After your divorce is finalized, you may be looking for a fresh start, perhaps in the form of a change of scenery. However, if you share children with your ex, relocating after your divorce is not as simple as picking a spot on the map. You should think carefully about whether the move is in your children’s best interests, and even if you decide that relocation is the right decision, there are important procedures you must follow to ensure your relocation is legal.

Possible Reasons for Relocation

Moving with your children after a divorce is a major decision that affects your entire family. However, there are situations in which it may make sense. For example, relocation can be a good decision if:

• The move allows you to better provide for your children. You may have a good case for relocation if you are moving to accept a job offer that advances your career and increases your income, or to pursue higher education that increases your job opportunities.
• The move allows you or your children to pursue an important opportunity. If the reason for your move is directly related to your children, perhaps to allow them to attend a better school or participate in a cherished extracurricular activity, you may have a good case that the move is in your children’s best interests.
• The move brings you closer to extended family. Relocating closer to your family not only gives your children the opportunity to build stronger relationships with them, but may also give you access to a better support system that can assist in the raising of your children.
• Your children are able to maintain their relationship with the other parent. Presuming that your ex is a fit parent, it is important that your relocation does not damage your children’s relationship with him or her. If you choose to move, you should work with your ex to update your parenting plan and arrange for regular travel so that your kids can still spend time with both of you.

Obtaining Approval for Relocation in Illinois

If you plan to move with your child out of state or at least 25 from your current home (50 miles, if you already live outside of the immediate Chicago area), you will likely need to obtain legal approval to do so. First, you must provide reasonable written notice to the other parent, usually at least 60 days before the move. From there, the best-case scenario is that your ex consents to the relocation and is willing to work with you on an updated parenting plan. However, if your ex does not consent, you will need to file a petition for relocation and demonstrate to the court that the move is in your children’s best interests.

More and more couples are getting divorced later in life. Some attribute this shift to an increase in female independence in modern relationships. Since women are no longer solely dependent on their husbands, they often feel more free to divorce their spouse if they are unhappy in their marriage. Others believe that our longer lifespans are contributing to these late-life decisions. With people living 90+ years, being married to the same person for that amount of time may not be in the cards for every couple. Known as gray divorce, getting divorced after the age of 50 brings on its own unique challenges, making it critical to hire a divorce attorney who can help you avoid making the following mistakes.

Mistake #1: Not Taking Note of Your Assets

Rarely do both spouses have an equal hand in managing the household finances. Over time, particular chores get assigned to each spouse and paying bills or managing accounts is often one of these. If you are the spouse who took on other responsibilities throughout your marriage, it is important to do your own inventory of your assets and debts. In some cases, divorcing spouses may attempt to conceal assets during the divorce to keep them for themselves. This is especially true for couples who have been married longer and have more savings and debts collected. 

Mistake #2: Forgetting the Taxes

Almost every decision that you make in your divorce will entail a transfer of assets or finances from one spouse to the other. Maybe you decided to keep the family home or are receiving child support or alimony. Whatever decisions you make in the process will come with their own taxes. You should look into the tax implications of each decision and select the one that makes the most sense. Should you pay your alimony in a lump sum or make monthly payments? Is keeping or selling your house the best idea? Your attorney will be able to guide you through these determinations and lead you to a reputable tax advisor when necessary.

College is undoubtedly one of the most expensive investments that you will ever make. As college and university tuition prices continue to rise, it may seem impossible to help pay for your child’s tuition. When couples decide to have kids, oftentimes they will create a separate savings account that will be used towards their children’s tuition. However, the steady increase of tuition costs and the day-to-day costs of raising a child can leave these accounts inadequate to cover the child’s costs as they settle on which college or university to attend. 

For divorcing parents, things become even more complicated. In Illinois, divorced parents are required to create a parenting plan that outlines the details of parental responsibilities, parenting schedules, and child support obligations. Unlike some other states, Illinois law addresses the topic of costs associated with college, requiring many parents to help fund their child’s education.

Educational Costs

As a parent reviewing your child’s post-high school options, you may be intimidated by the cost of college. In order to give children with divorced parents the same financial support as those whose parents are still married, a family court judge can require you to assist with the following costs. Because state schools are typically more affordable than private institutions, Illinois law uses the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I) as its reference point.

As an outside observer, abusive relationships can be difficult to understand. For someone who has never been a victim of domestic violence, you may be wondering why the abused spouse does not leave the relationship and seek out a happier and healthier future. The people in these relationships will likely tell you that once you are in an abusive relationship, the answers that you thought were so simple no longer seem that way. 

Did you know that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the U.S. have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner? In Illinois, there were 45,319 adult survivors of domestic violence in 2019 alone. Eventually, some married couples in these abusive relationships will decide that divorce is best for their safety and happiness. However, they may need to file an order of protection to protect themselves throughout the legal proceedings.

How to Obtain an Order of Protection

In Illinois, domestic violence is often considered a criminal offense. Any person who chokes, kicks, hits, threatens, harrasses, or interferes with the personal freedom of a family or household member has violated Illinois’ domestic violence law. This can include blood-related family members, married or previously married couples, those who cohabitate, people who have children together, and those who are dating or previously dated.

Just like every couple, every divorce is unique. Some couples struggle to make it through the proceedings without arguing over every subject, while others manage to work together to create their divorce agreement. The way that the divorce proceedings are handled is not necessarily reflective of the quality of the divorcing couple’s relationship, but more telling of their communication skills. Divorce is bound to be an emotional and difficult life experience to go through and everyone responds to these feelings in their own way. Not all divorces require court intervention, and there are a few alternative dispute resolution options available to you and your spouse if you are planning on divorcing.

Divorce Mediation

Some divorcing couples have excellent communication skills and think it would be best to work together to create their divorce agreement. For those who are able to compromise when necessary and work through any disputes without court intervention, divorce mediation may be a good option. In mediation, a couple creates a divorce agreement with the help of a third-party mediator. The mediator does not act as either party’s attorney or legal representative, though many mediators are also attorneys. This neutral third party will provide suggestions to the couple and keep them on task, resolving any minor disagreements that may arise throughout the process. Mediation allows the couple to have complete control over their divorce agreement, including any determinations regarding property division, spousal maintenance payments, child custody arrangements, and more.

Collaborative Divorce

This is the another common type of divorce proceeding that couples pursue, allowing each spouse to have their own legal representative while still negotiating with their former spouse. In a collaborative divorce, the spouses will meet with their prospective attorneys, outside of court, to come to a settlement on the various terms of their divorce agreement. This type of divorce ensures that each party’s needs are being advocated for by their own attorney while also keeping the decisions out of the hands of a judge. Divorce mediation can sometimes lead to one spouse taking advantage of the other by suggesting terms that they know are unfair or by using their relationship dynamic, with one spouse holding more decision-making authority than the other, for their benefit. Collaborative divorce avoids these possibilities, though the spouses may be best to seek an alternative route if they are still unable to come up with a settlement on their agreement.