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Summer and Winter Divorce Seasons
Winter holidays often bring to mind thoughts of families around massive turkey dinners and children excitedly opening Christmas presents. Summer months involve similar—though usually outdoor—family gatherings and vacations. Children are on a break from school and parents can grill dinner outdoors while getting some sun. Although we generally think of holidays as a fun-filled vacation from stress, a new study from the University of Washington suggests otherwise. According to the study, rates of divorce filing significantly increase in the time period after the holidays.
Divorce filings seem to peak in March, after the winter holidays, and in August, at the end of summer vacation. Sociology professor Julie Brines and doctoral student Brian Serafini found evidence of a biannual pattern in divorce in Washington State between 2001 and 2015. Their results suggest that divorce rates rise 40% from December to March.
Why Is Divorce Seasonal?
Cohabitation Agreements in Illinois
More couples are choosing to live together without being married than ever before. In fact, cohabitation is being called the "new normal," when it comes to living arrangements for younger couples. Three out of four women will have lived with a male partner before turning 30, according to one study. Whether you are considering marriage in the future or have decided to forego marriage altogether, it is still important to protect yourself and your rights while living together with a partner. A family law attorney can help you craft a cohabitation agreement and answer any other questions you may have.
Cohabitation Facts
A government study spanning the years 2006-2010 reported that nearly half of all women - 48 percent - in so-called first-unions, or long-term relationships with men, chose to move in with their partners prior to or in place of getting married. The figure represented a five percent increase from a similar study conducted in 1995. Roughly 40 percent of those cohabitants studied married their partner within the next three years, and another 32 percent continued to live with their partner without getting married.
Which Advance Directive Options are Best for You?
When it comes to estate planning and documenting your wishes regarding your health care, it is important to know which options you have and to understand your rights before you put anything in writing. After all, this is your chance to speak your mind concerning what you do and do not want in the event you are incapacitated and unable to make decisions about your own health.
Acquainting yourself with the full scope of the options available to you can help you select the advance directives that best suit your needs and desires. Having these plans in place not only offers the advantage of bringing you peace of mind, but it can also benefit your loved ones as well by providing them with the comfort knowing you are prepared for the unexpected.
The Four Main Advance Directive Options in Illinois
Illinois law makes four specific options available to those wishing to document their health care directives in advance. If you wish, you may utilize any combination of these options. The purpose of every advance directive is to give you say over your own health and who else you would like to give that power to if you are unable to make decisions someday. You may choose any of the following:
A New Understanding of Child Custody and Visitation
At the beginning of 2016, sweeping amendments to Illinois state law changed the terminology and application of child-related matters during divorce. Child custody became known as the allocation of parental responsibilities and visitation was renamed as parenting time. These changes are meant to reduce contention, preserve family bonds, and keep children at the center of divorce proceedings. Understand how this may affect your case, and how you can effectively navigate the process.
Allocation of Parental Responsibilities in Illinois
Under the new provisions, decision-making regarding where a child will go to school, what church they will attend, where the child will reside, if and when they should have certain medical or surgical procedures, and other important decisions are known as the allocation of parental responsibilities. It may be split equally among parents, or the most authority may go to the parent that has the greatest amount of parenting time. Alternatively, there are situations in which the parent with the least amount of parenting time will have the most decision-making power. Essentially, the circumstances are as varied as each individual family.
Two Estate Planning Tools That Offer Protection for Your Disabled Loved One
Making any kind of estate plan is an emotional task, especially when the arrangements you are creating impact the ones you love most. Estate planning can be particularly challenging when you have to consider a loved one with special needs, as the circumstances surrounding their health and finances may mean more time and attention spent on details on your part to ensure they are properly cared for.
If your loved one’s capacity for self-care is limited due to a mental or physical disability, you thankfully have resources and options available to you. Illinois law allows you to offer assistance to your disabled loved one and protect their best interests, beginning with two special estate planning tools: a guardianship and a special needs trust.
