Posted on August 18, 2016 in Main

There are almost as many reasons to divorce as there are couples. Some split because of infidelity, others because of domestic violence, and still others because they simply “grew apart.” Even the internet has taken its fair share of the blame. It may be getting a lot more of that attention, thanks to the ever-growing phenomenon known as “facebragging” – the online over-sharing of positive, personal information.

Experts Say Social Media is Creating Unrealistic Expectations

People are spending more and more of their time online these days, which means they are frequently exposed to an inaccurate portrayal of perfection. Everyone does it after all – share only the good and cover up the bad. They post photographs of their picture-perfect wife but do not tell you that she is cheating, or they share the amazing vacations they take and fail to disclose that they spend weeks at a time away from their family. It is not that people intentionally hide this information to hurt anyone else; it is just hard to admit when there is a problem.

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 Posted on August 12, 2016 in Main

For parents who are planning to divorce, telling the children is often the most dreaded part of the process. They do not want to hurt their child, but they know that the discussion will be painful. There may be tears, anger, uncomfortable questions, accusations, or the child may simply shut down and shut their parents out. Delaying it will not make it easier, nor will glossing over the truth. However, there are some ways that you can talk to your children – tips and strategies – that may smooth the process, if not initially, then possibly in the long run.

Tell Your Child Together

If you follow only one piece of advice, let it be that you and your spouse sit down and talk to your child about the divorce together. While this might be challenging for parents who have a high-conflict marriage, it is absolutely critical. Everything is about to change, your family is about to split up. In the midst of all of that, your child needs to know that the divorce is mutual, and that there will be some things that do not change – namely that you will both be there for them when things are hard. That starts with sitting down together to tell them about the divorce.

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 Posted on August 06, 2016 in Main

Stress is a common and well-known side effect of divorce, but many underestimate just how significant the impact of that stress can be. Concentration and memory may be diminished. Emotions may seem to be erratic and unpredictable. In addition, prolonged stress can increase the risk of long-term health complications, such as heart disease, obesity, depression, and even cancer. Protect yourself from these risks by learning how to effectively manage the stress of divorce.

Turn to the Professionals

A lot of divorcees attempt to save money by doing more of the work themselves. They put off therapy when they need it. They use information they find on the internet to file for their divorce. If they have lost their insurance, they may even skip trips to the doctor when they start experiencing troubling symptoms. Be aware: these shortcuts might seem like a great way to save money during the divorce process, but the long-term consequences can be costly and irreversible.

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 Posted on July 26, 2016 in Main

Under Illinois state law, every child has the right to receive emotional, physical, mental, and financial support from both parents. Fathers also have the right to seek parenting time with their biological children, regardless of the status of their relationship with the child's natural mother. But when a child is born to unmarried parents, legal paternity must be established before any rights can be enforced. If you are an unmarried parent, or suspected of being the father of a child, understanding what parentage is and how it can be established is very important.

What is Parentage?

When children are born to married parents, there is little question about their parentage, or the identity of their father. If the child's parents later divorce, the father is legally able to seek parenting time with the child and has an obligation to support the child. However, children who are born to unmarried parents do not have this same built-in parentage. While the tie to their mother is automatic, the paternity (biological tie to the father) must be legally established before it can be considered valid.

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 Posted on July 20, 2016 in Main

Parents choose to stay home with their children for a number of reasons. For some, their family's lifestyle is easily supported by their spouse's income, which gives them the financial flexibility to spend time with their children. Others may stay home out of necessity.

Regardless of the reason – be it to care for a special needs child, a desire to parent full-time, or simply because they can – all are at risk for lifelong poverty, should their marriage end in divorce. If you are a stay-at-home parent and planning on filing for divorce, or have already been served with divorce papers, learn what you need to know about protecting your financial future, and how you can obtain skilled legal counsel, even if you have no assets of your own.

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 Posted on July 11, 2016 in Main

Divorce is a mentally, emotionally, and often financially challenging process that can impact almost every aspect of your life. Furthermore, there are several pitfalls and missteps that can have a long-term effect on your life. But can divorce hurt your credit rating? And, if so, how?

Filing for Divorce Does Not Equal Credit Doom

The act of filing for divorce itself does not impact your credit. Instead, it is the actions or inactions following divorce that can negatively affect your credit score. For example, if you are ordered to pay child support during the divorce decree but fail to make your payments, a judgement may be entered against you. Ultimately, this judgement will have a negative impact on your credit rating.

