Many people aspire to notoriety. However, few realize that there are also downsides to being in the public eye. Many recognizable individuals find themselves subject to public scrutiny and privacy violations. If you or your spouse are well-known, you may have concerns about how you can protect your privacy during divorce. The end of your marriage is a deeply personal matter, and it should never serve as entertainment or gossip for others. Fortunately, there are several steps that you can take to protect yourself in a high-profile divorce.

Consider Using a Non-Disclosure Agreement

A confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement is a contract that requires parties to keep certain information confidential. During your divorce, you will likely share detailed information about your real estate holdings, investments, businesses, and other assets. You will also share information about any debts and liabilities you are subject to. Keeping private financial information like this confidential is a top priority in a high-profile divorce. Furthermore, information about your personal life may come to light during a divorce. Medical and psychological records, the results of child custody evaluations, and information about marital infidelity are just some examples of the personal topics that may be brought up during the divorce. A confidentiality agreement can be used to prohibit third parties from divulging confidential information. If a party violates the contract, the non-breaching party may be entitled to legal remedies including monetary damages.

Alternative Resolution Methods May Help You Avoid a Divorce Trial

When a divorcing couple cannot agree on property division, child custody, spousal maintenance, or other divorce issues, the case may go to trial. Most civil trials are a matter of public record. This means that your personal information may be available for anyone to view. If you can reach an out-of-court settlement through an alternative resolution method, you can avoid going to trial.

Divorce cases vary as wildly as marriages do. Some divorce cases are relatively straightforward. The couple is able to agree on the terms of their divorce, file the paperwork with the court, and walk away. Other divorces involve complicated financial disagreements, hostile child custody disputes, or spouses who insist on divorce terms that are grossly unfair. High-conflict divorce cases such as these are often much more involved than typical divorce cases. Read on to learn about some of the signs that you may divorce may be high conflict.

Issues that Often Lead to High-Conflict Divorce

For divorcing spouses, it can be hard to know what the divorce process will look like. Many spouses hope that their soon-to-be-ex will freely hand over the needed information, agree to reasonable terms, and resolve the divorce quickly and amicably. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Some signs that your divorce may have a high degree of contentiousness include:

• Lying about money – If your spouse has a history of lying about money during your marriage, this could be a sign that he or she will falsify financial data during divorce. Some spouses attempt to shield assets from division during divorce by transferring or undervaluing assets, underreporting income, or falsifying business financials. Financial deception can also heavily influence child support and spousal maintenance concerns.
• Cheating – Although Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, marital infidelity can still have a major effect on divorce. Couples with a history of cheating may have a very difficult time working cooperatively. Some spouses may even use the divorce as an opportunity to seek revenge for past wrongs.
• Parenting arguments – If you and your spouse have dramatically different ideas of what “good parenting” looks like, you may find it nearly impossible to reach an agreement about the terms of your Illinois parenting plan.
• Narcissism – The term “narcissist” may refer to a person with a narcissistic personality disorder or someone who exhibits characteristics associated with the disorder. Narcissists are typically characterized by grandiosity, exaggerated self-importance, lack of empathy, and a sense of entitlement.
• Refusal to compromise – Some divorcing spouses are intent on “winning” the divorce at all costs. They refuse to agree to even the most generous compromises, intentionally drag out the divorce process, and make the divorce as difficult as possible.

Contact a DuPage County High-Conflict Divorce Lawyer

You do not have to face a high-conflict divorce alone. The knowledgeable Hinsdale divorce attorneys at Botti Marinaccio, LTD. can provide the tenacious legal advocacy you need to assert your rights during a contentious divorce. Call us at 630-575-8585 today for a confidential consultation.

Per Illinois law, divorcing spouses have a right to an equitable share of the marital estate. Spouses also have a right to fair child support and/or spousal support arrangement. However, to get a fair divorce resolution, an accurate and complete inventory of the spouses’ finances must be obtained. When spouses have complex or high-value assets or are unwilling to be truthful about property and debt, securing the financial information needed to reach a fair divorce settlement or judgment is particularly complicated. Forensic accounting is a process during which a detailed examination of a spouse’s finances is taken, assets are valued, and evidence of financial deception is uncovered.

Your Lawyer May Work with a Forensic Accountant to Interpret Complex Financial Portfolios

A forensic accountant is an accountant with strong investigative skills. Forensic accountants are often utilized during the discovery portion of the divorce process to evaluate financial records, scour financial documents for signs of deception, trace assets, appraise a spouse’s business, or find hidden accounts. Forensic accountants may also testify about financial issues during a divorce trial. A divorce lawyer experienced in cases involving complicated financial matters may work closely with a forensic accountant to ensure that an accurate, complete assessment of a spouse’s finances is conducted.

Divorce involving children brings about additional concerns. Parents will need to decide how they will make major decisions about the child, including where he or she will attend school, what types of extracurricular activities he or she will participate in, how the child’s medical care will be managed, and much more. Parents must also decide how they will divide “parenting time” or the time that a parent is directly caring for a child. Disagreements about parental responsibilities and parenting time can be difficult to overcome. Understandably, most parents have strong opinions about what they think is best for their child. Read on to learn about some of the most common child custody dispute resolution methods in Illinois divorce cases.

Negotiating an Agreement Through Your Lawyers

Divorcing parents in Illinois must make specific plans about how parenting duties will be handled after the divorce. In their “parenting plan,” the parents will describe which parent will make decisions about the child’s healthcare, education, religious upbringing, and other major concerns. They must also describe a method or schedule for dividing parenting time. The parenting plan also describes the child-related rights that parents have, including the right to know about child-related emergencies, access to the child’s school reports and medical records, and more.

During a divorce, spouses are expected to disclose truthful information about their assets, liabilities, expenses, and income. However, some spouses lie about their financial situation in an attempt to gain an advantage during a divorce. If you are thinking of divorce and your spouse owns a business, it is important to know what you are entitled to in the divorce. It is also crucial that you are aware of the ways that some business owners hide assets or falsify financial information in order to manipulate property distribution.

Underreporting Business Revenue and Undervaluing Business Assets

Spouses who want to manipulate the divorce settlement may use their business to hide assets and income. Typically, this is accomplished by undervaluing the business or reporting lower-than-actual business revenue. A business owner may temporarily lower business revenue or assets by: