Recently in Alimony Category

Divorce is an expensive process and when courts determine alimony, the costs can continue for a long time.

Despite what you may think, alimony is, in most cases, fairly determined by a neutral party -- namely, the judge who knows neither you nor your spouse. He or she is making a decision based on non-personal factors.

What kind of factors would those be? Illinois courts have a list of things they consider when determining alimony payments.

Divorce decrees that include child support and alimony, like most do, can make your finances more complicated, especially around tax time.

Not only do you have to account for your income to the IRS, you also want to avoid paying more in taxes than you need to. What you really need is a primer on how your child support and alimony payments will affect your tax obligation.

The good news is both of those will lessen your tax burden. But they each have a different tax status according to the IRS.

The Chicago Tribune asked an interesting question the other day: can it ever be a good idea to remarry your ex?

Of course, after reading this blog, one might wonder if it is ever a good idea to marry at all. Or even, what legal considerations come along with reuniting, even if it does feel so good?

Life ain’t a chick flick. Remember the First Wives’ Club? Besides being wickedly funny, each of the three women had a relatively easy time putting their lives back together after divorce. Each ended up financially self-sufficient and helped their friends survive financially and emotionally while exacting brilliant revenge upon their evil ex-husbands. It’s too good to be true. The reality of a divorce for most women is probably closer to a Paula Cole song.

Pop culture aside, the question for dependant spouses of either gender is what will the future hold financially? While they may be happy to escape a diffiuclt marriage, most will not be happy to lose their financial support. Some have sacrificed their own careers to help their husband. Others have wiped noses and rears while their wives dominated as actresses and reporters.

If it wasn’t clear from the headline, “Gray Divorce” is an emerging trend in divorce statistics that indicates that Baby Boomers, more than any generation before them, are choosing to end unhappy marriages in their later years. According to a study by Bowling Green State University, the divorce rate among middle-aged and older adults doubled between 1990 and 2009, while the overall divorce rate declined.

It’s not just the United States either. According to the BBC, in Japan, they call it “retired husband syndrome.” Essentially, these older Americans (and Japanese) are heading into retirement and instead of continuing in an unhappy marriage, they are seeking companionship and happiness elsewhere.

Where is my John Wayne?
Where is my prairie song?
Where is my happy ending?
Where have all the cowboys gone?

Paula Cole's eternally relevant tune, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" is more than a morose song of sorrow about the pitfalls of country life. It is a sociological portrait of a typical country housewife. With the ever-climbing divorce rate slowed only by the destitute state of the economy, it is more important than ever to be aware of the rights of the child-rearing homemaker.

Premarital agreements set the expectations of the marriage. They are not a plan for failure; rather, they provide a set of guidelines and expectations for each party’s assets and estates. They can be useful in the event of a divorce, or in preserving one’s estate for their children. They are important for everyone, not just Ruben Studdard and Kanye.

Legally? None. Emotionally? A ton.

Illinois is a no-fault divorce state. In addition to allowing divorce based on “irreconcilable differences,” this also means that adultery will not affect property settlements. Property settlements are to be made “without regard to marital misconduct.”

Dennis Rodman is no stranger to family law issues, having recently been embroiled in a dispute over unpaid spousal and child support. Now the former Chicago Bulls star has finally consented to end his marriage to Michelle Rodman, a whole eight years after Michelle first filed her divorce papers, Fox Sports reports.

Last week, Rodman finally put an end to the couple’s eight-year divorce battle. Though the Basketball Hall of Famer signed the divorce papers, the dispute over the $800,000 in allegedly unpaid child support payments continues.

If you were to hand-pick two celebrities perfect for marriage, you probably couldn’t come up with a better pairing than alt-pin-up Zooey Deschanel and Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard.

But proving that what seems right on paper will not necessarily work out in reality, the New Girl star officially filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, and now it has been revealed just how much money may be at stake in the divorce, reports the Daily Mail.