Income, real estate, vehicles, and most other assets a spouse acquires during a marriage are included in the marital estate. During an Illinois divorce, the spouses will need to divide this marital property. The asset division process may involve deciding who will keep the marital home, determining how to divide bank account balances and retirement funds, splitting up personal possessions, and more.

Conflict and disagreements during the property division process are common. In this blog, we discuss the basics of property division in Illinois and the options divorcing couples have when resolving property division conflicts.

Negotiated Property Division Settlements

Although many people assume that the court always makes decisions about how to divide property in a divorce, most divorcing couples are able to negotiate a settlement. If the spouses are able to communicate effectively and negotiate in good faith, they may usually work out an arrangement regarding property division.

State and federal law prohibits sexual harassment of employees. Unwanted sexual or romantic advances, explicit conversations, derogatory remarks, and discrimination against an employee on the basis of gender are just some of the ways in which sexual harassment can manifest itself in the workplace. If you have been sexually harassed at work, it’s important to protect your rights and take action. Here are some steps you can take:

Document Everything That Was Said and Done

Keep a written log of any instances of harassment and note dates, times, locations, witnesses, and details of what was said or done. Make sure to save any emails, letters, voicemails, or other evidence that is relevant to the harassment.

Report the Harassment

Don’t be afraid to speak up if you have been sexually harassed at work. Make sure to report the harassment in writing, via e-mail,  to your supervisor, human resources department, or other designated representative. In some cases, you may be required to fill out a formal complaint form or incident report. Check your employee handbook for instructions on how to report sexual harassment or discrimination at your workplace, and always keep a copy of the report.

Most television shows and movies would have you believe that divorce cases always involve a courtroom trial. In reality, divorce cases rarely make it to trial. It is certainly possible that a divorce case is resolved through a trial, but much more often, the spouses are able to negotiate a settlement.

Sometimes, the spouses are able to reach a settlement through mediation or by simply discussing the relevant divorce issues. In contested cases, a settlement is often reached through the spouses’ respective attorneys. The end result of a successful settlement negotiation is a Marital Settlement Agreement outlining the determinations regarding property division, child support, spousal support and child custody.

Marital Settlement Agreements in Illinois

Reaching a settlement is highly preferred over going to trial. Divorce trials are expensive, stressful, and public. Most people want to avoid divulging personal or financial information to the general public. Furthermore, by their very nature, trials are adversarial. This can be especially problematic if the divorcing spouses share children and will need to continue being involved in each other 's lives. Negotiating a settlement during a divorce case is not easy, but with the right legal support, it is possible in most cases.

Sexual harassment victims have the right to take legal action against an employer who failed to prevent or address sexual harassment. If you have been subjected to sexual harassment at work, you have the burden of proof to show that the facts that you are alleging in a sexual harassment case are true. Courts will pay close attention to the evidence that backs your claim. You can help your case when you have documentation that helps prove your allegations against the employer. Here are three ways that you can document a sexual harassment claim.

Keep a Journal While the Conduct Is Happening

You may be pressed on your memory of what happened if you need to sit for a deposition or testify at a trial in the future. You can help your case when you write down the conduct as soon as possible after it happens. Contemporaneous evidence could be considered more credible. Your journal entries should include things like the following:

• The dates and times of the incidents
• Where the incidents occurred
• Who was involved
• What was said or done
• Any potential witnesses to the conduct
• What you did as a result

You should make a journal entry whenever there is a new incident. 

 Divorce can stir up a wide range of emotions, including anger, resentment, and betrayal. Some divorcing spouses take out their anger on the other spouse by intentionally wasting or destroying marital property in an act of revenge. For example, a spouse infuriated at the thought of divorce may throw the other spouse’s personal property in the trash, drain the joint checking account at the casino, or spend thousands of dollars on luxury items.

If you are getting divorced and your spouse has wasted marital assets or funds, It is important to be aware of your legal options. In this blog, we will discuss the types of wasteful spending that constitute dissipation of assets and how a dissipation of assets claim can help you recoup the value of wasted, destroyed, or lost assets.

What is a Dissipation of Assets Claim?

A dissipation of assets claim addresses reckless spending or intentional destruction of marital property during the divorce process. If a spouse is found to have dissipated assets, the court will consider this dissipation when dividing marital property. The spouse who dissipated assets may receive a proportionately lesser share of the marital estate, while the spouse who did not dissipate receives a greater share of the remaining marital estate.