Deciding how you will share time with your children after divorce is never easy. Aside from the financial and logistical aspects at play, there are considerable emotional factors involved.

One thing you may consider is asking your child where they want to live. Yet, this might not always be best.

At what age can children decide where they want to live after divorce?

There is no set age at which an Illinois judge will allow a child a say in which parent has custody of them. State code says that when considering physical custody, a court must consider: “The wishes of the child, taking into account the child's maturity and ability to express reasoned and independent preferences as to decision making.”

The previous administration took several actions to reduce the LGBTQ community's rights. The current administration has taken several steps to reverse those decisions and return rights to equality that were taken away. The latest change came earlier this month and concerns health care.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act outlawed health care discrimination. It made clear discriminating against someone based on "race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability" was not acceptable.

As with many laws, people look for ways to interpret words to suit themselves and their goals. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided to define "sex" to mean only male or female. Thus they gave the go-ahead for insurers and health care providers to refuse essential treatments to many members of the LGBTQ community.

You know that you must have a firm understanding of your assets when you file for divorce. This allows you to get a fair split under the current laws.

To help, you begin looking into your assets a bit more deeply than you have before. What you find is that, since you and your spouse have been informally talking about divorce, they have started making financial transactions you didn't know about. Are they trying to hide assets?

What might this look like?

Any time there is a notable change, that should raise some red flags. But you also want to know how people may hide assets.

Hate crimes are illegal in America, so why do they keep happening? Far too many members of the LGBT community in Chicago, Illinois, ask themselves this question every day. They face discrimination, harassment and violence at a rate that other American citizens rarely experience.

There is help available, however, for the victims of hate crimes.

What qualifies as a hate crime?

According to Illinois legal code, hate crimes can include a wide array of illegal actions, including:

Layoffs, shutdowns, reduced work hours and childcare challenges have affected nearly everyone's lives over the past year due to the pandemic. For couples already experiencing marital difficulties when the stay-at-home orders began, life became even more complicated.

With 2021 in full swing and vaccines bringing the promise of life returning closer to normal later this year, many of those spouses are considering whether and when they should file for divorce. Much of that may depend upon you and your spouse's financial circumstances over the coming months.

Advantages of filing now

When assessing your situation and the best timing for filing for divorce, it's advisable to talk to a knowledgeable family law attorney who understands why filing early can make sense in many cases, including: