Understanding Family Law: Key Areas Every Parent Should Know
Navigating the legal landscape of domestic relations can be an overwhelming experience for any parent. When household dynamics shift, the complexities of family law often become the primary focus of daily life. Understanding the framework of these statutes is not just about legal compliance; it is about protecting the well-being of your children and securing […]
Top Questions to Ask Your Divorce Attorney Before Filing
Before embarking on the complex journey of divorce, ensuring you have the right legal guidance is crucial. Knowing what questions to ask your divorce attorney can make all the difference. This article will outline the top queries to consider for an informed and strategic preparation. Understanding the Divorce Process In understanding the divorce process, it’s […]
Child Support Lawyer Guidance for a Positive Outcome in Challenging Times
A trusted child support lawyer can help protect your child’s future and your rights during divorce or custody proceedings.
Parenting Time and Child Custody Lawyer: Navigating the Complexities of Post-Divorce Parenting
Prioritizing Children’s Best Interests Post-Divorce A parenting time and child custody lawyer plays a crucial role in the aftermath of a divorce, focusing on the well-being of the children involved. When a marriage ends, one of the most significant concerns is the legal arrangements for the children’s care and upbringing. The law prioritizes the children’s […]
Fathers Seek Changes in Child Custody Laws
Child custody laws in Illinois are being challenged by a group of fathers called Dads Can Too, who believe joint custody should be the default arrangement in custody hearings. These fathers argue that they have struggled for years to be more involved in their children’s lives and want to be seen as equal caretakers. Currently, Illinois law gives judges the flexibility to determine custody based on the best interests of the child, without a presumption in favor of joint custody.
Avoiding an Acrimonious Custody Battle
The unfortunate reality across the country is that couples continue to end their marriages. Divorce is a major decision that requires careful thought and consideration. There are several layers to address, including financial and property assets. But one of the biggest issues couples face are the arrangements to be put in place for any children of […]
Can Child Custody Mediation Work for You?
One of the most important and emotional factors in a divorce is figuring out how children of the marriage will be cared for. When going through a divorce, there are many issues to take into consideration. Where a couple has accumulated significant assets such as financial holdings, business ownership, real estate, trusts, and retirement assets, […]
Custody Order: What to Do If Your Child Refuses to Follow
Custody orders require that both parents make every effort to ensure compliance, even if a child resists visiting the other parent. Courts do not accept a child’s reluctance as a defense for failing to follow a custody order, particularly with younger children. If you believe your ex-spouse is influencing your child’s refusal, a family law attorney can help you address this with the court, as it may indicate issues like parental alienation.
Appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem in a Family Law Case
The phrase, “in the best interests of a child” is a common but important phrase when it comes to protecting the youngest members of society. There are many situations where children need to be shielded from sensitive situations but their rights must be paramount. Certain legal situations such as a divorce, ensuing custody battles, criminal […]
Grandparent Rights to Visitation with Grandchildren
Grandparent Rights to visitation with grandchildren can be complex, especially in cases involving divorce. In Illinois, grandparents don’t automatically have visitation rights; they must prove that being denied access would harm the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health. Because of the strict requirements, consulting a family law attorney can help grandparents understand their options for pursuing visitation.
Parenting Class Requirements in Illinois
Parenting Class Requirements in Illinois mandate that parents involved in legal actions related to child custody or visitation complete a court-approved parental education program. This rule applies not only to initial custody cases but also to modifications or relocations involving the minor child. The course, which lasts at least four hours, educates parents on supporting their child’s emotional needs and learning effective co-parenting skills to reduce conflict and prioritize the child’s well-being.
Illinois Parenting Plan Basics
A parenting plan is required when parents in Illinois divorce, outlining how decisions about the child’s life will be made and how time with each parent will be divided. This legal document covers the allocation of parental responsibilities and must be submitted within 120 days of filing for divorce. If both parents agree on the plan, it becomes a binding agreement; otherwise, it may proceed to court for resolution.
Fighting a Child Relocation in Illinois
Child relocation can be a distressing prospect, especially when the other parent’s move could mean seeing your child less often. If your child ends up hours away, those valuable extra moments—when the other parent works late or needs to go to the doctor—might no longer be possible. How can you handle this potential loss, and […]
Children of Divorce: Navigating the Anger and Fear
Children of divorce often experience heightened anger and fear, especially when caught in the middle of parental conflicts. In complex divorce cases, children may feel like pawns or act out in various ways as they struggle with the situation. A knowledgeable family law attorney can help protect your relationship with your children, ensuring their needs are prioritized and the divorce process is as smooth as possible.
How to Handle Parenting Time Schedules When Your Child Is Sick
Parenting time schedules can be challenging to navigate when a child falls ill, especially for single parents sharing custody. Although it’s natural to want to care for your sick child, adhering to the established parenting schedule is essential unless there’s a valid reason otherwise. Allowing the other parent to care for the child can be beneficial, providing a sense of security and helping the child see both parents as reliable caregivers. Communication is key, and sharing medical details and instructions can ease the transition and ensure consistent care between households. If the child is too ill to leave, consider inviting the other parent to visit in your home.
Protecting Fathers Rights in Illinois
Despite recent changes to divorce and parenting laws in Illinois, fathers still sometimes struggle to receive their fair shake in a courtroom. Stigmas regarding gender roles, issues in establishing paternity, and other, various factors are often to blame. However, there are a few ways that you can protect your legal rights as a father and improve your […]
Child Custody Modifications in Illinois
Child custody modifications in Illinois allow parents to request changes to an existing order when circumstances significantly change. Common reasons for modification include shifts in work schedules, a parent moving, or changes in the child’s health and needs. Courts prioritize the child’s best interests, and if both parents agree on the proposed modifications, a judge is likely to approve them.
