Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog
Will Smith and Wife Jada Pinkett Smith Calling it Quits?
Celebrity marriages have to overcome many obstacles to succeed, the most obvious of which is the constant gauntlet of media attention and rumors. For many couples, the stress of it all takes its toll on the marriage. When celebrity marriages add celebrity children to the mix, it can create even more stress, as has reportedly occurred in Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship, according to an article in TMZ.
Separation rumors began circling around the celebrity couple in the summer of 2011 due to tension in the marriage. This tension was allegedly the result of conflicting opinions about how to handle their children’s careers/fame. Their two children, Jaden and Willow Smith, are already household names as the result of successful acting and music careers. Reportedly, Will Smith was all for pushing their kids into all-out stardom while his wife wanted things to move more gradually. The couple, who denied separation/divorce rumors supposedly moved past this rough patch and was back to normal by the end of 2011.
Springfield Committee Reverses December Decision, Grants Benefits to Civil Union Spouses
In December, Springfield denied city employees civil union spousal benefits to the objections of LGBT rights groups. Soon after the decision, Springfield Mayor Mike Houston publicly announced his support of giving spousal benefits to the civil union partners of city employees and urged the Joint Labor/Management Health Care Committee to reverse its decision in the next session.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the committee has indeed reversed that decision, by a unanimous vote, and city employees who are in civil unions will be eligible for spousal health benefits in March of this year.
Springfield Mayor Supports Civil Union Spousal Benefits for City Employees
The Illinois civil union law was implemented in June 2011 and, since then, there have been a lot of changes and controversies. One of these controversies is the right for civil union spouses to claim spousal benefits. According to the Windy City Times, the Springfield Mayor is backing spousal benefits for city employees who are in a civil union, despite the fact that the Joint Labor/Management Health Care Committee voted against awarding those benefits in December.
The Springfield committee, which includes retirees and city staffers, voted to maintain the already established eligibility standards for insurance; the current standards do not include civil union spouses. The vote, or the result of the vote rather, is claimed by the committee members as being legal because Springfield is self-insured and not subject to the same regulations as commercially-insured employers. Supposedly, a bill for extending the spousal insurance benefits of married couples would increase the cost of insurance by $725,000. Although the Mayor said that the vote was indeed legal, he has altered his position and is now urging the committee to reassess theirs when the next quarter comes around.
First Recorded Divorce in U.S. History Tells a Common Tale
According to History.com, the first recorded divorce in the American colonies was that of Anne Clarke and her husband Denis Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on January 5, 1643. The divorce was granted by the Quarter Court of Boston, MA on the grounds that Denis Clarke abandoned his wife to be with another woman. In a signed affidavit, Denis Clark admitted to having done just that. He and Anna Clarke had two children; he also had two children with the other woman. In the affidavit, he also stated his refusal to return to his original wife. As a result, the Puritan court had no choice but to grant a divorce to Anne Clarke, and punish her absent and adulterous husband.
Although divorce was treated with more severity in the past than it is now, this first recorded divorce highlights an important commonality in the reasons for divorce. The system by which the divorce was carried out in 1643 may be different than the system in 2012, but the reasons for the divorce, adultery and abandonment, are not uncommon today. There are many reasons why a couple may file for divorce in modern times, but the most frequent include:
Mel Gibson Now Officially Divorced from Robyn Moore
In 2009, Robyn Gibson filed for divorce from her actor husband Mel Gibson, and as of December 23, their divorce is final, according to TMZ. Robyn Gibson, who has gone back to her maiden name, Robyn Moore, filed for divorce soon after the discovery that Mel Gibson’s then-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva was pregnant.
According to The Huffington Post, Gibson and Moore separated in 2008 after 28 years of marriage. They have seven children together. Overall, the couple’s divorce had been relatively amicable, and Moore even defended Gibson when Grigorieva accused him of abuse during their contentious custody battle, which only came to a close in April of this year.
Solidarity Leads Heterosexual Couples to Choose Civil Unions over Marriage in Illinois
The first six months after the passing of the civil union law in Illinois resulted in the issuance of 1,856 civil union licenses in Cook County. Just over 3,700 civil union licenses were issued across the state for couples throughout 90 of the state’s 102 counties According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 138 of Cook County licenses were issued to heterosexual couples, which presents an important question: Why would heterosexual couples choose to enter into a civil union instead of a marriage?
A recent report from the Cook County Clerk reveals the answer, according to The Huffington Post. The report, which was released on December 20, found solidarity with same-sex couples as the number one reason why opposite-sex couples opted for a civil union instead of a traditional marriage. A survey conducted by the clerk’s office revealed that 87 heterosexual couples registered for civil unions in Cook County during the survey period of June 1 through September 19. Twenty-six percent of those who took the survey stated that their decision was based on “political or ideological reasons such as equality and inclusiveness.” Additional reasons included obtaining benefits and personal or religious convictions.
The 6 Most Common Money Mistakes That Can Lead to Divorce
A recent article in Money Talks News cites a study which claims that nearly 25 percent of all married couples in the U.S. hide financial affairs from each other. According to The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), financial stress is one of the leading reasons for divorce. A 2009 study also affirms that money issues are one of main predicators of divorce, following drug abuse and infidelity. In order to avoid supporting these statistics in your marriage, it is important to know what the most common financial mistakes are:
- Communicating Poorly, or Not at All. Money is one of the most important topics a married couple should discuss, especially early on in the relationship. Know everything now, no surprises later.
- No Budget. Keeping track of who spends what is necessary to ensure that overspending does not jeopardize your ability to pay your fixed monthly expenses. If there is no budget, then the possibility of falling into debt is that much greater.
Surviving the Holidays after Divorce: Getting Your Kids When You Want Them
During the holidays, both parents want to spend time with their child or children. But deciding who gets the children and for which holidays can be a highly contentious. It is very possible that the divorced couple stipulated how the holidays would be handled in their child custody arrangement, but oftentimes, this isn’t the case and a divorced couple has a very difficult time agreeing on the best way to “share” their kids during the holidays. The best way to come to an agreement is to be flexible.
Being flexible is an important part of making the holidays work for your family. Children look forward to the holidays because of how they are celebrated, not what day they fall on. The two usual arrangements are:
Surviving the Holidays after Divorce: When You Have Kids
In our previous blog post, we presented a few holiday survival tips for divorcees that face spending the holidays alone; however, there are many divorced couples who have a child or children that they would like to spend the holidays with.
As experienced child custody attorneys in Illinois, we believe the goal of both parents should be what is in the best interests of their child or children when it comes to the holidays. The winter holidays are a very exciting time for children and any new tradition or arrangement should be made with that in mind. There are various ways in which a divorced couple may arrange spending the holidays with their children while still giving them the holiday excitement they look forward to all year. Here are a couple of suggestions on how to achieve happy holidays for your children and yourselves:
Surviving the Holidays after Divorce: When You’re on Your Own
The winter holidays are a very difficult time for divorcees, especially if the divorce was very recent. With this in mind, the dedicated Illinois family law attorneys at Nottage and Ward would like to help divorcees stay positive and hopeful through the holidays with a three-part blog series that will provide holiday survival tips and ideas for new holiday traditions.
Whether a divorce was a blessing for a deeply troubled couple or not, being alone for the holidays is never easy. The holiday season is a reminder of happier times, even if they were dysfunctional, when you had someone to share those celebrations with. But this does not mean you cannot enjoy the holidays and it definitely does not mean you are not allowed to enjoy the holidays. Here are some holiday survival tips that may be able to help:
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