Few things in life are as shocking, upsetting, and heart-wrenching as discovering that your husband has another wife or entire family. In either case, not only do you have grounds for divorce, but you also may be in a position to sue for civil damages, recover a substantially larger portion of the marital property, or even press criminal charges against the bigamist.

Many couples end up dissolving their marriages on relatively good terms. In these cases, the divorce is often uncontested. An amicable divorce is one in which both spouses agree to the terms without contesting such matters as division of marital property, child support, child custody, visitation, and spousal support. There are many positives to an amicable divorce, including significant time savings. Amicable divorces are generally much less stressful than contested divorces. And, amicable divorces are usually much less expensive. After all, 40 percent of Americans do not have enough money in…

With summer right around the corner and school just weeks away from being over, your parenting plan needs to be discussed with your child’s other parent. Summer parenting time is different than during the school year for the obvious reason that your child now has a lot more free time. First of all, the parenting plan needs to define when the summer schedule will start and end. Do not assume that it starts on the last day of school and ends on the first day of school in the fall.

If your soon-to-be-ex-spouse has an employer-sponsored health plan, and the employer has 20 or more employees, you can stay on this group insurance plan for up to 36 months under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). However, you will have to pay for the plan yourself. The cost and benefits remain the same as before, and because it is still a group insurance plan, it will likely be much more affordable than purchasing a private insurance plan for yourself. COBRA is a great option for spouses to pursue during divorce, but it will eventually need to be replaced …

Not long ago, Illinois courts assumed that giving sole child custody to mothers was in the best interest of the child. In fact, it was not until the 1970s that most states began adopting new laws that treated mothers and fathers equally, as well as favoring joint custody over sole custody for one parent. While some believe that fathers are still discriminated against when it comes to equal custody decisions, studies have proven this to be untrue. Fathers’ rights groups have been perpetuating disinformation for over the last decade about how mothers are given preferential treatment by the …

The news of divorce spreads quickly among close friends and family members. Some may breathe a collective sigh of relief, happy that you came to this positive decision. Others may be left in shock, never realizing that anything in your marriage was wrong in the first place. During this intensely personal experience, some couples struggle to keep their friends and family out of their divorce. However, it can be crucial to the success of the divorce to do just that. Family and friends may want what is best for you, but that is not always the case with your spouse’s side of the family and his …

Divorce is very tough on children — a fact that has been well documented over many decades. Divorce has been associated with academic difficulties, disruptive and illegal behavior, low self-esteem, depression, and emotional distress. When children of divorce enter adulthood, they are more likely to live in poverty, have children out of wedlock, marry at a young age, and get divorce themselves than their peers from non-divorced families.

Severe injuries and serious illnesses are an unfortunate reality of life that many families must deal with. After all, the lifetime risk of developing cancer is one in there. The odds of dying in a car crash are one in 114, meaning that the odds of being seriously injured in a traffic collision are much greater than that. Hospitalization or a serious, chronic injury or illness may limit a custodial parent’s ability to care for their child. Or, the injury or illness may simply be used against them by the noncustodial parent as a means to receive custody. Whether you are the custodial or …