Posted on January 18, 2016 in Mediation

As form of dispute resolution that is available in virtually every type of civil proceeding, mediation typically allows competing parties the opportunity to hammer out an agreement that reasonably meets the needs of everyone involved. This holds true in a large number of arenas, including personal injury concerns, business disputes, and, of course, divorce and family law. Perhaps the biggest advantage to seeking mediation in your divorce or child-related matter your ability to be clearly heard throughout the process, a luxury not necessarily afforded in many court-handled cases.

Strict Legal Guidelines

While the statutes regarding divorce and family law are constantly being updated to allow for more individual consideration, the fact of the matter is that a court can only do so much. A presiding judge is expected to take into account an ever-growing list of circumstantial considerations, which may include those related to each spouse and the children involved. To truly appreciate a family’s situation, a judge would need to review the case for hours and hours, discussing intimate details with each party, and doing so is clearly not a realistic expectation. Thus, court decisions are often based on a very limited understanding of the facts, and only those each party remembers to include in presented documents.

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

If you are a divorced, separated, or unmarried parent, you may be aware that many of the laws regarding child custody and parental visitation have been changed in Illinois beginning this year. To the surprise of some around the state, however, the statutes regarding child support have yet to be updated. This means that the guidelines that have been in place for a number of years will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.

Who Pays Support?

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, either or both parents may be required to contribute toward the financial support of their child. These payments are intended to help provide for the child’s most basic needs, including shelter, food, clothing, and day-to-day needs. In practice, however, if you are a parent who has not been granted the majority of the parenting time with your child, you will likely be ordered to make support payments.

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 Posted on January 11, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

When it becomes evident that you are headed for divorce, it is important to start planning for the process. You will need to have a good understanding of your current financial situation and what constitutes your ideal post-divorce scenario. Depending upon the circumstances of your relationship with your spouse, you may be able begin negotiating the terms of your divorce agreement. At first, of course, such discussions would need to be relatively informal, but you and your spouse can at least start talking about the future. The conversation is even more important if you have a child or children together, so that you can both better understand the role you are to play in your child’s upbringing.

Determine a Primary Residence

Among your first child-related concerns should be which parent will assume responsibility for a majority of the parenting time. This is an important consideration in determining where the child will attend school. The parent who does not have the majority of the parenting time will most likely be responsible for paying child support. Just because one of you has less parenting time than the other is not considered to be a reflection on your parental rights; rather it is more of a logistical determination.

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 Posted on January 08, 2016 in Spousal Maintenance

For many individuals, it takes a divorce to highlight just how financially dependent a person may be on his or her spouse. This, of course, may be all the more true if you are also trying to raise children. It is for exactly such reasons that the divorce laws in Illinois include provisions for spousal maintenance and child support. These orders are issued, when appropriate, by the court to distribute the financial burden more equitably between you and your ex-spouse. But, what would happen if your ex-spouse was no longer around to provide support for you or your children? Would you be able to get by? If the answer is no, you may want to speak with family law attorney about including life insurance requirements in your divorce agreement.

Why Life Insurance?

A life insurance policy is designed to pay financial benefits to the named beneficiaries of a policyholder upon the policyholder’s death. These funds are often used to cover funeral costs, pay down debts, or to simply maintain a similar lifestyle. Married individuals will commonly name their spouse as the primary beneficiary to help provide a level of security in the event of their death.

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 Posted on December 31, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

In today’s world, it is not uncommon for an unmarried couple to have a child together. In fact, many couples who are not married intentionally procreate, creating an effective, though not legally-protected family unit. When such a relationship ends, or if there was never much of relationship from the beginning, one parent—and often the parent with less parenting responsibilities—is generally required to make child support payments to assist with meeting the child’s basic needs.

Once an order for child support has been entered, every missed payment is logged by a state agency tasked with support enforcement. It is understandable, to a certain extent, that a supporting parent may occasionally have trouble meeting his or her obligations. Once in a while, though, you will hear a story in which back-payments of child support have gotten completely out of hand.

