Stay-at-Home Parents and Divorce in Illinois

 Posted on January 29, 2024 in Divorce

Being a working parent can be challenging. You might feel pulled in two directions between your work life and your home life. If your spouse is also working full-time, it can be extremely complicated to figure out how to juggle all of your commitments. Many parents decide that one of them should stop working and handle the bulk of the household responsibilities, allowing the other to dedicate more time to working and earning a living that the family can benefit from. While this sort of arrangement works for many people, it can make matters complicated if the couple later decides to get a divorce. If you are a stay-at-home parent worried that you will suffer financially if you divorce your breadwinning spouse, an experienced Cook County, IL divorce attorney can walk you through your options and advise you on moving forward.

Dynamics of a Stay-At-Home Parent

So many things need to happen for children to be raised appropriately. They need to have a maintained home, clean clothing to wear, and food to eat. They have to get to school and back, go to doctor appointments, finish their homework and papers, and make it on time for their extracurricular activities. Someone needs to make sure that they have school supplies, team uniforms, and presents to bring when they are invited to birthday parties. None of the above scratches the surface of the various things a parent is responsible for

How can anyone juggle all those things and hold down a full-time job? In some families, the responsibilities are completely split between the two parents who also both work, although in honesty, that is extremely rare. In many families, the bulk of the responsibilities falls on one parent to handle mostly independently, allowing the other parent the freedom to advance in their career and earn a decent living. When one parent decides to stop working to take on household management, thus affording the other parent more opportunities for professional development, it can help a family find the balance they need

However, if, for whatever reason, that parent needs to suddenly find a job, they can be at a severe disadvantage. Instead of spending time proving themselves at work, they have spent years out of practice. They also have missed out on networking opportunities and need a way to stay up-to-date on professional developments

Equitable Division of Assets

The State of Illinois recognizes that there are many factors to consider when deciding a fair division of marital assets in a divorce. Some of the many things the court will consider are:

• Did one spouse stay home, thus contributing to the other spouse’s professional success?
• Did one spouse support the other’s education or career?
• What is each spouse’s income?
• What is each spouse’s potential future earning power based on education, professional experience, and market trends?

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Chicago, IL Divorce Attorney

If you have been pushing off divorce because you are worried that being a stay-at-home parent will put you at a disadvantage in your settlement, you should deserve a better understanding of what you can expect. An experienced Cook County, IL divorce lawyer can walk you through the process and explain all the factors so you can decide with knowledge. Call The Law Office of George J. Skuros at 312-884-1222 to schedule a free consultation.