Posted on October 29, 2015 in Divorce

Social media has changed how we interact. From how we announce life's big events like engagements and pregnancies to how we stay in touch with old friends, relatives, and colleagues who might otherwise fade away from our lives, social media platforms provide us with quick, simple ways to remain socially active. But social media can also have its negative effects on our lives. By giving us the means to connect with individuals who we would otherwise be unable to reach, it has dramatically expanded the opportunity to commit infidelity. It has torn away the privacy curtain that surrounded people's daily lives, subjecting them to a constant stream of judgment and imposition from others. When you are going through a divorce, these judgments and impositions from others can actively work against your case by provoking you to make regrettable comments or creating an opportunity to misuse or misconstrue your discussions and photographs. If you are going through a divorce or plan to end your marriage soon, your divorce attorney can give you specific guidelines about what should and should not be posed to social media during the divorce process.

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 Posted on October 23, 2015 in Child Custody

When child custody arrangements are drafted, they are drafted with the goal of giving the child a sufficient amount of time with each parent in order to maintain his or her relationships with them. One of the factors used to determine an appropriate custody schedule is the child's relationship with each parent. With adolescents, the child's preference may be factored into the court's decision as well.

So what happens when a young man or woman decides that he or she does not want to spend time with one of his or her parents? Does the court have the right to require that he or she spend time with that parent despite his or her lack of desire for a relationship?

The answer is not so simple. At first glance, a deviation from your set child custody schedule may be considered to be contempt of court under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. On the other hand, a custody arrangement is meant to promote your child's best interests – when your child has a good reason for not wanting to spend time with your former partner, the court may consider this and determine that the child should not have to spend time with his or her other parent.

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 Posted on October 21, 2015 in Child Custody

Any time a parent faces a criminal charge, his or her child custody or visitation agreement can be affected. This includes even seemingly minor charges, like possession of a small amount of marijuana. If you are facing any type of criminal charge, contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss how this can affect your current custody arrangement.

Criminal Convictions Do Affect Custody Cases

How your conviction will affect your custody arrangement depends on a few different factors. These factors include:

• The nature of the conviction. Offenses that indicate a potential for harm to your child, generally violent and drug-related offenses, are often much more likely to affect a custody agreement than a nonviolent offense like a tax violation;
• The victim of the conviction. For a first-time nonviolent drug offense, this is not as prominent a factor as it would be in a case where the conviction was for domestic violence against a current or former partner;

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 Posted on October 16, 2015 in Divorce

Although the often-quoted statistic for the current divorce rate in the United States is "50 percent of marriages end in divorce," the truth is actually much more complicated than this. The divorce rate is considerably higher for individuals in their second or subsequent marriages than those in their first marriages. Other factors, like each partner's education level, the age at which the couple married, and the number of children the couple has and their sexes can play a role in whether a married couple will divorce.

Divorces can be complicated. If you are considering ending your marriage, contact an experienced divorce attorney to learn more about your responsibilities as a divorcing spouse.

The More Educated an Individual, the Less Likely He or She Is to Divorce

A study performed by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the greater an individual's educational attainment, the less likely he or she is to have divorced. This can be linked to a few other factors correlated with lower divorce rates: individuals who are more educated tend to marry later and they tend to have higher incomes. However, these factors are not foolproof. A study performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that for individuals who marry after age 32, the likeliness that an individual will divorce increases.

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 Posted on October 14, 2015 in Divorce

A subpoena is a written order for an individual to appear in court. In cases where the divorcing partners can cooperate with each other, subpoenas are often not necessary. But when the parties cannot get along, one party refuses to obey the court's orders, or one party is suspected of hiding assets from the other, the court may use a subpoena to require a divorcing individual to come to hearings and comply with its other requirements.

Receiving a subpoena can be confusing. If you are currently going through a divorce and you have received an order to appear, or your partner is not cooperating with the court and your divorce is becoming drawn out and draining your resources, talk about your subpoena and any related divorce issues with an experienced divorce attorney. A divorce consists of many elements and it can be difficult for an individual to keep track of each piece.

What Can a Subpoena Do?

A subpoena is used to call an individual to court. It can be used to require one of the divorcing partners to court or it can be used to require another individual to come to court to provide a testimony as part of the divorce process. For example, the guardian ad litem handling the couple's child custody determination might be subpoenaed to appear in court and provide his or her report of the couple's parenting abilities, resources, and his or her recommendation regarding their children's custody. Other individuals who might be subpoenaed can include those less closely involved in a couple's divorce, such as the couple's child's teacher to verify an allegation that one of the parents was three hours late picking the child up or the child's pediatrician to discuss how a parent handles the child's healthcare.