Study Focuses on Impact and Prevalence of Parental Alienation after Divorce
Although the family laws in Illinois have changed, there is still great risk of parental alienation after divorce – a process in which one parent negatively influences their child’s relationship with the other parent. Sadly, there is a severe lack in data on this common issue; to rectify this, Colorado State University researchers have initiated a study […]
How Does the Illinois Child Support Process Work When Parents Split Up?
One of the biggest questions parents have when they split up is how will child support work. Parents have a legal duty to financially support their children, and that obligation does not end just because the relationship has ended. Child Support Guidelines Illinois has a set of guidelines judges are required to consider when setting child support. […]
Child Custody Issues Still Present in Same-Sex Marriages and Divorces
Although same-sex marriages have now become legal in all 50 states, gaps still exist in how child custody issues are handled in same-sex marriages and divorces. This makes it crucial for same-sex couples to discuss and understand the potential issues they may face in the event of a divorce in Illinois. And, when going through one, they […]
Reevaluating a Shared Parenting Plan
Divorce is never easy. When there are children involved, deciding the specifics of divorce agreements and settlements can be even more difficult. In 2016 in Illinois, child custody laws will change to reflect parental responsibility instead of custody: As society changes from a traditionally male-dominated workforce, and more and more divorced parents choose joint custody and shared […]
Joint vs. Sole Custody During Divorce
If you are facing divorce and have children, determining who gets custody can be the most difficult part of dissolution agreements. There are two types of custody — joint custody and sole custody. If both you and your ex-spouse are present during the divorce, determining the specifics of a joint custody agreement will likely be part of […]
Legal Recourse for Parental Alienation
Parental alienation is the systematic breakdown of a child’s relationship with one parent after a divorce. It most commonly occurs after a contested or particularly nasty divorce. One parent may harbor extremely negative or detrimental feelings of the other and wants their shared child or children to be on his or her “side.’ The most […]
Coping with Anxiety over a Joint Custody Agreement
While shared or joint custody may seem like the best and most fair option for all parties involved after a divorce, it is not always easy. According to a personal story in The New York Times, learning how to deal with the separation from your child when it is the other parents’ turn to have custody can be […]
Defining Guardian ad Litem in Illinois
If you are going through a divorce, or have had a cataclysmic event in your family, issues of child custody may arise. If a court determines that a child is unsafe, or will not be provided for in the home of his or her parents or parent, a court will rule that the child must […]
Requesting a Child Support Modification in Illinois
If you are a divorced parent, chances are you have been through challenging and complicated proceedings concerning your children. Whether you and your ex-spouse share custody, or if custody was awarded to primarily one parent and visitation rights to the other, a child support order is likely to be part of the arrangement. Determining a Child Support […]
What is a “Bird’s Nest” Co-Parenting Agreement?
A co-parenting agreement is a structured plan that outlines how divorced or separated parents will raise their children together, ensuring stability and consistency in the child’s life.
Illinois National Adoption Day Festivities Kick Off Saturday
This year marks the 15th anniversary of National Adoption Day—an initiative started to help move the nearly 10,000 children in U.S. foster care into permanent, loving homes. While it is not run by one advocacy group, it is a collective effort of policymakers, practitioners, and advocates who work together to finalize adoptions that are in the works. […]
Divorced Parent Paying for College: Planning Ahead
Sorting through complicated financial issues is one major hurdle that many divorcees fear. There may be complex decisions to make regarding spousal support or alimony, the division of property, or issues of child support when applicable. Additionally, if you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse have children together, sorting out how you plan to pay for your […]
Defining Parental Alienation after Divorce
With technology infiltrating every aspect of modern society and a tendency for people to choose screens over traditional interaction, the idea of social alienation is one oft-discussed by sociologists and psychologist alike. Yet one of the oldest—and arguably most effecting—types of alienation is one perpetuated not by societal trends, but the oldest relationship in history: […]
Grandparent Visitation Rights in Illinois
All aspects of a family are affected by divorce. Not only are the children of divorce affected by the marital dissolution, the parents of the parents are also affected. Grandparent rights are often considered the most complicated visitation arrangements to be settled during a divorce, and not all grandparents have a right to visitation. According to The Huffington […]
Are Courts Taking Away the Rights of Divorced Parents?
Divorced parents may be losing their rights, at least according to a recent opinion piece in The New York Times. Divorced parents can sue each other; however, married parents cannot. When this happens, judges are often left to determine what is best for the children of divorce—including where they will go to school and where they […]
Back-to-School Co-Parenting
If you are a parent, back-to-school time can be one of the most stressful and busiest of the year. There are new clothes to buy, supplies to shop for, schedules to sort, and busy student days to work into your workday. This can be all the more complicated if you are divorced and have decided […]
Advice for Divorced Dads
Being a divorced parent can be a difficult role for any adult. Not only does he or she have to deal with the fallout of the failure of marriage and partnership, divorced parents who are the non-custodial parent may also deal with the loss of regular contact with children. Illinois awards custody to whomever the court deems as the […]
Parental Gatekeeping and Custody Battles
Parental gatekeeping is a term used by divorceprofessionals and those going through marital dissolution and refers to protracted or restricted custody battles in which one parent keeps the children from the other. According to The Huffington Post, parental gatekeeping is the act of “facilitating or restricting the relationship with a parent and a child.” Limitations can be placed on […]