Posted on November 26, 2012 in Child Custody and Support

Illinois residents may be interested to know about an innovative program that law enforcement officials have developed just to their north in one Wisconsin county. All too often, the exchanges of children between divorced or separated parents for visitation purposes can become heated, bitter exchanges, particularly when the parties currently are embroiled in a heated custody battle or other court proceedings. As a result, the local police station is often the suggested meeting place to exchange the children for each parent’s designated visitation time, with the hope that a public place with law enforcement authorities present will both give the parents a sense of security and help calm the situation. Nonetheless, this strategy doesn’t always work to defuse the situation.

In Brown County, Wisconsin, the Sheriff’s Department decided to designate two parking spaces in their parking lot, on either side of a neutral zone, where parents can safely and easily exchange their children at the appropriate times. The children can move from one car to the other without fear of encountering traffic or the roadway, and all visitation exchanges take place under video surveillance by the Sheriff’s Department, a factor which may compel parents to act more reasonably during the exchanges. If this new program proves successful, the Sheriff’s Department hopes to offer an additional visitation exchange spot on the west side of Brown County, as well.

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 Posted on November 21, 2012 in Divorce

A divorce can be a difficult process in the United States alone, but divorcing in two countries can turn into a real ordeal, says a recent article in the Chicago Tribune. There are many problems, for example, cultural differences, financial issues and bureaucracy, faced by an American who wants a divorce and is either a dual citizen, lives abroad or is married to a citizen of a foreign country.

Custody issues have become more common in the recent years. There are more conflicts, litigation and parental kidnappings these days because in the past it was almost hopeless for a man to win the custody of his child. Robert Makielski, 52, hopes that times have changed and he will get the custody of his two under aged children living in the Dominican Republic. "I'm basically dealing with a corrupt system in a foreign court," he says. Makielski has spent $50,000 on the case and expects to spend a whole lot more.

If you live abroad, you may not be able to file for a U.S. divorce. It is your place of residence that determines which court has the jurisdiction, not your birth place. The laws can differ greatly between countries. Usually, divorce and dual citizen matters are easier to deal with in the United States and Europe. The divorce will proceed in the country where it is filed, so time is of the essence too.

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 Posted on November 18, 2012 in Adoption

Adoption is a complex legal proceeding involving the termination of the legal parental rights of birth parents and the assumption of legal parental responsibilities by the adoptive parents. It is advisable to consult an experienced family law attorney to make sure that your adoption case gets the best possible outcome.

There are several important issues families should know when considering adoption, for example, who can adopt and who selects adoptive parents. In Illinois, any person, male or female, who is not under legal disability, is of legal age and a reputable person can adopt a child, according to the Illinois Adoption Act. Adoptive parent(s) must have resided in Illinois without interruption for at least 6 months. The residency requirement does not apply to adoptions involving relatives. In independent or relative adoptions, the birth parents choose the adoptive parents.

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 Posted on November 15, 2012 in Child Custody and Support

The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is a uniform State law that was passed in 1997. According to the Department of Justice, the law was passed “to deter interstate parental kidnapping and promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child-custody and visitation cases.” According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection, each year “more than 1,000,000 children in the U.S. are affected by the divorce of their parents.” The agency suggests that half of all children born to married parents will go through their parents’ divorce before their 18th birthday.

The law is not a custody statute, and does “not dictate standards for making or modifying child-custody and visitation decisions.” Instead, it “requires State courts to enforce valid child-custody and visitation determinations made by sister State courts.” The state in which a child is determined a legal resident is the state allowed to hold the custody hearings. For a child to be considered an Illinois resident, he:

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 Posted on November 12, 2012 in Child Custody and Support

In all movies and TV shows depicting divorce, there are caricatures of people who are terrible to each other.  They seek out the other party in the divorce and seem only interested in destroying them and their lives.  While it is not false that contested divorces can become very ugly, there is a new inclination for people to select mediation as the way to achieve dissolution of a marriage.

Often time’s people who are interested in an amicable divorce choose this option as it allows for people to create a safe environment.  The only people that have to be in the mediation process are a mediator, a lawyer and the two parties seeking to settle difficult issues such as child custody, division of property, and spousal support.  A mediator tries to emphasize cooperative problem solving and keeping the process on track.

