Best Divorce Attorney Near Me

A divorce is a significant legal transition that can seriously affect you and your children’s future. In other words, obtaining divorce terms that support your best interests is critical, and for that, you need one of the best divorce attorneys near you. 

Divorce Basics

Just as every marriage is unique to the couple involved, so too is every divorce. Nevertheless, every divorce hinges on the same basic elements, which include:

• The division of marital property
• Allocation of parental responsibility, Child custody arrangements 
• Child support
• Alimony

Let’s consider the significant impact each can have.

The Division of Your Marital Property

You and your spouse acquired assets and debts during the course of your marriage, and upon divorce, this marital property is meant to be divided in a manner that is considered fair given the situation (an equitable distribution). The division of your property upon divorce is likely to play a significant role in your financial future and should not be given short shrift. Often the family home is a couple’s largest asset, and it can lead to complicated negotiations that can include selling the home and dividing the proceeds, one spouse purchasing the other spouse’s interest in the home, or one parent remaining in the home (which both spouses continue to own together) until the children graduate from high school. Obtaining a fair division of marital property can be critical to you and your children’s ongoing financial stability. 

Child Custody Arrangements

The State of Illinois addresses both legal and physical custody. Legal custody can be either sole or joint, and it involves making important decisions on behalf of the children that relate to the following:

• Their education
• Their medical care
• Their religious education
• Their extracurricular activities

While physical custody can also be either sole or joint, it refers to whom the children reside with, and even if one parent does have sole custody, the resulting parenting plan or allocation of parental responsibility is likely to include a visitation schedule for the other parent. 

Child Support 

Both parents are required to support their children financially, and child support payments are based on state calculation guidelines. Generally, the primary custodial parent receives child support from the other parent. Even if you share your children’s time exactly equally, however, the parent with higher earnings is very likely to pay child support to the other. This is because child support payments are intended to balance the financial support across each parent’s ability to pay. 

Alimony or Maintenance

While alimony or maintenance isn’t a component of every divorce, it can help balance a couple’s post-divorce finances by requiring the spouse with the financial means to make alimony (or spousal support) payments to the spouse who experiences a financial need. 

Call an Experienced Divorce Attorney Near You Today

The dedicated divorce attorneys at The Law Offices of George M. Sanders – proudly serving the Chicago area – have the experience, legal acumen, and wherewithal to skillfully advocate for divorce terms that help you and your children successfully move forward post-divorce. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.