Getting Closure by Getting You a Fair Deal

How We Do Things

At M. Hedayat & Associates, P.C. we work with parties going through divorce or separation in DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendal, Wayne, and Cook counties.

Divorce can be stressful and expensive, often extracting a high toll. Too often there are no real winners in divorce cases. At M. Hedayat & Associates we focus right away on finding a solution that allows everyone to get on with their lives. How? Our method is simple

Assess and Evaluate: We start by looking at information presented by your spouse regarding the marital estate. We use our experience in asset recovery, bankruptcy, real estate, business valuation, title, and litigation, to arrive a realistic picture.

Recommend: What emerges is a snapshot of likely costs associated with the case; an indicator of where a fair settlement lies. We constantly reassess these conclusions.

Act: Based on our Client’s wishes we begin negotiating with Opposing Counsel or litigating to protect the Client’s rights.

While we can’t protect every Client from having to go to Court, we can usually give them a good idea of what they’re up against; and knowing that is half the battle. 

In Illinois the relationship of a married couple, including their rights in a divorce, is governed by the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Divorce is never an easy decision, and while it may be the best thing for both parties in the long run, the process is often overwhelming. What’s worse, the legal wrangling involved is often confusing and can seem endless. But with the right lawyer the process becomes easier to bear. Your divorce attorney should help negotiate a fair and equitable outcome in the areas of

Property Distributions: equitable distribution of property with your spouse
Maintenance: ensure reasonable requests for alimony and support
Children: ensure equal time with your children and to ensure their support

These important issues depend on the positions of the parties during the marriage as well their prospects for success after separation. The typical factors taken under consideration in these circumstances include 

• what the parties had before marriage
• what the parties acquired during marriage
• what the parties earned during the marriage
• what the parties had to give up during the marriage
• the level of education or training of each party
• the number and condition of the couple’s children
• the number, among, and types of obligations incurred

Separation

Before two people may divorce under Illinois law they must first be separated for a period of time generally called a ‘cooling off period’ or agree to waive that period and get right to the divorce. There are 4 types of separation that can apply

Trial Separation: The least disruptive kind of separation. People undergoing trial separation are essentially still deciding if they can work out their problems. During this period the debts and assets of the parties are accumulated and paid as if they were still married, and property remains in the hands of both parties.

Living Apart: This is a requirement before a so-called ‘no fault divorce’ will be granted. Living apart usually requires one of the spouses to foot the bill for their own separate accommodations. A couple must live apart for 18-months before a no-fault divorce will be granted. Debts and assts are still considered marital property during this period. 

Permanent Separation: When a couple realizes that there will be no future reconciliation, permanent separation is the answer. Income and liabilities become each person’s own responsibility during this period, except as they relate to the martial home or the children, in which case those liabilities must still be paid in the usual and customary way.  Assets and debts are still considered joint, however.

Legal Separation: This is the final level before out-and-out divorce, and represents the period after the Court has ruled on the equitable division of property, as well as issues related to child custody and support. Legal separation is the state in which the parties live until a final order of divorce is granted. In these circumstances spouses are considered ‘estranged’ from one another and live separate lives altogether. The spouse making support payments may claim those payments as a tax deduction.

Grounds for Divorce

Fault:  one or both parties have committed action(s) that traditionally gave rise to a divorce such as

adultery

excessive use of an addictive drug (at least 2 years)

bigamy

impotence

infected spouse with a STD

excessive alcohol abuse (at least 2 years)

desertion of the spouse (at least 1 year)

conviction of a felony

malicious action towards the other spouse

repeated physical and/or mental abuse

 No Fault:the parties have irreconcilable differences that, despite their efforts, prevent their continued cohabitation or successful coexistence as a married couple

Alimony and Maintenance

Maintenance or Alimony represents a series of payments (usually monthly) designed to reduce the hardship involved when the parties separate. Traditionally maintenance is paid by the higher-earning spouse, as revealed by documents filed with the Court.

The amount of maintenance or alimony paid following a divorce depends on the parties’ financial situation during the marriage, the cost of maintaining that lifestyle for the payee spouse, the extent to which each spouse can earn for themselves, etc.

Child Support

Child Support payments are ordered by the Court based on statute or can be agreed to by the parties. Either way the purpose of child support payments is to ensure the welfare of the children of the marriage, and may be reinforced with orders that require payments to be deducted right out of the check of the paying spouse.

Property Distributions

Property Distributions can be made in addition to, or instead of, alimony and maintenance payments to reflect the even distribution of the martial estate. Property Distributions are often favored because they get things over with up-front and can be negotiated as part of a Marital Settlement Agreement by the Attorneys for the parties.