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Post-Divorce Enforcement – What You Need to Know
When a divorce is finalized, both parties must adhere to the divorce order that has been agreed upon. Divorce orders typically outline certain responsibilities for both parties, such as child custody and alimony obligations, and ignoring or neglecting these responsibilities can lead to serious consequences. Repeated violations of a divorce order can result in the need for post-divorce enforcement.
An experienced Illinois post-divorce enforcement attorney can review your case and give you an idea of your next steps if your ex is violating a divorce order.
What Counts as Violating a Divorce Order?
Divorce orders include important agreements about issues like visitation (parenting time), decision-making authority (custody), child support, and alimony payments. Both ex-spouses must uphold their end of the agreement after a divorce, as divorce orders are legally binding.
However, you may find that your ex violates your divorce order. This may be done intentionally, such as when your ex does not agree with an arrangement like child support and refuses to pay, or it may be done by accident, such as when your ex forgets to pick up shared children from school at a certain time.
My Ex Is Stalking Me During Our Divorce - What Do I Do?
As you start the process of divorce from your ex, there is a chance that the stress of the situation can bring out the worst behaviors in your former partner. Additionally, if there has been a history of domestic violence in your marriage, you may be at risk of being stalked or threatened by your ex during a divorce.
Being a victim of stalking can be scary, and it is important to speak to a knowledgeable Illinois order of protection lawyer to understand how you can protect yourself from stalking behavior during your divorce.
Stalking During Divorce
Illinois law defines stalking as repeated behaviors that are directed at a specific person in order to harass, cause fear, or otherwise threaten that person. Stalking may happen during a divorce if there is a history of domestic violence, if one party feels particularly enraged or angered about the situation, or if one party is having trouble letting go of his or her ex.
What Can I Do if My Ex Refuses to Pay Alimony?
Alimony payments, also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance payments in Illinois, refer to payments made from one ex-spouse to another after a divorce is finalized. Alimony payments are court-ordered, and your ex failing or refusing to make his alimony payments can come with serious legal consequences.
If you are struggling to get your ex-spouse to pay alimony, you will need the assistance of an Illinois spousal maintenance lawyer to explore your enforcement options and help you get the payments you need.
Can I Go to Court to Enforce Alimony?
While you may be tempted to go to court immediately to force your ex to pay, your first step should be a conversation with your former spouse whenever possible. This can let you know if your ex has truly fallen on hard times and needs an adjustment to the payment schedule, or if he is refusing to pay alimony willfully. Consult your lawyer before having this conversation and try to get your ex’s response in writing.
What Is Abuse of Allocated Parenting Time in Illinois?
Abuse of allocated parenting time occurs when one parent interferes with the other parent’s designated time with a shared child. This may be done to prevent the other parent from gaining access to the shared child, or it may be done because one parent is angry at the actions of the other.
Regardless of how it occurs, abusing and interfering with allocated parenting time can have serious consequences. If this occurs in your child custody situation, you will need the assistance of a skilled Illinois child custody lawyer to help you ensure your parenting time is shared according to your divorce agreement.
Understanding Abuse of Allocated Parenting Time
Illinois takes child custody issues seriously, and abusing allocated parenting time can result in both criminal and civil legal issues. In general, abuse of allocated parenting time occurs when one parent does not uphold or adhere to the child custody arrangements that were agreed upon when a divorce was finalized.
What to Know About Illinois Stepchild Adoption
Adopting your stepchild in Illinois can be a joyful occasion, but the process of achieving this may be complicated. The other biological parent of your stepchild must terminate his or her rights before an adoption is allowed to proceed, and this can create issues if a biological parent refuses. Additionally, potential stepparents need to meet certain qualifications before they are eligible to complete the adoption process.
An experienced Illinois stepchild adoption attorney can answer your questions about this process.
Who Qualifies for Illinois Stepchild Adoption?
