Posted on August 26, 2015 in Children and Divorce

For many families, the question of the children's religious upbringing can be a contentious topic. Parents of different faiths, and sometimes even parents of the same faith, can find themselves in conflict over the religion in which to raise their children and the extent of the role that religion plays in their lives. After a divorce, you need to be able to work with your former spouse to raise your child. This will require you to communicate and be willing to compromise with each other on certain issues. One of these issues might be your child's religious upbringing.

Who Gets to Determine Your Child's Religious Upbringing?

Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the custodial parent has the right to choose the child's religion and related training, such as parochial school, cultural traditions, church attendance, and after-school religious activities. Unless there is a significant reason why the custodial parent's religion is not in the child's best interest, the court will support the custodial parent's decisions regarding his or her child's religious upbringing.

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 Posted on August 26, 2015 in Domestic Violence

If your child is not currently in your care, call 911 and report the abuse allegation to police right away. If your child is currently in your care, bring him or her to the hospital for an examination by a doctor. A doctor can note the signs of physical or sexual abuse. Determining if emotional or psychological abuse has occurred can be more difficult, but this type of abuse is as damaging to a child as physical or sexual harm.

Keeping your child beyond your allotted parenting time with him or her because you suspect he or she is being abused in your former partner's home is one of the only ways you can legally violate your custody or visitation schedule. If you need to do this, contact your attorney to record the date, time, and reason why you did not allow your former partner to spend time with your child. If your former partner takes legal action against you, you will need this record to prove that you did not violate your child custody agreement without a valid reason.

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 Posted on August 26, 2015 in Children and Divorce

Summer is in its final stages and for students and their parents across Illinois, it is time to start thinking about the upcoming academic year. For some families, this is a return to the same old routine. For others, this year marks the beginning of a new stage in the student's school career such as kindergarten, high school, or college.

For students of divorced parents, adjusting to a new school year can have additional concerns. Going back to school means a new schedule and new responsibilities for you and your former partner. Prepare for these new responsibilities with your former spouse by discussing it with him or her before the end of the summer. Set some ground rules and expectations for your child during the school year and be consistent with them. Co-parenting your child is a team effort. Take the following tips into consideration as you prepare for your child to go back to school this fall.

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 Posted on August 21, 2015 in Child Custody

When the court determines that a joint custody arrangement for a couple's child is not in the child's best interest, it usually gives the noncustodial parent visitation rights with the child. Numerous studies have shown that children do best when they have consistent relationships with both of their parents, and in Illinois, family courts do their best to promote these relationships.

Sometimes, it is in the child's best interest to not have a relationship with his or her noncustodial parent. This is usually because there is a dangerous element present in that parent's home, such as open drug use or a household member with a history of domestic violence or abuse toward children. In cases like this, the court might attempt to facilitate a relationship between the parent and child through supervised visitation.

If a noncustodial parent violates his or her visitation order, he or she may face fines and other criminal penalties from the court. In cases where abuse or criminal activity occurs, that parent might lose his or her visitation rights with the child. Every case is unique. As a parent, it is important that you comply with all court orders regarding child custody and visitation. If you feel an order is unfair, work with your attorney to have the order modified through a court motion. Do not, under any circumstances, intentionally violate your custody or visitation order except for in extreme cases where you feel your child's safety is at stake. In a case like this, be prepared to defend your decision to violate the court order.

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 Posted on August 14, 2015 in Divorce

It is rare that a couple can get divorced with no involvement from outside professionals. When you get divorced, you are dismantling a relationship that often includes significant amounts of money, property, and considerations for the couple and their children's future. Dividing your property and determining the best way to move forward with issues such as child custody, child support, and spousal maintenance generally requires neutral guidance from individuals who specialize in these areas.

When you file for divorce, understand that you will be working with a group of diverse professionals over the next few months to complete the process. This group includes your attorney, who will represent your interests throughout the process and guide you through each step. The circumstances present in your divorce will determine the necessity of other outside help.

