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What’s the Deal With Prenups?
Today, many couples end up marrying later in life. What that means is each partner already has a life of their own, and more to lose if something goes wrong in the marriage. If you haven’t already, we recommend considering a prenuptial agreement to give yourself an extra layer of legal protection. Here are the facts about prenups.
How Assets Are Split in a Divorce
Equitable distribution. Dual classification. What do these words have to do with your home, your valuables, your taxes, and your retirement? Plenty, if you’re getting a divorce. In our latest infographic, Nottage and Ward, LLP, explains how Illinois divides assets after the breakdown of a marriage.
First Comes Love, Then Comes…?
For most of mankind’s history, marriage has been something of a business decision. A man and a woman were legally bound, often in arrangement by the parents of each party. A dowry of wealth in goods or money was brought by the bride and presented to the husband. Children were expected in the very near future, again, often a part of an agreed-upon business decision; and indeed, when it comes to many household chores or farm work, children were a necessary part of a functioning home. In some cases, having so many children required some of those older kids to take care of the younger ones.
Bill and Mary and Aaron
Throughout the last decade, we’ve marked the milestone 50th anniversary of many significant events of the 1960s that altered our lives: the March on Washington; the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, John Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy; the beginning of the Vietnam War; Medicare signed into law; and the Voting Rights Act established—the list is staggering.
And as we close out this decade, February 13th of 2019 represents the 50th anniversary of a meeting involving three people you likely have never heard of, but whose importance puts them on this list. Their names are Bill Jones, Mary Davidson, and a 2-year-old boy named Aaron.
New Tax Law in Effect January 2019
Effective January 1, 2019, the taxability of maintenance payments (spousal support) from one spouse to the other has changed. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in December 2017, reversed the 77-year-old tax law that had allowed the higher-earning spouse to deduct his/her maintenance payments and required the lower-income spouse receiving the payments to pay the tax.
Five (Overlooked) Things to Do When You Separate
1. Change the password on your email account; better yet, set up a new email account that your spouse doesn’t know about. Do not give your spouse the opportunity to access your account and see potentially confidential information (for example, an email from your attorney).
Let’s Get This Done
For James and Erin Clark, after five years of marriage, the honeymoon was over. It was over clearly, literally, figuratively, definitively, mutually—the list of “ly” adverbs could go on indefinitely, except they were missing the only one that really counts: legally. They each wanted a divorce to be done yesterday, and they were willing to do whatever it took to get the process completed as quickly as possible.
While each spouse may be ready and willing to sign the papers and make it official, here in Illinois there are a few legal requirements couples like the Clarks will need to undergo before a divorce is final.
How Sweet It Is…Until It Isn’t
“You’re nobody ‘til somebody loves you,” Dean Martin famously crooned, “so find yourself somebody to love…but be sure to sign a prenup, Frank!” You can almost hear ol’ Deano adding that last line for his buddy, Frank Sinatra, while performing this hit song in their hugely popular act at the Sands Hotel back in the 1960s. Perhaps you should heed his advice…?
The Surname Situation
The following fictional story illustrates a common situation after a divorce in Chicago. If you need help filing a name change, please don’t hesitate to contact Nottage and Ward, LLP.
Sarah and Tom Mickelson had one daughter, 2-year-old Amy, when they both decided it was in everyone’s best interest that they no longer live together.
October Is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Victims of domestic violence understand that the physical and emotional trauma lasts long after the actual abuse has stopped. One of the greatest challenges is the lack of support from institutions such as law enforcement, society at large, and even friends and family members who don’t understand what it means to be a victim of assault.
October has been designated Domestic Violence Awareness Month to change this.
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