EXPERIENCE MATTERS DURING YOUR DIVORCE
Our Will County family law attorneys are here for you
Joliet, Illinois Divorce Lawyers
Attorneys for Property Division, Spousal Support and Parenting Time in Will County
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When your relationship has broken down and it appears that your marriage is coming to an end, the stress and uncertainty you are facing can seem overwhelming. As you contemplate divorce, you are likely to be wondering about how your living arrangements will change, what will be done with the property you own, how you will address matters related to the custody of your children, whether your personal or professional relationships will be affected, and the impact the divorce will have on your finances.
As you prepare to address these concerns, as well as any other complications or disputes that may arise during the divorce process, it is essential to have a skilled legal advocate on your side. By working with an experienced divorce attorney at the Law Offices of Tedone and Morton, P.C., you can ensure that you understand your rights, the steps that should be followed, the requirements that you will need to meet, and the legal options that are available to you. As you and your former partner work to resolve the various issues involved in ending your marriage, we can provide guidance on the steps you can follow to achieve a positive outcome for your case.
Divorce cases can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but even a "simple" divorce is likely to involve a variety of legal issues that a couple will disagree on. Our attorneys understand the desire to resolve these issues quickly, efficiently, and effectively, and we can help you negotiate a resolution that will protect your rights and meet your needs as you move on to your post-divorce life. However, we know that there are times when an easy resolution is simply not possible. In these cases, we can help you understand your options for resolving disputes through mediation, and if necessary, we are prepared to provide aggressive representation through litigation in court. With our experience as trial lawyers, we can help you reach the outcome you deserve.
During the divorce process, we can help you identify the issues that are important to you and work to negotiate a settlement that meets your needs. We can help you protect your financial stability by ensuring that you receive a fair share of the marital assets you and your ex-spouse own, and if you are financially dependent on your former partner, we can help you secure spousal maintenance payments that will allow you to maintain your standard of living. We can also help ensure that decisions about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time are made with your children's best interests in mind.
As you work to finalize the dissolution of your marriage, you need an attorney who can provide you with effective solutions rather than drawing out the legal process or increasing the level of conflict. At the Law Offices of Tedone & Morton, P.C., we understand that divorce is hard enough on its own even before legal matters become a concern. We work to alleviate the stress and difficulty of the divorce process by providing efficient and cost-effective services for our clients. We can provide you with the legal guidance that will help you reach a resolution that protects your rights and meets your needs. To schedule a free consultation, contact us today by calling our Joliet office at 815-666-1285 or our Plainfield office at 815-733-5350.
ABOUT BARBARA MORTON
Attorney Barbara Morton has more than 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer. While she currently focuses on divorce and family law, she has also represented clients in cases involving personal injury, workers' compensation, real estate, wills, powers of attorney, and traffic violations. She uses the knowledge and skills she has gained throughout her career to provide her clients with effective representation that will allow them to reach an efficient resolution to their divorce cases.
Ms. Morton has represented clients in both federal and state courts, and she has litigated more than 30 jury trials. She has also provided representation in more than 100 arbitration hearings, bench trials, and contested motions. Her continued success and level of commitment to her clients have been recognized by multiple organizations. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the 10 Best Female Attorneys in Illinois, and she was named a Top 10 Attorney by the American Jurist Institute.
Child Custody and Allocation of Parental Responsibilities
Under Illinois law, divorced, separated, or unmarried parents will need to address the "allocation of parental responsibilities," which was formerly known as child custody. The law identifies four areas of decision-making parental responsibility: healthcare, education, extracurricular activities, and religion. Parents may share in each of these areas of responsibility, or certain responsibilities may be allocated primarily or solely to one parent.
When addressing parental responsibility during the divorce process, a parenting plan will be created that will specify how certain types of decisions will be made, what information parents are required to share with each other, and how disagreements regarding children will be resolved. This parenting plan will be incorporated into the final divorce decree, and parents will be required to follow its terms.
Parenting Time
Illinois law no longer uses the term "visitation;" instead, the time children spend with each parent is known as parenting time, and the couple's parenting plan will specify how this time will be divided. In addition to creating a regular, daily parenting time schedule, parents will also want to determine where children will spend holidays, vacations, birthdays, and any other special days.
A parenting plan should also address the transportation of children between the parents' homes, the allowed methods of communication between children and parents, and any rules that the parents will follow during their parenting time, such as the methods of discipline that may be used. Parents may also wish to include a right of first refusal, which states that if a parent is unavailable during their scheduled parenting time, the other parent will be given the option to provide care for the children.
Child Support
Following a separation or divorce, both parents are expected to provide financial support for their children that will ensure that their daily needs are met. Child support obligations are based on the parents' combined income, and the total amount of child support is divided between the parents based on each parent's percentage of the combined income. In some cases, each parent's amount of parenting time may also play a role in calculating their child support obligations.
In addition to providing for children's basic needs, including food, clothing, and shelter, parents may also be required to share in paying other child-related costs. These expenses are in addition to the basic child support obligations, and they may include the costs of medical care, child care that is needed while parents are working, education-related expenses such as books and school supplies, and the costs of extracurricular activities.
Property & Asset Division
During divorce, all marital property owned by a couple should be fairly and equitably divided between the two spouses. Marital property includes any assets or debts acquired by either spouse following their marriage and prior to a legal separation. Couples may need to address multiple types of complex assets, including cash, financial investments, physical belongings, real estate property, business interests, and retirement accounts or pensions. In some cases, a prenuptial agreement may be used to specify what is and is not marital property or how certain types of property will be divided during divorce.
Spousal Support
A spouse who is a stay-at-home parent or who relied on their partner to provide the majority of the family's income may struggle to support themselves following divorce. In these cases, a person may be eligible to receive spousal maintenance, which is also known as alimony or spousal support. These payments are meant to allow a spouse to maintain the standard of living they enjoyed while married and meet their financial needs while receiving the education or training needed to be able to support themselves.
Se Habla Español
Quienes hablan inglés como segundo idioma pueden tener dificultades para garantizar que sus derechos estén protegidos cuando navegan por el sistema judicial. En las Oficinas Legales de Tedone y Morton, P.C., brindamos servicios legales para clientes de habla hispana. Si necesita abordar cuestiones relacionadas con el divorcio o el derecho de familia, podemos ayudarlo a comprender sus derechos y brindarle representación legal que lo ayudará a lograr un resultado positivo en su caso.
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