Divorce Lawyer in Barrington

Divorce represents an immense hurdle in the life of any married couple. Not only do you face financial challenges ahead, but there are also concerns about the amount of time you will have with your children to tackle. If you are moving forward toward divorce, it’s in your best interest to work closely with an experienced divorce lawyer in Barrington from the start. 

The Division of Your Marital Assets

Over the course of your marriage, you and your spouse very likely acquired assets and debts, and these are considered your marital assets (as offset by your marital debt). One of the primary concerns in every divorce is the division of marital property, which in Illinois is not necessarily an equal division but must be fair (or equitable) – when the relevant circumstances are taken into consideration. 

Parental Responsibilities

Illinois divides child custody into parental responsibilities (what you may think of as legal custody) and parenting time (what you may think of as physical custody). When you make those big-picture parenting decisions that every parent must make, it falls into the category of parental responsibilities. The kinds of decisions involved include those related to the following:

• Your children’s education
• Your children’s health care
• Your children’s religious education
• Your children’s extracurricular activities

Upon divorce, you and your ex can make these decisions together, but one of you may be awarded tie-breaking authority. The court also has the discretion to award sole parental responsibilities to only one of you.  

Parenting Time

Parenting time in the State of Illinois determines when the children are in your custody and when they’re in the custody of their other parent. If you and your ex are able to put together a parenting time schedule that you both agree to, you have nearly limitless options, but they all fall into one of two basic categories that include:

• Dividing your parenting time relatively evenly 
• Assigning the role of primary custodial parent (in effect) to one of you

Alimony

In Illinois, alimony is only a divorce issue in those instances when divorce leaves one spouse without the financial resources to support himself or herself while the other has the assets to help. 

Hammering Out the Terms of Your Divorce

If you and your divorcing spouse are committed to resolving the terms of your divorce between yourselves and are able to accomplish this challenging task, you’ll be able to keep the decision-making authority between yourselves. If not, you’ll need the court to resolve those terms that remain. You will not, however, be left solely to your own devices. Your respective divorce lawyers will provide each of you with guidance regarding the protection of your parental and financial rights along the way, and there is also a mediation option that can help strengthen your ability to negotiate with one another.

Reach Out to an Experienced Divorce Lawyer in Barrington Today

The seasoned divorce lawyers at SAM LAW OFFICE, LLC, in Barrington, Illinois, dedicate their practice to skillfully championing the legal and parental rights of all our clients, and we’re here for you, too. For more information about what we can do for you, please don’t delay contacting us today.