RSSMay, 2012 - Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog Archive
Reasons You Should Never Use to Justify Getting Back Together after Divorce
The time it takes to heal after a divorce can vary greatly depending on the person and the circumstances surrounding the separation. There’s no denying that divorce can have a profound effect on a person’s emotional, physical, and mental well-being; however, it is not uncommon for divorcees to eventually start dating again. In some cases, divorcees may actually return to their former spouses once the dust has settled. But is that a good decision?
According to The Huffington Post, it depends on the couple. If the ex-spouses are able to learn from their mistakes and resolve the issues that broke them up in the first place, they may have a chance at reconciliation. Unfortunately, that is the rare exception. There are plenty of reasons why getting back with an ex is simply a bad idea.
Electronic Discovery Upsets Status Quo: Attorney Jeffrey Knipmeyer Discusses Evolution of the System
Our previous blog posts have discussed how electronic discovery is making it more difficult for spouses to keep secrets and how spouses may gather evidence of deception against their husband or wife; for today’s post, the experienced Chicago family law attorney at Nottage and Ward, Jeffrey Knipmeyer, discusses how electronic discovery is reshaping the nation’s family law system.
Electronic discovery is being used by spouses and lawyers alike in order to obtain evidence to be used in court. In fact, according to Yahoo! Finance, 92 percent of divorce attorneys have seen more cases using evidence collected using smartphones in the last three years. Additionally, 66 percent of these divorce attorneys claim Facebook as the top source for compromising information on the Internet. It is not only advancements in Internet-based technology that has created new methods for finding evidence, but there are now programs that attorneys and other professionals, like forensic accountants, can use to investigate large amounts of information for evidence of deception. These new methods beg the question, when is it illegal?
Electronic Discovery Upsets Status Quo: Is All Fair in Love and War?
In our previous blog post, we discussed how electronic discovery has made marital mischief harder to hide. In summation, it is because technological advancements have made it easier to trace. But who can look for it and can the discovery of deception by one spouse actually be used against the other?
Electronic discovery is finding its way more and more often into marital disputes. Oftentimes, an angry spouse does his or her own snooping to validate suspicions that the spouse is hiding something. But these investigative tactics are not necessarily legal and though discovering deceptive actions may still be used as leverage, they may not result in a more favorable divorce settlement.
Electronic Discovery Upsets Status Quo: Why Marital Mischief is Getting Harder to Hide
Technological advancements have made, and continue to make, many changes in our society on both personal and professional levels. One aspect of society that is being made more difficult by such advancements is secrecy. It is becoming harder and harder for people to keep secrets and none feel this more than dishonest spouses. It used to be much easier for spouses to hide assets and relationships back when your husband or wife could not track your phone and Internet activity; now, electronic discovery is changing the balance of the scales.
Understanding how electronic discovery is changing the family law system is an important factor in the success of a divorce in Illinois and across the nation. In this three-part blog series, the experienced Chicago divorce attorneys at Nottage and Ward will make some key points about how electronic discovery has changed the divorce process.
Survey Shows More Women Paying Alimony and Child Support after Divorce
A recent survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) revealed some interesting changes in divorce dynamics. In the past, the husband was the higher-earning spouse and ended up being the one to pay child support and alimony, or maintenance, to their ex-wife. The role as the family’s financial support has since shifted, however. According to the AAML survey, an increasing number of women are paying child support and maintenance.
Results from the survey reveal that 56 percent of the country’s top divorce lawyers have seen an increase, in the past three years, in the number of mothers responsible for paying child support. Additionally, in the same three years, 47 percent of the country’s top divorce lawyers have seen an increase in the number of women responsible for paying maintenance to their spouse. According to the president of AAML, the court system ultimately reflects changes in society, as is demonstrated by these figures.
President Obama Publicly Supports Gay Marriage
Marriage and divorce are hot topics, but why? The tradition of marriage has been around for centuries, but it was not until within the last decade that it has truly evolved in the United States. The rights of same-sex couples have been a topic of debate in various states across the nation, though the overall trend has been a positive one. Same-sex couples in many states, including Illinois, have been awarded the legal right to marry or enter into a civil union or domestic partnership. Equal rights have long been an issue for the gay community, but it seems that governments are finally listening and taking action. And now, President Barack Obama has publicly endorsed gay marriage, according to The New York Times.
Though the timing of President Obama’s announcement may have been rushed, making his decision to support the legalization of gay marriage was not. According to his advisors, the President had intended to define his position on the issue before September, when Democrats would nominate him for re-election. His position on gay marriage is not necessarily a surprise as he has demonstrated support for the gay community before, such as ending the ban on openly gay men and women in the military and disavowing the federal law which defines marriage as only between a man and woman, but the announcement is, nonetheless, politically, socially, and historically significant.
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