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 Posted on November 09, 2012 in Divorce

For the past 50 years or so, Baby boomers have had a significant effect on demographic trends in many issues. As young adults, this generation took the divorce rate up to new heights, and now that these people are over 50, they are still the subject for divorce studies. Huffington Post Divorce posted a story about the question.

A study called The Gray Divorce Revolution by Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin says that the divorce rate for couples over 50 in the United States has been notably going up over the last 20 years. Their study looks at divorce rates from 1990 to 2010, concentrating on people who are 50 years old or older. Brown and Lin discovered that the divorce rate in this age group has doubled over the 20-year period in question. From 4.9 divorces in 1,000 married people in 1990 to 10 divorces in 1,000 people by 2010.

While the divorce rate for over-fifties has doubled, the overall divorce rate has stayed more or less the same, with 19 per 1,000 in 1990 and 18 per 1,000 in 2010. There are also more people in their fifties and beyond now than there were in 1990 as can be seen from the 200,000 people over 50 divorcing in 1990, compared to about 600,000 in 2010. For more information, read the Huffington Post story or the actual study.

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 Posted on November 06, 2012 in Annulments

While divorce is the most common means of dissolving a marriage, annulment is also a way to end a marriage in certain instances. When the court rules that a marriage is annulled, it is saying that the marriage was never legally valid. Grounds for annulment, legally called "declaration of invalidity of marriage," vary in different states.

In Illinois, grounds may include the following circumstances:

-          A person lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time that the marriage was solemnized, or else was forced into the marriage, either because of mental incapacity or infirmity or because of the influence of alcohol, drugs or other substances.

-          A person committed fraud by his or her unwillingness to disclose information such as a criminal record or the unwillingness to have sexual intercourse.

-          A person lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage, within one year of the marriage date.

-          A person was under age 18 and did not have the consent of his or her parents or guardian or judicial approval.

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 Posted on November 03, 2012 in Child Custody and Support

Current statistical data has shown that first marriages are nearly 50% as likely to fail as they are to succeed before the 20^th wedding anniversary.  This trend has increased throughout the years 2006 to 2010, almost the same timespan that social media sites were becoming more and more popular.  But this is not to blame sites like Facebook for divorces but merely to point out an unhappy coincidence.  The use of evidence from social networking sites is becoming more and more prevalent in divorce cases.

Another survey of divorce attorneys compiled by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) has tried to measure the impact.  They have found that over 80 percent of divorce lawyers believe that the use of evidence from social networking has increased considerably since 2006.  Yet the sad truth is most people do not know how something as harmless as posting a party pic on Facebook can negatively impact any divorce settlement.

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 Posted on October 31, 2012 in Divorce

When a party desires to have a prenuptial agreement held invalid under Illinois law, the first factor that must be considered is the date of execution.  Different standards will apply depending on when the parties entered into the agreement.  The principles of the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (“IUPAA”) govern any agreement executed on or after January 1, 1990, while common law controls prior agreements.

A prenuptial agreement signed prior to 1990 will be upheld so long as:

-          It does not create an unforeseen state of poverty.

-          Both parties had full knowledge of the other’s finances prior to signing.

-          It was entered into voluntarily.

-          The agreement is fair and reasonable at the time of enforcement of the agreement.

For premarital agreements signed after 1990 under the IUPAA, the “fair and reasonable” standard is no longer applied.  A party seeking to invalidate a post-Act agreement must prove only that (1) he or she did not sign the agreement voluntarily, or (2) that at the time of execution, the agreement was unconscionable, meaning that it was improvident, totally one-sided, or oppressive, and that party neither was given a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party waived the right to the disclosure.  Thus, the enforcement of a prenuptial agreement may hinge on its date of execution.

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 Posted on October 28, 2012 in Business Valuation

According to party planners, a divorce is not a cause to be down anymore. As a matter of fact, some planners are reporting that their businesses have tripled in recent years due to the popularity of divorce parties, not only in Illinois, but all over the country. It may seem like an awkward trend, but the numbers don’t lie. There are party planning businesses all over the country that are reporting upwards trends in these types of parties.

These parties are reported to get a little raucous with Champagne flowing, unique decorations such as voodoo dolls and even divorce cakes. These parties can range in price and are usually take place after the divorce proceedings have ended and a settlement has been reached. Some planners report that lump sum settlements often fund these parties. The parties often take place in nightclubs, dance halls and are arranged in VIP sections of establishments and often are accompanied with limo rides.

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