STG Divorce Law
Naperville Divorce Lawyers
We combine years of experience with a team of passionate advocates to get you to a better place.
Naperville Office
Our Naperville Office is located in the Naperville Corporate Center on East Diehl Rd.
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650 E Diehl Rd
Suite 115, Naperville, IL 60563 - Get Directions
Are you considering divorce or just received divorce papers from your spouse? If so, you might be experiencing a swarm of emotions from confusion and sadness to anger and relief. While divorce is certainly an emotionally trying time, it is also a pivotal process in your life that can dictate several aspects of your life for years to come. You need a level-headed and objective legal professional in your corner who can work closely with you to determine your life goals and help to achieve them.
Whether you are currently facing an amicable divorce or a bitter one, the Naperville divorce lawyers from STG Divorce Law are here to help you. We can sit down with you and listen to your story. Then, we can build an effective legal strategy tailored to your specific situation and objectives, backed by our years of experience and exhaustive knowledge of Illinois family law.
Are you considering divorce or just received divorce papers from your spouse? If so, you might be experiencing a swarm of emotions from confusion and sadness to anger and relief. While divorce is certainly an emotionally trying time, it is also a pivotal process in your life that can dictate several aspects of your life for years to come. You need a level-headed and objective legal professional in your corner who can work closely with you to determine your life goals and help to achieve them.
Whether you are currently facing an amicable divorce or a bitter one, the Naperville divorce lawyers from STG Divorce Law are here to help you. We can sit down with you and listen to your story. Then, we can build an effective legal strategy tailored to your specific situation and objectives, backed by our years of experience and exhaustive knowledge of Illinois family law.
How Can STG Divorce Lawyers in Naperville Help Me?
Divorce is one of the most painful things a person can endure. You may be grieving the loss of someone you once loved and your mental vision of the future. You might be concerned about how your relationship with your children and others may be affected and the financial ramifications of divorce.
Divorce can dramatically impact your legal and financial rights, affecting everything from where you live and your property rights to your relationship with and ability to spend time with your children. It is vital that you work with an experienced divorce lawyer who can assist you with the legal matters involved in your case.
Our family lawyers can help you with your divorce case by:
- Explaining your legal rights and options during a confidential case review
- Preparing divorce paperwork and responses
- Assisting with discovery requests and responses
- Handling negotiations for you
- Advising you of the potential implications of various agreements about property division
- Representing you in court, if necessary
- Protecting your rights every step of the way
Contact our exceptional team today to schedule an initial consultation with a member of our legal team. We can answer any questions you have and advise you of the best course of action based on your particular situation.
Legal Grounds for Filing a Divorce in Illinois
Illinois only uses no-fault grounds to end a marriage. Courts do not consider adultery, abandonment, abuse, or other such issues. Instead, courts can grant a divorce when they find the following:
- Irreconcilable differences between the spouses have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
- Efforts at reconciliation have failed or that future attempts to reconcile would be impracticable and not in the family’s best interests.
If you and your spouse have lived separate and apart continuously for at least six months, there is an irrebuttable presumption that you have irreconcilable differences.
Residency Requirement You Must Meet Before Filing for Divorce
In addition to having legal grounds for your divorce filing, you must also meet the residency requirement. Under this requirement, you or your spouse must have been a resident of Illinois or stationed on a military base while a member of the armed services for at least 90 days before filing the divorce petition.
Legal Issues Involved in Divorce
Divorce can involve many legal issues, including:
Property Division
A married couple may accumulate a large amount of assets during their marriage. Illinois is an equitable distribution state, so any marital property a couple accumulates during the marriage is generally subject to division in the event of divorce, regardless of how the property is titled.
Under Illinois law, marital property is generally all property and debt either spouse accumulates during the marriage, except for the following, which is known as “non-marital property:”
- Gifts or inheritances
- Property acquired before the marriage, including the portion of retirement accounts owned prior to marriage
- Property a spouse receives pursuant to a judgment for legal separation
- Property excluded based on a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
- Property a spouse obtains from a legal judgment against the other spouse
- The increase in value of non-marital property
- Income from nonmarital property not attributable to the personal effort of a spouse
- Property acquired by a spouse for the sole use as collateral for a loan to acquire marital property
- Property acquired using other non-marital property
“Non-marital property” and is generally not subject to division between spouses in a divorce.
