One of my memorable claims to fame as a parent was following the school bus on my five-year-old twin’ daughters first day of Kindergarten. Our family lived in a semi-rural area with isolated roads where drivers regularly exceeded the speed limit. Sure enough, on that very special and important morning, the bus driver sped along
Before people in Illinois get married, they can play an active role in managing their assets and properties to protect themselves and their financial future. The manner in which title to property is held can have a dramatic impact on property division when a divorce occurs. As part of this, it is valuable to have
Not all divorces are ugly. Some exes mediate instead of hiring pit bull attorneys, sit comfortably together at their kids’ school performances and maintain the same rules in each household. Child support is paid on time. Neither parent speaks ill of the other in front of the children. Timeshares are flexible to support children’s changing
We’ve all heard about nasty divorces. Maybe a family member, friend or co-worker got caught up in one. Or maybe your own divorce turned bitter, where every little detail became a prolonged negotiation, where each party was geared up for a battle–and got it. The worst of these divorces is when even the kids become
We asked adult children of divorce to share how their parents’ splits affected their lives in the long run, for better or for worse. This story came to us from Crystal Pearson, age 50.* (As told to Natasha Burton.) My parents’ divorce would have screwed me up a lot less if they’d bothered telling me
As a divorce lawyer for the past 17 years, I get to meet and speak to dozens of people every week regarding their relationships and the problems they encounter in their marriages. Having counseled thousands of people, I am privy to both the underbelly of marriage and divorce. In the same way that people get
There are no hard and fast rules for deciding when it’s time to move in together. It’s a ver y personal decision for you and the man in your life. In our book Love For Grown Ups: The Garter Brides’ Guide to Marrying For Life When You’ve Already Got a Life, we interviewed dozens of
One of the most consistent research findings that explore the effects of divorce on children is that the results are inconsistent. Yes, that is what I meant to write. Thirty years of scientific study have concluded th at there are no simple answers to the question about how children will be affected by divorce. In
During a nearly two-decades long career, financial planner Debbie Hartzman has doled out her share of savvy money advice to clients going through divorce. Wha t may be surprising is that in the last few years she’s been seeing more and more clients in their 60s, 70s or even 80s. According to Statistics Canada, the
Ron and Mary both live in the same split-level ranch they bought as newlyweds in 1995. But the problem is that Ron and Mary are not newlyweds anymore — or even married. The couple divorced in 2011 but remain living together as platonic roommates for financial reasons. Ron has been unable to find work after
