Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

At the Law Office of Ronald L. Hendrix, P.C., located in Naperville, Illinois, our goal is to listen carefully to our clients, recognize their interests and concerns, and assist them in achieving settlements that meet their best interests, especially those of their children.

If you are confronting divorce and divorce-related issues, you will be faced with many questions and concerns that you never confronted before. We feel it is very important to determine the right approach to take in a divorce. Many factors must be considered, and it is crucial for clients to have the information they need to make informed decisions throughout the process. We have created this blog to share information that we feel is valuable to readers in the various stages of divorce.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

In Illinois, when a child is born to a married woman, the woman’s husband is automatically presumed to be the legal father of the child. However, when a child is born to an unmarried woman, the biological father does not have any automatic legal rights. This is true even if the child’s father is in a long-term relationship with the mother.

As such, it is extremely important for unmarried fathers to take steps to protect their rights when a child is born. Fathers should establish paternity as soon as possible. In addition, they should work with a family law attorney to create a parentage agreement that clarifies both parents’ rights and obligations with regard to custody, visitation, child support and other issues.

Establishing legal paternity

Illinois law recognizes three ways to establish legal paternity. The easiest way is for both parents to sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity. In most cases, this will be provided to the parents when the child was born. If the parents do not sign the form at the hospital, they can get another copy online or from a Human Services, Child Support or County Clerk’s office.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

When a couple decides to get a divorce, they begin to analyze the most common matters to be addressed such as division of property and accounts, spousal support, a schedule for sharing parenting time, and responsibility for debts as well as future expenses for children and college education. They will often begin to research divorce attorneys for representation, but may also consider handling the divorce on their own. “Pro Se” is a Latin phrase meaning “for oneself”, and therefore, if someone handles a divorce Pro Se, it means that they are representing themselves.

Divorce Attorney Representation The most common reason for a couple to explore handling a divorce on their own is financially motivated. Simply put, they want a divorce, and they want it to be as inexpensive as possible. Parties may feel that they have already worked out the terms of their agreements and do not want to hire an attorney when they feel they can do the paperwork themselves. Often it is just one of the divorcing parties who the proponent of going Pro Se, while the other may prefer to hire attorneys. In this case, it is important to consider if keeping the divorce cost low is your spouse’s only motivation for going Pro Se, or if it is an attempt to control the outcome of the settlement.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

It’s no secret that divorce is hard. For most people it’s one the most emotionally challenging times in their lives. As a Naperville divorce attorney for the last 18 years, I have found that clients who have successfully moved on with their life after divorce exhibit certain characteristics and behaviors. In this post, I offer a list of suggestions for achieving a successful outcome for your divorce.

Focus on your new life Tips for a successful divorce

Yes, divorce is tough. However, after a period of adjustment many people find that their new life is much better. It is important during the divorce process to focus on your new life, work towards new dreams, and most importantly let go of the past.

Stay positive and confident about yourself

Being divorced does not mean that you are a failure or that you’ve done something wrong. It simply means that your relationship with your spouse did not work out. This is not a time to get down on yourself. You are worthy of love and capable of living a great new life post-divorce. Stay positive!

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

When faced with a divorce, you will encounter a variety of complicated legal issues: Who will keep the house? Where will our children live? How will we divide our credit card debt? With all the uncertainty in the divorce process it puts extra strain on your emotions. However, it is important to stay engaged and keep your focus on important details. List below are 10 tips to help you survive and thrive through the divorce process.

Compile Information

It is important to gather as much information as possible about what your spouse is doing. It is often common for one spouse to know very little about what the other has in regard to income, expenses, investments and retirement assets.

