Retirement is usually a lifelong endeavor; people work for decades, looking forward to the time when they can finally quit their job and pursue a life of travel and hobbies. The prospect of divorce can be especially concerning for adults who are nearing retirement age because it begs a host of difficult questions: How much of my retirement will I lose? What kind of home can I afford to live in on my own? Will I be able to retire at all?

The answers to these questions vary for every divorcing spouse, but rest assured that whatever complications your case may present, having an experienced attorney on your side will result in a better outcome than if you decide to represent yourself.

How Are Retirement Plans Treated in an Illinois Divorce?

In addition to the fact that liquid assets and real estate must be divided, retirement plans must also be included as part of the divisible marital estate (unless they are protected by a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement). However, spouses can divide their entire marital estate however they want - as long as both spouses agree. This means that, while you can divide your retirement accounts, you do not necessarily have to.

The financial stresses of getting divorced are usually centered around property division, child support, and alimony. One other important part of divorce that should not be overlooked is health insurance coverage and what happens to a spouse who is covered by their partner’s insurance after the divorce is finalized.

Health insurance is vital, especially as the cost of medical care continues to rise. If you are considering divorce, you need to prepare yourself for the future by understanding your options regarding health insurance and whether you need to take steps now to find alternative coverage.

Spousal Health Insurance After Divorce

Insurance companies and employers allow couples to remain on each other’s insurance policies, even after divorce, because of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). This allows you to buy the same insurance coverage through the same company that insured you while you were married. Your spouse will still have to be insured at the time of the divorce, and they must notify their employer after the divorce is finalized so the insurance company can send you the information you need to manage your coverage. It is essential to manage insurance matters in a timely and detail-oriented manner because small mistakes can leave you without coverage.

You may have been surprised when your spouse served you with divorce papers, but now it is time to take action. Regardless of how you feel about divorce - whether you want it or not - the way you respond to the initial divorce papers will have a major impact on how the rest of the process goes for you. Here are some steps to take if you need to respond to divorce papers in Illinois.

Take a Moment to Think it Through

It can be tempting to react right away to bad news by getting angry, calling your spouse, or responding to the divorce papers with hostile demands. Even if you think your spouse has been totally unreasonable, take a moment to think through the situation before you do anything else. Do not contact your spouse. Do not post about the situation on social media. Do not talk to your kids about it. It is essential to keep a level head and act from a place of rationality.

Find Out When You Need to Respond

The divorce papers will have a date on which you need to respond to the initial filing. This is usually 30 days from your receipt of the papers. You may choose not to respond, but that will not stop the divorce from going through; instead, without a response from you, your spouse will likely be granted the things they are asking for.

When a couple decides to create a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, they usually have questions about what, exactly, the agreement can include. Can they set limits on alimony? What about child support? Can parents agree to split custody of the kids 50/50 now, while they get along well and are not in a heated divorce?

Enforceability is perhaps the most important part of a prenuptial agreement because if a contract is not enforceable, it is a waste of time and money, and a couple ends up fighting over the issues they hoped to protect themselves and each other from. To make sure your prenuptial agreement is enforceable, read this blog about what a prenuptial agreement can address, and then contact an Illinois premarital agreement attorney who can help you create your own.

What Issues Can a Prenup Cover in Illinois?

Perhaps the easiest way to understand what a prenuptial agreement can cover is first to examine what it cannot. Anything related to a child of the marriage - such as child support, parental responsibilities, or parenting time - cannot be addressed. This is because these are separate areas of Illinois law that can only be decided by a family law court at the time a couple legally separates or divorces.

A divorce is often a time of serious contention between parents of underage children. Despite the parents’ history of disagreements and distrust, they must find a way to work together to co-parent their children after the divorce. Sometimes, parents can do this. Other times, it is simply not possible.

When parents cannot cooperate and negotiate a parenting plan themselves, a judge will intervene and make decisions for them. Parents may be understandably wary that a judge, who has no previous history with the family and is encountering each parent’s narrative for the first time, will be able to make decisions that are truly in a child’s best interests. In situations like this, it is important to understand the criteria Illinois judges are required to use as they collect information about families and try to determine an optimal outcome.

Does a Judge Have Full Discretion in Custody Cases?

If parents cannot create a parenting plan and the matter comes before a judge, the judge is the person with final say over the outcome of the case. Whether parents agree with a judge’s decisions or not, court-ordered parenting plans are legally binding. Unless a parent believes a judge misapplied the law or seriously misunderstood the facts, a decision cannot be appealed.