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 Posted on October 09, 2015 in Paternity

When a child is born to a married woman, there is no need for the woman's husband to declare his paternity to legally claim the child as his own. It is automatically assumed that any children born to a married mother are her husband's biological children as well. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, children are conceived during extramarital affairs. This might not be discovered until years after the child's birth, possibly after the parents' divorce and thousands of dollars of child support.

What are your options if you find out your alleged child is not biologically yours? Find out by contacting an experienced divorce attorney to determine your rights and if you can possibly recover the money you spent in child support.

Yes, You Can Be Required to Continue Paying Child Support

If you are a child's legal father, it can be very difficult to eliminate your child support obligation. Even with a valid DNA test showing that you are not biologically related to the child in question, the court may determine that it is in the child's best interest that you continue to provide for him or her financially. The court may make this ruling if you are the only father the child ever knew and you have a significant relationship with him or her.

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 Posted on October 07, 2015 in Divorce

Infidelity, also known as adultery, is also known as cheating. No matter what you call it, the fact is that it often destroys marriages. Approximately 17 percent of the divorces that happen in the United States today are because of one partner's infidelity. If you suspect your partner is committing infidelity, talk to him or her about it. Express your concern about his or her activities – although he or she might deny that he or she is cheating, it is important that you make your suspicions known and you discuss them in a calm, rational manner. Do not, under any circumstance, attempt to harm your partner or his or her alleged affair partner as an attempt to punish him or her or end the infidelity. Sometimes, marriages survive infidelity. Other times, divorce is the right answer for the couple. But violence is never the answer.

Between One Third and One Half of American Adults Commit Infidelity

Statistics show that approximately 30 to 40 percent of American adults engage in infidelity at least once in their lives. Despite this, nearly all (approximately 90 percent) of United States adults feel that infidelity is morally wrong.

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 Posted on September 25, 2015 in Divorce

Just like any other legal ruling, such as a ruling on a criminal or civil case, you have the right to appeal your divorce settlement if you feel that it was made in error. Like with these other types of rulings, you will need to go through the appeals process to have your divorce case reheard in appellate court. If you are considering appealing the court's decision about your divorce, work with an experienced divorce attorney to ensure that you follow the correct procedure for an appeal and that your interests are fairly represented in court.

The Appeal Process for Divorce Settlements

In Illinois, the right to appeal a divorce ruling is guaranteed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

The appeal process begins with the individual seeking the appeal, known as the appellant, files his or her Notice of Appeal with the court. This is a document that states the appellant's intention to appeal the court's decision. He or she must then file an appellate brief, which states how the court originally misinterpreted or misused the law to reach an unfair settlement. This part involves an in-depth knowledge of the applicable laws and is best done by working with an experienced divorce attorney.

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 Posted on September 23, 2015 in Child Support

It is a well-known fact among divorced Illinois parents that one of the consequences for failing to pay one's child support is the suspension of his or her driver's license. In fact, there is even a catchy name for the law that created this consequence: Deadbeats Don't Drive. But for many parents and non-parents alike, the measure seems illogical.

A parent can not make his or her child support payments if he or she can not afford them. If that parent loses his or her driver's license, his or her job opportunities become extremely limited, making it even more difficult or even impossible to get caught up on his or her owed child support. In Illinois, the court may suspend a parent's driver's license if he or she is 90 days or more behind on his or her child support payments.

In many states, individuals whose driver's licenses are suspended may apply for a hardship license, which is a court-approved restricted driver's license for him or her to use during the suspension. In Illinois, parents who lose their licenses due to child support delinquency can obtain this type of license by petitioning to the court with proof that they have no alternate transportation options and that the driver's license suspension is preventing them from going to work, transporting a household member to work, obtaining drug or alcohol rehabilitation, or obtaining medical care. This is known as a family financial responsibility driving permit. If you are considering seeking this type of permit, work with an experienced child support attorney to write your petition and seek court approval.

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 Posted on September 19, 2015 in Children and Divorce

When you marry a parent, you get more than a new spouse. You get one or more stepchildren, which provide a unique family dynamic that can be very challenging for you regardless of whether you have children of your own. The presence of a new stepparent in a household can complicate family law issues such as child custody and child support agreements.

As a new step parent, you might be unsure of your role in your spouse's child's life. Talk with your spouse about his or her expectations for your relationship with his or her child. Discuss your thoughts, your goals, and your fears about this role as well. Most disagreements and misunderstandings within a family can be easily resolved through communication.

Know Your Boundaries

You might not feel comfortable disciplining your spouse's child. You also might not feel comfortable communicating with his or her teachers or your spouse's former partner. Do not feel pressured to do things you are not comfortable doing. If your partner has explicitly told you that certain actions and topics are off-limits with his or her child, respect these boundaries. Every family has its own standards for appropriate boundaries. Discuss these with your partner to determine the right boundaries for your household.

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