Make Copies of Everything

Once a divorce is under way; it is very common for documents to disappear. Formal discovery and subpoenaing bank records can be very costly, and you can save yourself a lot of time and money by making copies of everything you can get your hands on early.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

The cost of divorce is one of most common questions we get asked, and unfortunately there is no simple answer to it.Costs of Divorce The cost can vary greatly depending on the initial level of agreement between the parties when they first start the divorce process, and it can vary greatly based on the amount of property and the nature of the assets to be divided. If the parties are in relative agreement on a lot of issues, the cost will be lower. If they have many issues to that are in conflict, such as kids, or a business, then the costs are going to be driven up just by the nature of the number of issues that have to be settled.

As for who pays for the divorce- generally people are responsible for their own attorney’s fees, but practically, it is all coming out of marital funds. Generally the court will order one person to pay another person’s attorney’s fees is when that party controls almost all the assets in the marriage. A typical example of that would be if one party did all the finances for the family, they paid all the bills, they had access to everything, and they maintain this control when the divorce begins. At that point it would be proper to petition the court to have the other party pay the attorney’s fees for the party who does not have access to the funds.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

Under Illinois law college costs are addressed under Section 513 of the statute. That Section states that the court will look at the situation, the parties, each party’s respective income and their ability to pay. So if one party’s income is drastically higher than the others, they’ll likely have to pay a higher amount of the college costs.

The court will also look at the child’s ability to pay. It’s not uncommon for a court to essentially look at the parties and say one third, one third, one third, but if there are savings accounts that can be used first that were set up and designated for the child for college, all that will be taken into account. But, typically college expenses are not designated at the time of the divorce because it’s an issue that’s in the future and the statute recognizes that and anticipates that the parties’ situation at the time when college education costs become reality is the appropriate time to examine the parties’ abilities to pay.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

On January 1, 2016, new laws regarding divorce and child custody went into effect in Illinois. At first glance, these new laws appear to have significantly changed child custody in the state. In fact, the very concept of “custody” has been replaced by the concept of “allocating parental responsibility” under the new legislature.

Child Custody and Parenting Plan In application, however, the law is still essentially the same. What the legislature has done is to update the statute to shift focus to what is in the best interests of the children. In the past, custody of parties’ children was considered something to be “won” or “lost”, therefore encouraging parties to argue over it. In the end, however, the vast majority of parents settle on a parenting agreement that provides for both parents having parenting time with their children, and both parents taking responsibility for certain day-to-day decisions and activities.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

If you hadn’t heard of the adultery website called Ashley Madison (ashleymadison.com) before last Tuesday, chances are you’ve heard about it now. The recent news about the breach of the private data collected by this website, whose tagline is “Life is short. Have an affair.”, has caught the attention of the news media, many potentially guilty spouses, and divorce attorneys everywhere.

Reportedly, personal details of Ashley Madison members were hacked last month by a group known as The Impact Team, and the group threatened to make this information public. Though initially there was skepticism by investigators about the validity of the breach and threats, earlier this week the group made true on their threat to “dump” the stolen information early this week onto the Dark Web, an area of the Web only accessible by a covert browser.

While preliminary investigation shows that users of the site are located all over the world, Chicago came in 8th in the top ten U.S. “cities with the most cheaters” according to a recent posting on CBS News’ website. Locally, the Chicago suburbs of Plainfield and Naperville were ranked number two and number 18 in a July 21st article posted to the Plainfield Patch website.

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 Posted on April 14,2020 in Uncategorized

A divorce is an emotional and trying life change, but finding the right attorney is an important first step in the process. A divorce attorney who has experience and expertise fitting your unique situation may expedite the divorce process, and make the transition from marriage to single life more manageable.

Asking the right questions during your first phone conversation or meeting with a prospective lawyer is key in determining whether you will be able to establish a successful attorney-client relationship.

Experience is Critical

Don’t assume that every attorney you contact has the experience that is necessary to handle your case. How long an attorney has been in practice, and more importantly, how many cases they have handled is perhaps the most obvious first question. Each new case presents a unique set of obstacles and situations, requires additional research and adds to an attorney’s knowledge of divorce law. You will want to find an attorney who has been in practice for some time, and who has handled an extensive number of cases.

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