How Does Domestic Violence Affect Your Divorce in Illinois?

Domestic violence and divorce often go hand in hand, and both cases affect each other. Before you file, learn how an order of protection affects your Illinois divorce process, child custody, and more.

Child Custody in Illinois: A Complete Guide for Parents

This guide covers the basics of child custody in Illinois, including how to file, enforcing and modifying agreements, and grandparents’ rights.

Illinois Divorce Laws: What to Expect When You File

Everything you need to know about Illinois divorce laws at a glance—requirements, property division, child custody and support, domestic violence, and more.

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.

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 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 […]

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 […]

A Relationship with Your Child’s Stepparent after Divorce

When going through a divorce, maintaining a healthy, congenial relationship can be greatly beneficial for all parties involved, especially for your children. This is particularly true if you decide to remarry, and a stepparent is introduced into your family. And although it may not be easy, it may prove beneficial in the long run. One Huffington Post […]

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 […]

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. […]

When Mediation Works in Illinois

Ending a marriage is consistently rated as one of the most stressful life events that a person can go through. According to the American Institute of Stress’s Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, divorce is the second most stressful event a person can endure, second only to the death of a spouse. Marital separation from one’s mate is […]

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: […]

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 Co-Parenting after Divorce

Divorce is never easy. But sharing parenting duties after marital dissolution may be an even more difficult than the divorce itself. Not only does co-parenting after divorce force you to remain on good enough terms with your ex-spouse and successfully navigate shared schedules, duties, and responsibilities, it also means that you will likely have to see your ex-spouse […]

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 […]

The Basics of Post-Decree Modifications

After a divorce is finalized, some may feel stilted or left out in the cold. This could be the case when one party in the divorce is awarded an exorbitant or seemingly unfair settlement given the circumstances of the divorce. For example, if the wife is caught cheating and then all marital property is equally distributed—even though the […]

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Category: Child Custody