Stepchild adoption can be a complicated process, and it is important to understand the steps of this process in addition to what qualifies someone to complete a stepchild adoption. In general, the following qualifications must be met before a stepparent is able to legally adopt a stepchild.
- The stepparent must be legally married to the child’s biological parent; a boyfriend or girlfriend cannot legally adopt a stepchild.
Can My Social Media Accounts Be Used in a Divorce?
In today’s world, many people use social media to update their families and friends on their lives, including updating their relationship status. However, when you put too much personal information on your social media accounts, including details about your divorce or criticisms of your ex, it might affect your divorce.
A skilled Illinois divorce lawyer will help you further understand the impact of social media on your divorce.
Will My Ex Use My Social Media Accounts as Evidence?
While there is no guarantee that your ex will use your social media accounts as evidence during your divorce, it is always a good idea to keep this potential in mind. If your ex and his or her legal counsel scour your social media pages for evidence, you will want to ensure that you are not posting anything that could potentially give you issues further along in your divorce case.
During your divorce, you should refrain from doing the following on social media:
Is Illinois Legal Separation the Same as Divorce?
Legal separations can be confusing because many people are not as familiar with legal separations as they are with divorce. In Illinois, legal separation is a separate legal process from divorce, and it is typically used by couples who wish to be separated but are not ready to fully end their marriage with a divorce.
An experienced Illinois legal separation lawyer can help you determine if this is the right choice for you.
What Is Legal Separation?
Legal separation is an agreement between two spouses that is court-approved and allows the couple to live separately both physically and financially while still legally being married. Many couples who choose a legal separation over divorce select this option to give themselves space from their spouse and to allow for personal growth and counseling.
With legal separation, there is generally a hope that reconciliation is possible and that the couple will not need to officially end their marriage with a divorce.
Do I Need a Lawyer for an Illinois Adoption?
Adoption is a rewarding process that helps to bring families together, though navigating the legal complexities and requirements of adoption in Illinois can be overwhelming. You will generally need a lawyer to help you with an Illinois adoption, especially in more complex cases where you are adopting a child and biological parent rights need to be terminated, or in the case of agency adoptions.
A skilled Illinois adoption attorney can help guide you through all of the steps necessary to complete your adoption and provide knowledgeable counsel during this process.
Types of Adoption in Illinois
There are a few different types of adoption in Illinois that you may be pursuing. It is important to be familiar with these types as you start the adoption process and seek out a lawyer to help you with finalizing your adoption.
How Do I Make a Good Impression in Divorce Court?
It is no surprise that most divorces are accompanied by high emotions. Contentious divorces, complete with arguments and name-calling, are difficult to navigate, but the last thing you want to do is take this behavior with you into divorce court as you present your case for divorce before a judge.
Working with a dedicated mediator and attempting to settle out of court is recommended, though if you do need to attend divorce court, it is important to be on your best behavior. Make sure you also have the counsel of an experienced Illinois divorce attorney to guide you through this process.
How to Act During Divorce Court
As you attend divorce court, it is important to know how to behave and make a good impression. This advice can help strengthen your case and ensure you do not get on the court’s bad side.
Tips for making a good impression in divorce court include the following:
When Should I Consider a Divorce?
Figuring out if it is time to end your marriage is a challenging process, though sometimes a divorce is the best step for all parties involved. It can be hard to file for a divorce, as this may feel like giving up to some, but pursuing a divorce from your spouse might be just the thing you need to move on to a more peaceful time in your life.
A knowledgeable Illinois divorce lawyer is essential to understanding your legal options and navigating your way through the divorce process.
Considering Divorce in Illinois
As you consider divorce in Illinois, it may be obvious that your marriage is not working, such as with cases of abandonment by one spouse, domestic violence, or substance abuse issues that affect the marriage. However, there may also be more subtle signs that indicate you and your partner would be better separated.
Signs that you and your partner may want to consider divorce include:
- Neither you nor your partner are invested in your marriage
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