Anderson & Boback Family Law Attorneys

When a divorce is close to becoming final, one of the last things you will discuss with your Chicago divorce attorney is the need for Insurance. Once you have negotiated the terms of the spousal maintenance or alimony that you are going to receive the amount of child support and payment of child-related expenses that each parent is going to be responsible for and there may be a college expense component or even support for a child over the age of 18 if you have a disabled child,  you will talk about Life Insurance and Disability Insurance.  It is important to understand the difference, how each of them can be used to protect you in the future and which is best for your individual situation.  It is hard to think about death but it is necessary to make provisions for the unexpected death or disability of the person that you are relying on for support. Difference Between Life Insurance and Disability Insurance First, let’s discuss the difference between Life Insurance and D...

Congress recently enacted the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” which has recently provided and will continue to provide thousands of dollars in stimulus funds to many families.  The bill provides different amounts to different people who fall into different adjusted gross income brackets, and also varies by filing status. Third Stimulus Check - What You Need to Know Single Filers Filers who file “Single” may receive up to $1,400 if their adjusted gross income is $75,000 per year or less.  Single filers who earn between $75,000 and $80,000 in adjusted gross income will also receive a check but at a reduced amount.   Married Joint Filers Married couples filing jointly can receive up to $2,800, so long as their adjusted gross income is $150,000 or less.  In the event that they earn an adjusted gross income of more than $150,000 but less than $160,000, they will still receive a reduced amount, but not the full $2,800, subject to a phase-out completely at an adjust...

One of the most overlooked areas in a divorce decree is the tax implications of the agreement. Family Law Attorneys are not ethically able to give tax advice in Illinois, which is why clients are often encouraged to speak to their accountant regarding the tax implications of a divorce decree. However, there are general, important tax considerations in a divorce decree and how they can impact your agreement. These repercussions need to be considered during the negotiation stage. Clients can severely undermine the use of an accountant in the early stages of divorce negotiations . This blog is intended to outline some of the more important areas to pay attention to in a divorce decree, relative to taxes. 5 Key Tax Considerations in a Divorce Decree 1. The Child Dependency Exemption/Child Care Tax Credit Divorcing parties generally know that whoever claims their eligible children on their income tax returns can receive a larger income tax refund. Sometimes parties will choose to alternate ...

  When it comes to planning to divorce in Illinois, many people ask what they should do to prepare for divorce, and those lists are a dime a dozen. In my experience as a Chicago divorce attorney, it is far more common for people to make mistakes and do things they should not have done, which can be very difficult to later rectify. Here are the Top 7 Things You Should NOT Do If You are Planning to Divorce in Illinois: 1. Do not leave items accessible to your soon-to-be ex unless they are replaceable. Perhaps you have family heirlooms in your home. Furniture, jewelry, old family photo albums or other items that you cannot replace somehow become very susceptible to damage and/or disappearing once one person tells the other that they are filing for divorce. The best way to protect these items is to remove them from the other party’s access. Keep in mind, though, that in the event your spouse will contest the marital versus non-marital nature of any of these items, you will w...

Right before a divorce is filed, spouses are usually in a hurry to try and protect their assets from a possible distribution at the time of a divorce.  Sometimes this is done clearly in a bad-faith manner, such as gifts or transfers of money to a sister or girlfriend's account.  However, other times, the parties are not aware that certain transfers or gifts, such as the transfer of an account to a child either of or outside of the marriage are problematic. Gifts or Transfers of Funds to a Child and Dissipation While transferring or gifting money or assets to a child may sound harmless, these types of transfers or funds or "gifts" are considered dissipation of marital assets.  Dissipation is briefly explained in Section 750 ILCS 5/503 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Generally, expenditures held to constitute dissipation are extraordinary expenses that clearly do not further common marital interests . If the gifts or funds are marital assets the...

Bill and Linda are divorcing after 27 years of marriage – one of the richest couples in the world.  Famous for many things but included in their legacy is their philanthropy and the amount they have given away to charitable causes the least of which is their generous donations towards the fight against COVID-19.  Bill Gates who co-founded Microsoft is worth an estimated 124 billion dollars.   The couple filed a joint petition for divorce in Seattle court this week and indicated that they have already reached an agreement as to how to separate their property.   Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and married Linda almost twenty years later.  Interestingly enough, I have not heard that there was a pre-nuptial agreement.  There may have been a pre-nuptial agreement and the couple haats decided to keep that to themselves.  Pre-nuptial agreements are not required to be filed or made public. There is no doubt that whatever division the parties have ...