February, 2014 - Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog Archive

Now That Gay Marriage is Legal in Illinois, What Becomes of Civil Unions?

By Jeffrey Knipmeyer on February 12, 2014

Now that gay marriage is legal in Illinois, what is the status of civil unions in the state?

In 2011, Illinois passed the Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act, which conferred most of the rights of marriage on parties to a civil union. Basically, the law created a status analogous to marriage, regardless of gender, to couples in Illinois. Couples, both homosexual and heterosexual, were allowed to enter into civil unions, which entitled them to all the recognitions and benefits available under Illinois law to spouses.

Then, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Now same-sex couples that had been legally married in their states were able to gain access to all of the federal benefits of marriage.

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Your Secret Stash of Cash Won’t Be So Secret When Going Through a Divorce

By Leslie Fineberg on February 6, 2014

When going through a divorce, many people try to hide money from their spouse.  Whether for extramarital mischief or simply trying to keep money for themselves instead of splitting it; most couples will argue over money and whether their spouse is being honest about the disclosure of their assets.

Before the luxury of the Internet and increased technology, it was easy to have a “rainy day” fund that your spouse may never find out about, but now it is becoming nearly impossible to cover the tracks that may lead straight to your secret stash.

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Five Common Misconceptions People Have about Divorce

By Leslie Fineberg on February 4, 2014

Although divorce is becoming more widespread and accepted now than it was years ago, many people still have their hang-ups, whether religious or personal in nature, about marriage breakups. They tend to believe that any marriage can be salvaged and that divorce automatically leads to a broken family; however, there is such a thing as a dead-end marriage that needs to be ended before it becomes toxic.

If you’re taking lots of flack or unwarranted advice from your friends or other peers, just know that you’re not the only one. Divorced individuals everywhere have heard the same, mostly wrong, opinions before, including those below.

Divorces are always adversarial and messy. The divorce process does not have to be defined by grudge matches and dirty mind games. It is possible for spouses to divorce in a collaborative and respectful manner.

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