increases your monthly expenses. Housing costs, childcare expenses, tuition, and extracurricular fees are just some of the child-related expenses many parents contend with. It is even harder to cover these costs when you are a single parent. Consequently, financial assistance in the form of child support payments is a crucial necessity for unmarried and divorced parents. However, getting the child support you need can be difficult when the child’s father denies his biological relationship with the child.

What Happens if the Father Says He is Not the Father

Illinois law presumes that, if a woman gives birth, her husband is the baby’s father. However, there is no legal presumption of paternity if the mother is unmarried. Furthermore, relationships are complicated and marital infidelity does sometimes occur. Therefore, there are cases where a woman’s husband is not her child’s biological father. If you are unsure about who your child’s father is or your child’s father is denying his paternity, it is important to understand how this can impact child support.

You Must Establish Paternity to Receive Child Support

Some parents assume that an informal child support agreement will be adequate. Unfortunately, if you do not get an official child support order from the court, there is nothing that the court can do if the parent stops making child support payments.

A lot of people go through life within a perpetually confused or ambivalent state because things aren’t so bad. In this state of confusion, they cannot be asked to make a determination, so they will rationalize remaining with their partner, waiting around for something to occur that will make it clearer as to if they ought to keep the marriage together or not.

For other people, a fear of the unknown is merely too daunting; therefore, they become numb or make themselves busy to make life with their spouse bearable (for instance, by alcohol/drug addiction, workaholism, and excessive spending). In a few instances, this fear of leaving isn’t about unknown circumstances, instead, it’s the known which paralyzes them.

If you are tired of sacrificing your happiness and are ready to move ahead with your divorce, contact our Chicago divorce attorney office at (312) 884-1222 for a free consultation.

What should occur at the initial meeting?

It’ll depend upon what is happening within the divorce case. In a few cases, divorce papers already have been filed, whereas in additional cases, the partners already have discussed divorce and pledged to utilize a collaborative divorce process, instead of all out ‘litigation’ (which means to fight it out in court). Lastly, a few clients are faced with an emergency - their partner might be draining the bank account, anticipating the divorce, or they might be the victim of domestic abuse and have to have instant protection from the court. The circumstances of the client is going to dictate what’s discussed and which actions are taken as a consequence of the initial meeting.

Though typically, a client walks in with general questions in regard to a recently-filed or an impending divorce, and the majority of attorneys will assess the various processes of divorce which are available (litigation, mediation, and collaborative law) and explain the steps for each.