Recent Blog Posts
How To Serve Divorce Papers to Your Spouse
Deciding to go through a divorce is not an easy process. To start the process papers must be served to the other spouse. These papers, called a petition or a summons, declares the intention of one spouse to end the marriage to the other spouse. The summons is a must in the court of law for the divorce to move forward – without it, a divorce cannot happen. The court needs proof that the other spouse has received the summons.
Serving divorce papers can be handled in a variety of ways, such as the following.
- The summons can be delivered to a spouse by anyone who is 18 years or older and not a child of that spouse. A signed and dated Acceptance of Service must be collected to prove to the courts the summons was delivered and received.
- Second, mailing the divorce summons, first-class, with an acknowledgement of delivery that has been signed, dated and returned is appropriate.
Bill Clinton Urges Illinois to Approve Marriage Equality Bill
According to a recent article, former president Bill Clinton has made public in a statement distributed to an LGBT advocacy group his support behind a bill that could soon lead to marriage equality in the state of Illinois.
In his statement, Clinton said, “Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’- deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community….that mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied to them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in Illinois, with marriage equality.”
This statement followed closely behind the news that marriage equality advocates believe they will have the number of votes they need to get the bill approved before the Illinois state legislature’s spring session ends on May 31.
Illinois Prenuptial Agreements
A prenuptial agreement is a document created by a couple prior to their marriage to determine rights and obligations should the marriage end. The Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act oversees all prenuptial agreements, or prenups.
Legally, all prenuptial agreements must be in writing to be valid. Once the marriage is official, the prenup takes effect, regardless of whether or not the terms within the agreement are equal between parties. If a couple chooses to alter the agreement, it can only be done with written consent of both parties.
Illinois prenuptial agreements can include almost any subject matter, so long that it does not include criminal details, does not affect public policy and does not affect their children’s support. Illinois has specifically authorized the following rights and obligations to be included in a prenuptial agreement:
Facts About Child Custody in Illinois
When determining the custody of a child, divorce courts always put the best interests of the child first. There are additional factors that go into the equation, however, before a decision is made. Other questions are answered here as well, for anyone who may be going through a divorce, and is in fear of losing their child to their former spouse.
Factors that are considered while child custody is being determined in a divorce range from the simple wishes of the parents as to who will have custody, to details that are as complex as each parents’ military family care plan if they are members of the U.S. Armed Forces who may be deployed. The mental and physical health of both the parents and the children, along with any caretakers that either parent may hire and anyone else who may have significant responsibility with the child is also considered.
Why You Should Have A Lawyer For Adoption?
It may not seem necessary to have a lawyer when trying to adopt a child but in this time in society, you are always susceptible to a scam. If a couple is looking to adopt an infant or place an infant up for adoption, they should have an attorney at their side to protect them from any possible troubles.
When a child is adopted, the parents must go through a legal process where a mother and father give up their legal rights with a child, and another person or couple is given legal rights to the child. Errors in paperwork can lead to the adoption being challenged in court, and possibly being reversed.
You should never attend an adoption meeting without an adoption attorney, because there are many people who will target susceptible couples by getting their hopes up, taking thousands of dollars, and no adoption ever takes place.
New Bills Look to Change Collaborative Law
The process of divorce is very difficult on the emotions on each partner, as well as any children. Instead of going through a divorce publicly in a divorce court, there is an option to come to an agreement through collaboration. Now the state government of Illinois is considering some new legislation about collaborative law to protect consumers.
The bills are Senate Bill 31 and House Bill 1029 combined are referred to as the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, or UCLA. The hope is that by setting down the guidelines of the process and the expectations of the professionals managing this method of divorce, the divorce process will be easier. This legislation is similar to Collaborative Acts already enacted in Hawaii, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and other states.
How an Order of Protection can Help You
If you are a victim of domestic violence, sometimes you have no option except to file for an order of protection. However, when doing so, it is important to consider which type will best suit your needs. A post by womenslaw.org has explained the three different types of orders of protection and how long they each last.
The first type of order of protection is an emergency order. You can obtain this type of order of protection based solely on your testimony to a judge. The judge will then have the power to grant the order-without notifying the abuser or having them present in court-if the harm you are attempting to end will be likely to occur if the abuser is notified of your application for the order. The only way the abuser will be removed from your shared home is if the judge believes the seriousness of the danger of abuse is more important than the problems caused by the abuser being removed from their home without notice. An emergency order of protection will provide short-term, temporary protection.
Divorce’s Affect on Schoolwork
Divorce is hard for everyone, especially children. Divorce not only affects their life at home but their life at school. A study at Ohio State University found that when a marriage dissolves, a child’s self-esteem and academic performance could be affected, even before the divorce initiates. Usually, a child’s self-esteem will get better over time, but academic performance can continue to decline. The study says that the reason for poor performance is that, “if a child doesn’t learn the skills she needs, it’s hard to catch up to the next grade.” Academic performance is different from a child’s self-esteem because their emotion can bounce back.
In a recent Parenting.com article, advice is given on how to ensure that your child’s grades don’t slip. The first advice is to give them lots of personal attention. This will show your child that you still love them and will give them a break from the stresses of life. Next, the parent should be knowledgeable about how their child feels about school. Parents should set aside time every day to talk to their child about their day at school or even offer help with an assignment. There is, also, the option of getting a counselor for you and your child. Having a counselor can make it easier to discuss any problems that are going on. A parent should be informed about what is going on at the school. It can be helpful to attend any school events, especially parent-teacher conferences. Lastly, the website advises hiring a tutor. A tutor can help get your child up to speed with the rest of their grades’ academic skills.
Adoption Licensing in Illinois
Regardless of your reasons for wanting to adopt a child, there are requirements you must meet before you are able to do so. These exist to protect the safety of the child or children, and to help find parents who will look out for the child's best interests. The Adoption Information Center for Illinois provides a general list of adoption qualifications, but your best bet is to hire an adoption attorney. Your attorney will know how to help you prepare for the legal process of adoption.
Qualifications for licensing of adoptive parents:
- You may be single, married, divorced, or separated and living away from your spouse for more than 12 months.
- You may or may not have any other children, adopted or biological.
- You must be at least 21 years old.
- You must be capable of financially managing an addition to your family, although there are no specific income requirements for adoptive families. (Financial assistance is also available to families of adoptive children older than one year old or children that have special needs of any age).
Adoption and the Birth Family
Often times, the biggest obstacle for families that adopt a child is to accept that their new child has other parents (birth parents) as well and to be able to discuss their child’s birth parents with their child. Whether or not adoptive parents are comfortable with it, their child will always have birth parents who will always be a part of his or her life.
It is very important for adoptive parents to let their children know that talking about both their adoptive family and their birth family is okay. Many children who are adopted have shared that, growing up, they did not feel that it was acceptable to openly talk about their adoption. These conversations, however, about the adoption, often bond adoptive parents and children when they take the time to discuss their feelings and thoughts about the process, and lessens the likelihood of these children growing up and feeling unable to trust others, and to have insecurities and separation from their adoptive families. It is also important for children to know about their birth parents.
