Posted on December 08, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

For many people, pets are as much a part of the family as a child. When a marriage breaks up, it can be tough to decide which spouse the pet is going to live with. There are many emotional and practical factors that go into making such a decision, and courts are not always the best places to decide pet issues.

How the Law Views Pets

Even though pets are an important part of our lives, the law views pets as a type of personal property. Your beloved family dog or cat is the same as the family television or couch as far as the law is concerned. Technically, the pet can be assigned a dollar value and put into one spouse’s column on the property division worksheet. There are no explicit pet custody provisions in the law.

Steps to Make Sure Pets are Provided For in a Divorce

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 02, 2015 in Family Law

When a married couple is no longer able to continue building a future together, divorce is sometimes the best option. The reality is that many couples do not really belong together and trying to force a relationship between the spouses is neither productive nor particularly healthy.

Several decades ago, a couple needed specified grounds, or reason, to pursue a divorce. Typically, grounds included destructive or injurious behavior on the part of one spouse, including bigamy, adultery, habitual substance abuse, and mental or physical cruelty. A divorce could also be granted on the grounds that a spouse was convicted of a felony or “other infamous crime.”

In 1984, however, the Illinois legislature finally acknowledged that, in many cases, the cumulative effect of smaller issues can drive a couple apart, with neither spouse at fault, just as much as more serious negative behaviors. No-fault divorce, or divorce citing the grounds of irreconcilable differences, was added to the law, allowing unhealthy marriages to end more easily and with less evidence.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 25, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

In a large number of Illinois divorce cases involving parents, one is designated the primary residential parent for the purposes of school enrollment and child support. Most such situations result in the other parent being ordered to make child support payments. An arrangement like this may be fairly equitable for parents with drastically uneven amounts of parenting time, including cases in which a non-primary residential parent who only gets parenting time once or twice per month.  However, many other co-parenting arrangements are much more even, and in some cases, may be 50/50. For a non-primary residential parent in such a situation, he or she may try to negotiate lower child support payments.

Under the Law

According to the letter of the state law regarding child support, a court’s decision regarding support does not include explicit consideration for parenting time. Instead, the supporting parent’s income and the number of children are the primary considerations, while the needs of the child, the needs of each parent, and their available resources may be subjectively taken into account as well. When strictly applied, it may seem nearly impossible for a parent to show that parenting time should impact his or her child support payments.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 23, 2015 in Parental Relocation

Even if the process of divorce is relatively smooth, the impact to your life and your future can be very challenging. You probably realize, of course, that you have made the right decision, but that does not really make day-to-day living a whole lot easier. Part of your reason divorce, if you are like most people, was the opportunity for a fresh start. For some, this may mean moving to a new city and creating an entirely new life for themselves. If you are considering such move, there are number of things you should consider before leaving town.

Be Wary of Long-Term Commitments

Just as relationship experts recommend caution about jumping into a serious, long-term dating relationship immediately after divorce, the same should be said about living arrangements. In the weeks and months following the end your marriage, your judgment is not likely to be as sound as maybe it should be, so spending a lot of money to buy a new home, or making commitments to rent a condo in a new city may not be the best idea. Such decisions should be made only after careful consideration planning. Now is not the time to be acting on a whim.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 18, 2015 in Domestic Violence

There is absolutely no question that domestic violence continues to be a major problem in today’s American society. In fact, there are a number of studies that suggest that the issue may be even more serious than previously acknowledged, including severely underreported cases involving male domestic abuse victims. The physical, psychological, and emotional damage caused by violence against an intimate partner or family member can rise to tragic levels, often requiring years of recovery if and when a victim can escape an abusive situation. It is for exactly these reasons that intentionally false allegations of domestic violence are so disturbing, and such allegations can substantially affect the outcome of family-related legal concerns.

Impact to the Falsely Accused

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 16, 2015 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

As the average age of those entering marriage for the first time continues to rise, along with the record rate of remarriage around the country, more and more couples are faced with increasingly complicated property ownership situation. In previous generations, an average couple would pursue marriage shortly after high school or college, rent a home for a short time, then move onto home ownership as they build their marital estate together. Of course, that was not the case for every couple, but for many, such a progression was somewhat expected.

Today, however, individuals are approaching marriage altogether differently. Many have already had years to build wealth, start and sell businesses, and accumulate assets. In fact, it is not uncommon for both halves of a married couple to each own their own homes prior to getting married. However, such a scenario presents a number of options—and a number of challenges—for couple pursuing marriage and may a prenuptial agreement may be necessary to prevent future problems.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 11, 2015 in Divorce

One of the most often-cited cause of bankruptcy is divorce. Many people will find that after the end of their marriage, they also need a fresh financial start. Some couples even have to file for bankruptcy during a divorce. How can you avoid the divorce-to-bankruptcy pipeline?

Understand True Cost of Divorce

Many people do not understand the true costs of a divorce. Between filing fees, legal fees, expert witness fees, the longer a divorce goes on, the more expensive it gets. Sometimes divorcing couples fight about the property division so fiercely that they have to sell off more and more of their assets just to pay to continue to fight.

Another often-ignored cost of divorce is the taxes. Married couples get a lot of special treatment under the tax code. Once the marriage is over, many people are surprised to see their tax refund decrease and their taxes increase.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 11, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

Being a parent is not easy. It can be infinitely more difficult to be a parent when you are divorced, separated, or were never married to the child’s other parent and he or she has been granted primary residential custody. Under ideal circumstances, you should be entitled to reasonable rights of visitation with the child, but the real world is rarely ideal. For example, you may be dealing with personal problems of your own, and as a result, the court may have restricted your rights of visitation. While such a situation may be incredibly challenging, it does not need to last forever, and there are some things you can do to work toward the reinstatement of your full visitation rights.

Be Totally Compliant

Even as you work on your own issues, it is vital that you comply with your visitation restrictions, no matter how emotionally difficult it may be. If you are permitted just an hour per week with your child, make the most of it. Make every effort to demonstrate your commitment to being a better person and a better parent. Any attempts to circumvent the court’s decision will not be seen favorably, and could result in full termination of your parental rights.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 04, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

If you currently pay child support, you are probably operating under the assumption that your obligation will be complete when your child turns 18 and graduates from high school. In most cases, you would be correct. The child support laws in Illinois generally require a parent—usually the one without primary residential custody—to pay support until the child is no longer a minor and has earned a high school diploma. You may be surprised to learn, however, that your obligation may continue, depending on your family’s specific circumstances, as your child pursues an undergraduate degree. Illinois, for some time, has recognized the right of a child to seek support from either or both parents for help with educational expenses, and, earlier this year, some cleanup language was added to the law that will take effect in January.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 02, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

With Halloween now a fading memory, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years are just around the corner. Virtually everyone looks forward to spending at least part of holidays with family members and loved ones. For divorced, separated, or never-married parents, however, it can be challenging to come up with a plan that ensures the children get the holiday experience they deserve while recognizing the rights and reasonable desires of each parent.

Check Your Custody Order

Depending on the type of legal guidance you had while developing your existing custody or visitation agreement, you may already have a plan in place for the holiday season. Some orders specifically list each holiday that is important to either or both parents and designates a method for sharing parenting time, based on each particular family’s situation. For example, in your family it may be best to each spend half the day with your child on holidays you have determined to be major holidays, such as Christmas, while holidays that are less important to your family may be alternated.

Continue Reading ››