Soc..Question about divorce etc...

[Genie]

Because my STBX hasn't responded to the divorce petition or showed up in court (hasn't even made effort to find out when court dates are), the judge defaulted him last Monday.  So now my attorney is writing up the Settlement agreement which will basically give me everything I ask for and the judge will sign off on it on 8/23.

Questions:

1.  Is this all there is too it?  It just seems so easy to me.

2.  She was going to leave visitation out until she petitions for it. I stated I would rather have something in there (Reasonable visitation or something like that) and spelling out that it is to be supervised b/c of his extreme alcoholism (we have a 5 yr old and 6 wk old baby).  I am afraid he could get visitation in future if petitioned if the drinking is addressed now and supervision stated.  What do you think is the best way to go?

3.  Should I get specific with dependent deductions, 401K/petition etc etc or just leave it out. I was told anything not in settlement goes to me anyways since I have custody (i.e tax deductions) or can't be addressed in future if not addressed now.  Is that true? What do you think is the best way to go?  

I am in IL.

Thank you in advance.

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1.  Is this all there is too it?  It just seems so easy to
>me.

Divorce defaults are frequently set aside for "good cause," which could be "the dog ate my homework," or "I was in the drunk tank for the past two weeks." You should make an effort to try to contact your spouse and get him to sign a stipulated judgment, so as to eliminate the possibility of a set aside later.

Not saying that it will happen, only that it can and does.

>2.  She was going to leave visitation out until she petitions
>for it. I stated I would rather have something in there
>(Reasonable visitation or something like that) and spelling
>out that it is to be supervised b/c of his extreme alcoholism
>(we have a 5 yr old and 6 wk old baby).  I am afraid he could
>get visitation in future if petitioned if the drinking is
>addressed now and supervision stated.  What do you think is
>the best way to go?

If your spouse requests parenting time, he will almost certainly get some no matter what you put into a default judgment. Obviously, if you allege that he is a danger to the child, due to his extreme alcohol addiction, then the visitation would probably be supervised, or conditioned on his getting sober, etc. But, unless he completely abandons the child and never pays support, the court will bend over backwards to give him "some" access to the child.

Also, there is proof of actual physical child abuse, then that would keep him away, pretty much permanently. But, you haven't alleged that, so at the moment, it's not an issue.

>3.  Should I get specific with dependent deductions,
>401K/petition etc etc or just leave it out. I was told
>anything not in settlement goes to me anyways since I have
>custody (i.e tax deductions) or can't be addressed in future
>if not addressed now.  Is that true? What do you think is the
>best way to go?  

The court will probably reserve jurisdiction to decide property issues. I don't really know what exactly is at stake and in whose name the assets and debts are held. Unless you give me a very detailed statement of the facts, I can't really give you any specific advice.