Dividing Debts During Divorce

Another potential influence on your credit is the way that debts are divided during divorce. If not done appropriately, you may end up with more debt than you can handle in divorce, which can cause you to fall behind on your payments. This is why it is critical that you seek guided assistance from an attorney with the division of your debts and assets during divorce. Able to help you understand if and why a debt may or may not be your responsibility, an attorney can help you negotiate a debt and asset settlement or, if an amicable solution cannot be reached, they can litigate on your behalf in court.

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 Posted on June 23, 2016 in Main

During a divorce, a couple's marital property is divided—property which may include retirement accounts and pensions. In order to allocate retirement accounts and pensions, documents called Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) are necessary to divide a couple's retirement assets. However, most people are strangers to these documents until they require one. Therefore, familiarizing yourself with a QDRO, before your divorce proceeding gets off the ground, can be helpful.

What Does a QDRO Do?

A QDRO is a document that helps apportion percentages of any interest you may have in a retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or a pension. If your interest is in a public state entity, such as a Chicago Public Schools pension, you will need a document with specialized language known as a QDILRO, though they are functionally very similar.

Most often, what occurs is that two people draw up a property settlement, or the court may do so if they are unable to agree, that contains certain specific information. One piece of required information is the name of an ‘alternate payee,' or the person to whom a part of the asset is to go. Without an alternate payee's name, a domestic relations order cannot be a QDRO. Language is important in the domestic relations order because it can also disqualify the order if it grants, for example, interests in a retirement plan that have not yet vested, or fails to take into account the need for an alternate payee if the named payee were to die before his or her ex-spouse. Once the order meets the satisfaction of the court, it is signed into the record by the judge.

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 Posted on June 16, 2016 in Main

Before a civil action of any kind can be mounted in Illinois, it must be determined if this state has the right to hear it. This concept is called jurisdiction, and a court must have jurisdiction before any suit you file is permitted to move forward. In most situations, it is fairly easy to ensure a court has jurisdiction over your suit; however, the laws are quite specific.

Two Types of Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is defined as the extent to which a legal authority can reach. There are two types of jurisdiction, both of which most people are familiar with in at least a colloquial sense.

The first type is subject matter jurisdiction, which essentially grants a court the right to adjudicate a specific type of case—for example, the DuPage County Family Law division of the Circuit Court has subject matter jurisdiction over divorces in that area, while the state's Probate Court has jurisdiction over the disposition of wills, trusts, and other estates. Subject matter jurisdiction is almost always granted by law—as long as a suit is filed in the court that handles such cases, subject matter jurisdiction has been met.

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 Posted on June 07, 2016 in Main

At MKFM Law, we have clients from all walks of life, with all types of families, or with none at all. In this day and age, those who are parents have to begin thinking about university costs and other school expenses much earlier than in previous years. It is in this spirit that our firm wants to Give Back—help our clients and their children move toward a quality education, as a show of appreciation for choosing us to help them through difficult situations.

The Program

The MKFM Law Giving Back For College Reimbursement Program is open to current and former clients of our firm and their children. Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC is offering two gifts, comprised of reimbursement funds, that have already been paid to our firm. In other words, money previously paid to Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC as fees will be reimbursed to the winner and runner-up.

All applicants must be 18 or over. Applicants must also either be attending, plan to attend, or have a child attending a college or graduate school in an upcoming semester.

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 Posted on June 02, 2016 in Main

A questions asked by some divorcing parents is whether or not they are able to terminate the parental rights of their ex-spouse for various reasons. The answer is usually no; however, in unusual situations where a series of events have occurred, the answer may be yes. Either way, it is in your best interests to ensure that you understand your options.

Illinois' Adoption Act

Illinois law, for better or worse, does not allow one parent to simply file a petition expressing a wish to terminate his or her ex-spouse's parental rights. The wish to terminate must come along with someone willing to step into that place. Moreover, the most common situation in which this occurs is that of adoption.

The law does not favor the termination of parental rights, and to do so is not something taken lightly. Even a negligent parent can be obligated to pay child support, and if the opportunity is there for that parent to change his or her ways, the court will usually wish to preserve his or her parental rights.

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