August, 2014 - Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog Archive

Business Valuation and Divorce

By Leslie Fineberg on August 29, 2014

Often times when a petition for divorce has been filed, each spouse begins to circle the wagons to protect their individual futures and financial self-interests. This becomes a particularly sticky issue when one spouse owns a business. That person (still typically the husband) may try to hide as much of those business assets as possible to minimize their financial losses during a divorce.

Your spouse may report that his business is in trouble, but has his lifestyle changed? During the divorce, your spouse may come to court, hat in hand, claiming that his business has taken a hit of late; but is that true? Is he (or she) still living the same lifestyle despite those claims? If so, one has to ask, where is the money coming from?

Does your spouse’s business pay his personal expenses? If so, he may claim that he actually has “no income” because he isn’t accepting a paycheck. Also, if this is the case, it can appear that the business has taken a hit in both its net income and in its valuation.

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Guardianship Versus Custody: What’s the Difference?

By Leslie Fineberg on August 14, 2014

In some instances, when a parent cannot take care of a child, a person who is not the child’s parent can be granted legal guardianship of that child. While the duties and responsibilities of a guardian are, for all intents and purposes, the same as for a parent who has legal custody of a child, guardianship and custody are not the same in the eyes of the law.

Guardianship is much easier to attain and almost anyone can be appointed the guardian of a minor. While a guardian is usually a relative, he or she does not have to be related to the child.

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