After the spouses identify marital and non-marital property, they must agree on its value. If the spouses cannot agree on how to divide marital property, the court considers what would be fair and equitable under the circumstances, considering various factors, such as each spouse’s income, financial need, and earning capacity. This most often means an equal division of marital property, but in some cases an unequal division of marital property may be the result.
Our divorce attorneys are seasoned at explaining how Illinois law pertains to a spouse’s particular situation. We can work with you to determine your goals regarding the fair allocation of marital assets and debts and fight for you to achieve them.
Spousal Support
In some divorce cases, the spouses may have very different incomes or earning capacities. The court can award spousal support to make the divorce more fair when one spouse needs financial support from the other, who can afford to pay it. A formula helps calculate the amount of support to award, which considers each spouse’s income and the length of the marriage. However, a family law judge ultimately makes these decisions based on the unique circumstances of each case. Our experienced divorce attorney can find the right legal strategy that works best for your goals.
Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and Parenting Time
In divorces involving minor children, the court also makes awards regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, formerly referred to as “child custody” and “visitation.” It is presumed to be in the child’s best interests for parents to share in caring for their children and making decisions for them.
Parents work together to create a parenting plan. Our family law attorneys can assist with this process and ensure your interests and those of your children are protected. If acceptable resolutions cannot be reached, we can work for the results you need in court instead.
Child Support
In Illinois, both parents are required to contribute financially to support their children. Non-residential parents may be ordered to pay child support to help cover the child’s basic needs and additional payments for health insurance, education, childcare, and extracurricular activities.
Different Types of Divorce in Illinois
Families are unique, and several different types of divorce recognize these distinctions. Some of the most common ways to divorce include:
Contested Divorce
A contested divorce is one in which the parties do not agree about one or more of the legal issues described above – and seek resolution from the court. When disputes exist, an experienced attorney with STG Divorce Law can discuss your options for resolving them. You may be able to participate in divorce mediation to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with your spouse, allowing you to proceed with an uncontested divorce. Or, our family law lawyers can use their knowledge and experience to advocate your position through contested divorce litigation – through settlement or trial if necessary.
Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce is one in which the spouses agree on the major issues involved in their case. They work out a marital settlement agreement to resolve their financial issues, which is incorporated into the divorce decree. They also agree on the parenting issues and enter into a joint parenting agreement to address all of the issues related to child custody and visitation. If the spouses are able to agree on the issues in their divorce, they can eliminate contentious divorce proceedings and lower the cost of divorce.
Collaborative Divorce
Another option to get divorced is a collaborative divorce. With this type of divorce, the couple may not initially agree on the legal issues involved in their divorce, such as the division of assets, child custody matters, or the child support obligation. Each spouse is represented by a divorce attorney trained in Collaborative Practice, and the spouses and attorneys work together to reach an amicable agreement.
We encourage you to contact our law office today to discuss your case in a confidential setting with an experienced family law practitioner. We can discuss the family law solutions we offer and which approach might be best for your particular situation.
The Legal Process to Get Divorced in Illinois
While each divorce case is unique, the general divorce process follows these steps:
- One spouse files a complaint for divorce (known as a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage”) and summons in their local courthouse.
- That spouse executes legal service of the divorce forms on the other spouse through a third party (a Sheriff or process server).
- The other spouse responds to the petition.
- The court may conduct preliminary hearings and make temporary orders that dictate certain legal matters while the divorce is pending, such as the allocation of parenting time (visitation) and financial support.
- The parties exchange information with each other during the formal discovery phase of the case. Each party must complete a financial disclosure and proposed parenting plan.
- The parties may engage in settlement negotiations to reach an amicable decision.
- The parties attend court hearings to try to convince the court of the strength of their respective positions.
- The court may have a pretrial conference with the attorneys to discuss settlement recommendations.
- The court may have a trial if the spouses are unable to reach an agreement on all of the issues in the case. This trial is done without a jury in Illinois.
