When children are young, birthday parties are a way to make them feel special, with family and friends in attendance. However, after a divorce, celebrating a child’s birthday may feel like a complicated and daunting task. Your child deserves to have a great day, but seeing your ex-spouse and being reminded of your divorce may not be the best situation for everyone involved. You may also feel increased pressure to make things perfect for your child, especially if you are recently divorced.

To start, your parenting plan may have all the answers. You might have communicated what to do for family birthdays in your divorce agreement. A parenting plan dictates which parent a child spends time with and when. Maybe that was a while ago, and things have changed, or it was not included at all. 

Marriage is a union that brings two people together. In order to get married in Illinois, two adults age 18 years or older have to sign a marriage license at the county clerk’s office. After presenting proper identification and paying a fee, you can be legally married. It takes two consenting adults to get married, but when it comes to divorce, if one partner cannot be located, service by publication can be issued to relieve the abandoned partner.

When getting a divorce, the first step is to file a petition to end the marriage with the court. This involves paperwork you file with your local clerk’s office. Your petition will be assigned a case number and a judge, and a summons will be issued. The summons is what the other spouse receives to initiate the divorce process. There are five ways to provide this notice:

With all the planning and effort it takes to get married, getting a divorce is an equally demanding reversal. However, instead of booking venues and picking flower arrangements, you are hiring attorneys and dividing assets. Some religions also frown upon divorce, which can add another layer of complexity. Still, there are many possible reasons someone may decide to divorce their spouse. 

In Illinois, a judge will grant a divorce if the couple has irreconcilable differences or has lived separately for six months. The divorce process starts by filing forms and serving them to your spouse. If you are conflicted on your reasons for wanting a divorce, here is a list of common factors that often cause individuals to make the critical decision.

When two people get married, their financial situations change. The same is true in divorce. In Illinois, spouses who earn less money typically receive spousal maintenance (formerly known as spousal support or alimony). Here is a look at how spousal maintenance is calculated.

What Is Spousal Maintenance?

Spousal maintenance protects the individual in the marriage who makes less money and who would, therefore, be at an economic disadvantage in divorce. For example, one spouse may have stopped working to raise the family while the other maintained a high-paying career. Maintenance is meant to maintain the standard of living for both former partners. 

Often when people fall in love, they get married to show their commitment to their partner. It is a significant gesture and an even bigger step in a relationship. A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, so after a divorce, it may feel hard to love and accept yourself.

There is no right or wrong way to feel during or after a divorce. Everyone has different experiences depending on the length of the marriage and if children are involved. In some cases, a divorce may be the best thing for everyone, although it may not feel that way at the time.