Domestic Violence: Get Out and Get Help

 Posted on May 20, 2015 in Divorce

Domestic violence is just one of the many reasons why a couple may choose to divorce. Unlike other potential grounds for divorce, such as infidelity or incompatible personalities, domestic violence can be deadly.

Domestic violence is defined as any use of force or coercion to control one's intimate partner or other member of the household. It may be expressed physically, emotionally, financially, or sexually, and is often incorporated into a cycle known as the cycle of violence. The cycle of violence follows this pattern in nearly all relationships where domestic violence is present:

• Abuse occurs;
• The offender apologizes profusely to his or her victim, sometimes offering gifts and always assuring him or her that the abuse will never happen again;
• Small instances of conflict occur and the victim feels afraid and without control of the situation; and

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Parenting While Incarcerated in Illinois

 Posted on May 15, 2015 in Child Custody

Parenting while incarcerated may seem like an impossibility. When a parent goes to prison, finding an appropriate custody situation for his or her child is a priority. In some cases, the child's other parent receives full custody of the child. In others, another living arrangement must be determined.

If you have been charged with a criminal offense and you are facing jail time, speak with an experienced family attorney about how your potential incarceration can affect your child and his or her current custody agreement. He or she can answer any questions you have about the possibility of spending time in jail and help you and your family develop a plan for custody and visitation if the need arises.

Pregnancy and Childbirth in Prison

Illinois is one of only four states to prohibit the shackling of female inmates during pregnancy and childbirth. Babies born to mothers who have access to Illinois' prison nursery programs may stay with their mothers until they reach 18 months of age. Otherwise, the infant may be given to his or her father or, if the father is not present or unfit to be a parent, with another relative. The child's mother may name a relative a short-term guardian for her child. This individual is given custody of the child for up to a year while the mother completes her jail term.

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Retirement and Child Support Modification

 Posted on May 13, 2015 in Divorce

When a couple with a child divorces, a child support agreement is nearly always a part of their divorce settlement. This agreement ensures that all of the child's needs, such as his or her housing, food, clothing, and extracurricular activities, are met until he or she reaches adulthood. Some of this support is directly given to the child and some indirectly covers his or her needs by providing the parent with physical custody with money to pay for rent or a mortgage, utilities, and property taxes if applicable. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act addresses child support and the factors the court may consider when developing one for a divorcing couple.

Generally, a child support agreement is created based on each parent's income and other financial obligations. In most cases, a paying parent of a single child will pay about 20 percent of his or her net income in child support, with this percentage becoming greater with each additional child. This amount is meant to cover the child's needs, not to punish the paying parent or create financial hardship for him or her.

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Holidays and Child Custody Schedule

 Posted on May 06, 2015 in Divorce

As a parent with a custody arrangement, you are surely familiar with the struggle of planning family outings and special events around your court-ordered parenting schedule. One of the biggest concerns that parents entering custody arrangements have is how to handle the holidays. When a custody schedule is arranged so that each parent has specific days, such as alternating weekends or having the children spend half the week with each parent, one parent can miss a significant number of holidays with his or her children because of the days of the week that those holidays occur.

This is why it is important to include provisions for holidays in your child custody arrangement. You can plan ahead for future holiday gatherings and keep family traditions intact by working with your former spouse and the court to develop a custody arrangement that allows for a fair distribution of holiday parenting time.

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Visitation Rights for Non-Custodial Parents

 Posted on April 22, 2015 in Divorce

Not every parent is awarded joint custody with his or her former partner. In cases where one parent is awarded sole physical custody of his or her child, the other parent is often awarded visitation rights. Visitation rights are different from custodial rights in a few ways. A parent with physical custody of his or her child lives with the child at least part of the time. A parent with visitation rights spends time with the child, but the child is not a resident in the parent's home. Legal custody is the other part of a custody agreement. Legal custody allows a parent to make decisions for his or her child regarding the child's education, lifestyle, and medical care. A parent may have joint legal custody and sole physical custody, sole physical and legal custody, joint legal and physical custody, or sole legal custody and joint physical custody. The combination of custody forms that a parent has to his or her child is determined by the court according to the child's best interest.

