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Tips to Survive the Holidays for Divorced Parents Kyung (Kathryn) Dickerson Co-authored by Alan Plevy, Co-founding Principal at SmolenPlevy Divorce is difficult for children and their parents at any time of the year, but it can be particularly challenging during the holidays. There are a number of issues that can arise, including:  coordinating when and where the children are supposed to be,  the gift giving tug-of-war, where the parents try to outdo each other by giving the most expensive present, or try to make life difficult for the other parent by giving particularly annoying gifts, and the termination or modification of established family holiday traditions. The uncertainty and stress of being in a separated family or a divorced family can cause disagreements to quickly escalate into arguments, making this an overwhelming and stressful period for both parents and children. However, there are some things that you can do as a parent to make things easier durin...

What’s Mine Is Mine, What’s Yours Is Yours - Or Maybe Not Fred Silberberg You are going to get married. You have substantial net worth. You have a business that you have built up over the years and it is now doing well. You are excited about your upcoming marriage and you don’t want to do anything that might take the excitement out of the process. Since you already own the business and you already have accumulated your worth, there seems to be nothing to worry about. After all, community property, as you understand it, encompasses that which you acquire during the course of your marriage. You already have the business and the assets going in, so in the off-chance it does not work out you will be okay financially. While it is true that in California assets that are acquired prior to marriage, or that are acquired through a gift or inheritance are separate property - they don’t always remain so. If the business you are operating continues to grow through the marriage, the apprecia...

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When making a  dissipation claim , a spouse needs only to prove that the expenditure was made at or during the time of the marriage breakdown or was spent for a non-marital purpose, (such as significant gifts, hotel rooms, air tickets etc for a mistress,) during the marriage.

Black's Law Dictionary defines  dissipation  as, “ [t]he use of an  asset  for an illegal or inequitable purpose, such as a spouse's use of community  property  for personal benefit when a  divorce  is imminent.

In the simplest form, " dissipation " refers to times when a spouse will conceal or waste  marital  assets in anticipation of a  divorce , but it can be more than that. ... Generally, it means to waste  marital  funds in a  wasteful  and foolish manner; this can occur just before the  divorce  or earlier in the marriage

In a fault-based  divorce , the judge would consider evidence of “marital misconduct” committed by a “guilty spouse” against an “innocent spouse.” ...  Adultery  occurs when a legally married spouse has a sexual relationship with a person who isn't the other spouse.  Illinois  is neither a no-fault nor a fault-based state.

Before the court can divide  assets  in your  divorce , it must first categorize the property you and your spouse own. This is because  Illinois  courts only have authority to divide marital property in  divorce . Any  asset  you or your spouse acquired during the marriage is considered marital property

In order to get a divorce based on no-fault grounds, otherwise known as “irreconcilable differences,” the parties must have been separated for a period of  two years . If the parties agree to the divorce in writing, then only a  six month separation is required.

While that it is true in community property  states  like California, it is not true in  Illinois .  Illinois  is an equitable distribution  state , which means marital property is divided in “just proportions,” not necessarily  50 / 50 .