Obtaining Guardianship
By pursuing guardianship, you accomplish something very important: you establish some security for your disabled loved one by asking the court to grant you the legal authority to help look after them. Additionally, the appointed guardian can also help manage property, finances, and any other assets, lightening the burden for your family member with special needs.
Does Your Parenting Plan Need a Change?
Creating a parenting plan following a divorce can be a challenge, especially when you and your spouse cannot see eye-to-eye on the arrangements. The role of a professional, certified mediator can be extremely helpful as you piece together the allocation of parental responsibilities (child custody) and parenting time (visitation), but what happens when the parenting plan you work so hard to negotiate falls apart down the road or causes continual conflict?
When assessing your current parenting plan and whether or not it would benefit from certain modifications, consider the following:
- Are your children content with existing visitation patterns? If your child is demonstrating any resistance or is showing any signs of emotional distress while sharing time with either parent, it is wise to reassess and consider whether or not the current parenting time schedule is conducive to your family’s needs and general well-being; and
Study Finds Divorce Rate Higher for Husbands Who Do Not Work Full-Time
For years, marriage and relationship experts have presented evidence suggesting that financial struggles are often a key factor when a couple decides to get divorced. In many ways, the concept makes sense. Money management is a core principle of any relationship and spouses dealing with economic stress and anxiety will often reach a breaking point quickly. A new study, however, seems to indicate that there is more to the story than just money, as its results showed that a husband’s ability to find full-time work directly impacts the couple’s likelihood of divorce.
Behaviors Over Money
Alexandra Killewald, a sociology professor at Harvard University, recently authored a study that was published in the American Sociological Review. She reviewed more than four decades of information related to over 6,300 heterosexual couples in compiling her research. The data did not include husbands who voluntarily choose to fulfill the role of a stay-at-home parent.
Potential Roadblocks for Beneficiaries Attempting to Exercise Their Rights
When a friend or family member chooses you as a beneficiary in his or her will or any of their estate planning documents, they did so with the strong conviction that you are trustworthy and capable of acting on behalf of their best interests. Much thought and care likely went into their decision, and whether you were aware of their choice or not, the moment they pass away or entrust you with a valuable asset, you automatically take on the responsibility of carrying out their wishes.
Potential Complications
In many cases, exercising your rights as a beneficiary is a smooth process. You may work easily with an executor, attorney, or family member, without experiencing a single hiccup along the way. Sadly, though, issues can arise under certain circumstances as you attempt to exercise your rights, spawning a number of frustrations not only for you but for anyone else involved in the process.
Does Your Child’s Opinion Matter in a Custody Proceeding?
During a proceeding for child custody—now known in Illinois as the allocation of parental responsibilities—your child may have strong opinions as to where they would like to live or how much time they want to spend with each parent. The amount that a child’s opinion affects custody decisions can vary from case to case and often depends on the judge’s discretion. There are several factors that a judge will take into consideration with regard to determining parenting arrangements, and the child’s wishes are often among of these factors.
The Child’s Reasoning and Decision-Making Abilities
Judges generally have some basic criteria they look for when deciding how much weight to give a child’s wishes during a custody proceeding. These criteria can include but are not limited to:
- The maturity level of the child;
- The mental health and emotional stability of the child;
The Changing American Family
The landscape of families in America is changing. The days of “Leave it to Beaver”-style nuclear families as the majority are largely behind us. Today, American families often include stepparents, stepsiblings, half-siblings, adopted children, single parents, or same-sex parents. Compared to previous generations, many more children are being raised by guardians or grandparents as well.
A Look Inside the Numbers
A study from the University of Maryland’s Philip N. Cohen puts these changes into statistical perspective. For example, a household consisting of married parents in which the father worked outside of the home and the mother served as a homemaker accounted for 60 percent of families in 1960. Another 18 percent of families included married parents who both worked.
More current numbers look much different than those from 50-plus years ago. In 2012, only 22 percent of families included married parents with the father being the sole breadwinner. The percentage of families with two married working parents rose to 34 percent. According to the study, the remaining 44 percent of families included single parents, parents who have never married, grandparents, and divorced parents. The married parents category also includes remarried individuals and stepparents.
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