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Order of Removal: Moving out of State with Your Child

 Posted on April 17, 2015 in Divorce

If you are a parent with a custody agreement for your child, moving out of Illinois is not as simple as finding yourself a new home and job to pay for it. Your child needs to have a relationship with both of his or her parents and as such, you will need to get permission from the court to move your child out of state. This requirement is written into the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Your former partner may oppose your request to move and in some cases, the court may deny it. If you have an opportunity outside of Illinois, such as a promising new job or an opportunity that would greatly improve your quality of life, you may need to prove to the court that such a move is in your child's best interest.

Contact an experienced family attorney to discuss your unique case before petitioning to the court to move out of state. The court will consider various factors when determining whether or not to approve your request, including the following:

• How will this move affect the child's relationship with each parent? Will the parents realistically be able to maintain a fair visitation or custody schedule?

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Unmarried Couples' Rights

 Posted on April 15, 2015 in Child Custody

Over the past few decades, society has dramatically changed the way it views unmarried couples living together. What was once a taboo topic and referred to as “living in sin” is now not only accepted socially, but considered by many to be a pragmatic way to determine one's compatibility with his or her partner before marriage. Legally, unmarried individuals who live together are considered to be separate parties. This means that any assets either party owns, such as a retirement account or a piece of real estate, belongs solely to him or her regardless of the other party's contributions to the asset. In some states, unmarried couples who meet a specific set of requirements are considered to be in a common law marriage, which grants them certain rights regarding their shared property. Illinois outlawed common law marriages in 1905.

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Seeking Child Support When Your Former Partner Does Not Pay

 Posted on April 10, 2015 in Divorce

If you have a child support agreement in place with your former partner, you each have obligations to uphold. If your partner fails to uphold his or her obligation to make regular payments for your child's care, you can easily find yourself stretching your budget to make up for these missed payments. You should not have to do this. When the court orders a child support agreement for a child, it is both parents' responsibility to follow all requirements written into the child support order.

There are many reasons why a parent can become delinquent with his or her child support payments. If your former partner misses a payment, talk to him or her about it to see why he or she failed to pay. Your former partner might have experienced an unforeseen emergency like a pricey car repair or medical bill. When this is the case, you may be able to work out a way for him or her to get the money to you when he or she can, rather than involving the court. This is often the easiest way to resolve the issue for all parties. When this is not possible or your former partner misses months' worth of child support, you have the right to take legal action.

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Valuing a Business in Divorce

 Posted on April 09, 2015 in Divorce

Owning your own business is a dream that many individuals share. The sense of building something from the ground up and being your own boss can bring great feelings of accomplishment to an individual or couple who chooses this career path. If you are a business owner considering filing for divorce, you might be wondering how your divorce will affect your business. Your business is an asset and may be divided as such during your divorce if you do not have a prenuptial agreement in place stating that you retain all control of the business and its profits.

The division of a business in divorce is determined by its current health and the couple's plans for the business after their divorce. Some couples opt to sell their businesses as part of their divorce settlement and share the profits. In other cases, one partner buys out the other and continues to operate it alone. Still in other cases, the couple chooses to continue to operate their business together after they divorce. No matter what a couple chooses to do with their business after their divorce, the court must determine the following about the business:

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Non-Minor Support: Can I Be Required to Pay for My Child's College Education?

 Posted on April 01, 2015 in Family Law

Going to college after completing high school is more than just a popular choice for many young adults in the United States: it has become an expectation. As a parent, you naturally want to help your child in any way possible. But wanting to help your child is not the same as being legally required to help him or her. As your son or daughter reaches adulthood, you might be wondering whether you are required to pay for his or her college education as part of your child support obligation.

There is no clear legal answer to this. In Illinois, there is no law that specifically states that a parent must pay for college expenses as part of his or her child support agreement. However, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act includes language that gives a judge the right to order that an individual parent contribute to his or her child's college costs. This section of the law also gives judges the power to determine how much a parent must pay. This is known as non-minor support.

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