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 Posted on December 23, 2015 in Mediation

Issues of family law, including divorce, parental responsibility concerns, and child support, can become extremely contentious and stressful.  Too often, the opposing parties become so focused on “winning” or proving a point that they lose sight of the real matters at hand. This can be especially tragic when children are caught in the middle, as they often become collateral damage when they should be the primary focus.

If you are in the midst of an ongoing legal struggle, there is, unfortunately, no quick fix. But despite being a popular Hollywood cliché, you may choose to take some inspiration from the spirit of the Christmas season. Perhaps, instead of continuing to find ways to “win,” consider proposing a more cooperative approach to settling your differences. For many families, mediation may be just the solution they need.

What Is Mediation?

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 Posted on December 21, 2015 in Divorce

For many married couples, divorce is a dirty word. The mere mention of it can lead individuals to begin fearing that the end of their marriage is imminent. Even just thinking about divorce can feel dangerous to many, as they begin to question their ability to fix whatever problems they may be experiencing. A recent study suggests that the opposite might, in fact, be true, and that giving some thought to divorce can actually improve a couple’s marriage.

Thousands Surveyed

Funded by Brigham Young University in Utah, and conducted by researchers from six different universities including BYU, the study surveyed 3,000 married individuals between the ages of 25 and 55 from around the United States. The results indicated that more than half of married people have had thoughts about divorce, either recently or in the past. Most of the thoughts were described by researchers as more “soft” than “serious,” and that a large number of those who think about divorce want to work on the marriage.

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 Posted on December 14, 2015 in Divorce

As most people realize, divorce is a complicated process, even under the best of circumstances. The most amicable of marital dissolutions still require a number of very difficult, and very personal decisions to be made. Of course, the most obvious include dividing marital property, arrangements for parental responsibilities, and child support. Less obvious, but often no less troublesome concerns include where you will live after the divorce and how to start your new. Depending on your situation, you may be conflicted about whether to change your name back to the name you used prior to the marriage. While there are certainly many justifications for doing so—and it is entirely up to you—there a few reasons you may want to think about keeping your married name even after the marriage is over.

Your Professional Identity

If you married at a relatively young age, you may have had yet to establish yourself as a professional in your field or line of work. As your career developed during your marriage, you may have become known by your married name. Should you decide to change it after the divorce, the process will likely take significant time, and possibly money, as you attempt to re-establish your identity with clients, customers, colleagues, and, perhaps, a public image.

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 Posted on December 09, 2015 in Paternity

While much has been written about the new laws regarding divorce and child custody that are set to take effect in January, the new year will also mark the implementation of the updated law regarding paternity and parentage. The Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, or IPA15, as it is being referred to by many, will repeal the Parentage Act of 1984, which at more than 30 years old, was in desperate need of overhaul to meet the needs of today’s families.

Among the biggest changes being made by the IPA15 is shift in language from paternity considerations to the more general “parentage.” Of course, paternity is still a major part of the law, since it is obviously much more difficult to confirm the relationship between a father and child, than between a biological mother and the child. However, the new language in the law, where appropriate, is gender-neutral so as to recognize the establishment of parental rights for same-sex parents and surrogacy situations.

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 Posted on December 08, 2015 in Child Custody and Support

For many people, pets are as much a part of the family as a child. When a marriage breaks up, it can be tough to decide which spouse the pet is going to live with. There are many emotional and practical factors that go into making such a decision, and courts are not always the best places to decide pet issues.

How the Law Views Pets

Even though pets are an important part of our lives, the law views pets as a type of personal property. Your beloved family dog or cat is the same as the family television or couch as far as the law is concerned. Technically, the pet can be assigned a dollar value and put into one spouse’s column on the property division worksheet. There are no explicit pet custody provisions in the law.

Steps to Make Sure Pets are Provided For in a Divorce

While the law may only view pets as pieces of property, you know your pet is more than just a number on some spreadsheet. If you want to make sure your pet is taken care of in the divorce, you may have to get creative.

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