Divorce Attorney Barrington

Divorce represents a major financial and emotional transition in the life of any family, and while every divorce is as unique as the people involved, the basic terms that must be hammered out do not vary. If you are moving toward divorce – your parental and financial rights hang in the balance – and you should not delay consulting with an experienced Barrington divorce attorney. 

Parental Responsibilities

In Illinois, child custody is now called parental responsibilities, but it still breaks down into what amounts to legal and physical custody. Legal custody determines decision-making power in relation to primary parenting decisions, such as those related to the following:

• Your kids’ schooling
• Your kids’ religious upbringing
• Your kids’ health care
• Your kids’ extracurricular activities

You and your ex can make these decisions together, one of you can take on tie-breaking responsibility (for deadlock situations), one of you can shoulder sole decision-making authority, or you can split this authority according to the kind of decision that needs to be made. 

Physical custody (or parenting time) sets the schedule for when your kids will be with you and when they will be with your ex. Ultimately, you will either share parenting time relatively equally, or one of you will become what is called the primary custodial parent (while the other has the kids in accordance with a visitation schedule). 

The Division of Marital Assets

The assets that you and your spouse accumulate over the course of your marriage are deemed your marital property, and upon divorce, they must be divided between you equitably. Equitably in this context means fairly when you take factors such as the following into consideration:

• The length of your marriage 
• Any standing contract, such as a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
• The contributions each of you made to the marital estate (including contributions related to housekeeping and child-rearing)
• The anticipated tax implications each of you will experience in relation to this property division
• Any dissipation of assets perpetrated by either of you

Child Support

Child support is set by the state, and it is a payment system that is intended to help ensure both parents continue supporting their children financially. The primary factors that determine child support include the number of overnights each parent has with the children and each parent’s income. All things being equal, however, the higher earner generally takes on the child support obligation. 

Alimony

Alimony refers to payments made by the spouse with the financial means to make them to the spouse who takes a financial hit with the divorce. Alimony is generally temporary and is ordered for the amount of time the recipient needs to become more financially independent. 

An Experienced Divorce Attorney in Barrington Is on Your Side

The accomplished Barrington divorce attorneys at the SAM LAW OFFICE, LLC, take immense pride in our impressive reputation for skillfully defending the parental and financial rights of clients like you. Your case is important, so please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us for more information today.