A Property Appraiser

Dividing your marital property is an important part of your divorce. To divide it fairly, the court will need an accurate dollar amount for your shared property, which can include your home, other pieces of real estate, your shared vehicles, your accounts, and if you or your spouse own a business, each partner's share in the company.

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 Posted on August 12, 2015 in Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Many people are under the impression that prenuptial agreements are only for celebrities or those who are entering their second and subsequent marriages. The truth is, a prenuptial agreement is an important document for any engaged couple to sign. A prenuptial agreement states the intended ownership of each of the couple's assets as well as the couple's financial decisions, such as whether or not they open a shared savings account or whether either partner may be held responsible for the other's college debt.

Drafting and signing a prenuptial agreement is easy. You and your partner determine the items you would like to include in your prenuptial agreement, then work with an attorney to draft and sign the document. This document does not have to be submitted to the court or otherwise filed with a government authority to be valid.

Topics to Include in a Prenuptial Agreement

A prenuptial agreement may only include financial and property issues. Some examples of topics that a prenuptial agreement may cover include the following:

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 Posted on August 07, 2015 in Child Custody

Sometimes, the court requires parents and their children to undergo psychological evaluations to determine an appropriate custody arrangement. For many people, the idea of having to be psychologically analyzed can be uncomfortable. You might feel like a psychological evaluation is an invasion of your privacy or an attempt to paint you as an unfit parent. But this is not the case. Psychological evaluations are an important part of developing a full portrait of a family to determine each member's relationship to one another and how the parents and children relate to and work with each other. A psychological evaluation is not an attempt to vilify you or your spouse – it is a tool that the court uses to measure each household's ability to provide for the child.

During your psychological evaluation, the most important things that you can do are relax and cooperate with the individual conducting the evaluation. Usually, a psychological evaluation takes place over multiple meetings, one or more of which occur in the parent's home.

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 Posted on August 06, 2015 in Child Custody

Sole custody of your child means that you alone are responsible for his or her well being. There are two types of custody that you can have of your child: physical and legal.

Physical custody refers to where the child lives – if you have sole physical custody of your child, he or she lives in your home full-time rather than spending an allotted amount of time in his or her other parent's home each week or month. Legal custody refers to the right to make financial, medical, and lifestyle decisions for your child. These decisions include your child's healthcare and the religion in which he or she is raised.

As a parent, it is possible to have sole physical custody and joint legal custody, or any other combination of sole and shared custody with your child's other parent. When you have sole physical and legal custody of your child, you are responsible for meeting all of his or her needs. Your former partner may have visitation with the child, which is an amount of time set aside each week, month, or on another timetable for them to spend together.

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 Posted on July 29, 2015 in Child Custody

Parental abduction, also sometimes known as a family abduction, is any taking of a child by his or her parent that violates the parent's custody order. Surprisingly, this type of abduction is actually more common than abduction by strangers.

Parental abduction is a serious crime. A parent who takes their child or keeps him or her in excess of his or her allotted parenting time can face fines, probation, or even jail time if he or she is convicted of parental abduction. To avoid this type of charge, talk to your spouse about your plans regarding your child. If you want to take him or her for extra time, work this out beforehand and involve your attorney if necessary, just so it is on record.

Parental Abduction Defined

In the Illinois Criminal Code, parental abduction is defined as any circumstance where one of the following occurs:

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 Posted on July 24, 2015 in Child Custody

When the court initially determines your child custody order, it does so with what it feels are your child's best interests in mind as specified in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. These interests include educational resources, a stable household with adequate space for the child to live, his or her relationship with each family member, and any personal needs your child has. However, nothing in life is set in stone. As your child matures, his or her needs will change. Sometimes, this results in a child custody arrangement that is no longer appropriate for him or her and could potentially harm his or her relationship with each parent.

Sometimes, a change in a custody order is because of significantly changed circumstances, like a parent losing his or her home and having to move into a small apartment. Other times, it is because of an adolescent's desire to live with the other parent or see him or her more frequently. In any case, there are certain protocols that every family with a custody arrangement in place must take to change the custody schedule.

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