Uncontested divorces may skip several of these steps. The spouses’ attorneys prepare a marital settlement agreement to submit to the court and ask to be incorporated into the final divorce decree.
During this difficult time, it can be helpful to have a lawyer on your side defending your rights. The Naperville divorce lawyers at STG Divorce Law have decades of experience representing clients throughout DuPage County. We encourage you to contact us today so we can begin building your case.
How Is Marital Property Divided During Divorce?
The division of property can be a complex legal matter, depending on the complexity and value of the assets and debts you and your spouse have accumulated during your marriage. The process begins by accurately identifying property subject to division and determining its value. Experts may need to provide an opinion for more complex assets, such as business interests, real estate, pensions, or retirement accounts. Sometimes, the value of non-marital assets can impact the division of the marital property, so identification and careful valuation of non-marital assets can be important as well.
The couple can then reach an agreement regarding the division of assets, or they can have the court decide if they cannot agree. The court decides property disputes based on what is equitable under the circumstances, considering factors such as:
- Each spouse’s contribution to acquiring marital property, including their non-economic contributions
- The financial needs of each spouse
- The income, employability, vocational skills, and earning capacities of each spouse
- Whether spousal maintenance is awarded
Will I Receive the Marital Home?
The family home is one of the most valuable assets that may be part of your marital estate. In Illinois, whether the marital home is sold or kept by one or both spouses is arranged by agreement – if the case goes to trial, and one spouse wants the home to be sold, it most likely will be. You can agree to arrangements such as a buyout of home equity by one spouse, with the other keeping the home, or a delayed sale where you both keep the home with one spouse living in the home until it is sold at an agreed upon date. Any buyout where a mortgage is involved means a refinance will be required to remove the moving spouse from the mortgage. An experienced divorce lawyer from our law firm can discuss your goals and specific situation – and the potential drawbacks of different property division arrangements.
How Is Child Custody Determined in Illinois?
Child custody disputes are some of the most contentious family law matters. If parents cannot agree on how to parent their children and how to split parenting time, the court considers which custody arrangement would be in the child’s best interest. The court evaluates several factors when making this important decision, including:
- The relationship between the child and each parent
- The child’s stated preferences
- The financial capabilities of each parent
- The child and parents’ mental and physical needs
- How primary custody would affect the child’s living arrangements
- Any history of domestic violence
- The statements provided by a Guardian ad Litem or child custody evaluator appointed by the court
If you need help reaching a custody agreement, contact our law firm for a confidential case review.
Contact Our Experienced Naperville Divorce Attorneys Today
If you are beginning your divorce journey, the Naperville divorce lawyers from STG Divorce Law can help. We can explain the legal process of divorce to you, answer any questions you have, and describe how we can help throughout this process during a confidential consultation. Contact us today to get started with a confidential case review.
Divorce
We're ready to hear your story and show you how we can help you get from A to B without losing your kids, mind, and money in the process.
Family Law
Family law is important during divorce, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We make it easy by providing exceptional legal service with positivity and empathy.
Child Related Issues
Children are often a challenging part of the divorce process. At STG Law, our goal is to protect your relationship with your children through the process.
Mediation
If you want to seek an amicable solution for your separation or divorce, our mediators are here to help you find one through mediation.
High Net Worth Divorce
We work with you to protect your assets and privacy. Find out why so many clients trust STG Divorce Law to handle their high net worth divorce case.
Life After Divorce
Helping our clients see a better view of life after divorce is our mission and promise to every client. See what we're doing better and explore our free resources.
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What Our Clients Say
We invite you to a seat at our table. Here from real Naperville clients about their experience with STG Divorce Law and how we helped them through to a better view!
Find An Attorney Near You
Since 1994, STG Divorce Law has been serving clients in Chicago and all throughout Illinois. From divorce and child custody litigation to high-level mediation, our firm has the training, knowledge, and experience you’d expect in a premium law firm. Give us a call or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation.
650 E Diehl Rd
Suite 115
Naperville, IL 60563
22 W. Washington St.
Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60602
St. Charles, IL
100 Illinois St.
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St. Charles, IL 60174
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