Posted on December 00,0000 in Illinois family law attorney

If your parenting time with your child is regulated by a child custody agreement, you probably consider the time spent with your children to be very special. This may be particularly true if you are not the primary residential parent, as your interaction with your children may feel somewhat—if not severely—limited. A provision in Illinois law, however, may offer parents a way to get extra time with their children in certain situations by allowing the courts to include the right of first refusal in child custody orders.

Right of First Refusal Defined

The right of first refusal provision was added to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage act in 2014. When the right of first refusal is included in a custody or visitation order, it requires a parent needing child-care for an extended period of time to offer the other parent the opportunity to care for the child. Such an offer would temporarily override the existing visitation or parenting time schedule, in effect, allowing the other parent extra time with the child. The right of first refusal does not require the other parent to accept the offer; it only requires that the offer be made.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Chicago divorce attorney

When you got married, you probably never anticipated that the day would come when divorce was not only a possibility, but the right decision. You and your spouse, over the years, may have grown apart and realized that it was not in either of your best interests to remain in an unhappy marriage. Even as you end your marriage, however, it is entirely reasonable for you both to want the best for the other person. Just because you will no longer be married does not mean you must hate each other or that you need to “win” the divorce. If you find yourself in such a situation, an uncontested divorce may provide the closure you need for your marriage without the stress and hassle of courtroom litigation.

Irreconcilable Differences

Virtually all uncontested divorces are granted on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Currently under Illinois law, divorce is a possibility on fault grounds including infidelity, abandonment, and others, but fault grounds are much less likely to result in an amicable divorce. (Fault grounds are also being eliminated from the state’s divorce laws beginning in 2016, but that will be addressed in a future post.) Thus, an uncontested divorce assumes no fault for the breakdown of the marriage and instead focuses on creating an equitable post-divorce situation for both spouses and their children.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

The emotional pain of being cheated on is almost indescribable. Feelings of hurt, anger, and betrayal are often mixed with insecurity and a decreased self-worth, leading to mental turbulence that can last weeks, months, or even a lifetime. For many couples, infidelity causes an irreparable rift in the relationship, resulting in an eventual—or immediate—break-up or divorce. Others, however, are able to work past an episode of unfaithfulness and eventually rebuild their marriage, but not without serious work and dedication. How can you be sure whether your relationship is worth saving or whether ending it is the best solution?

Why Did it Happen?

The first step in evaluating your relationship after your spouse cheats is to try to find the root of his or her behavior. If the episode was truly a one-time event, based on opportunity or circumstances, there may be room for forgiveness. This may be especially true for spouse with behavioral control issues while drinking or under the influence of drugs. While it does not excuse cheating, addressing the underlying problems can help create a more positive future.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Custody

Child custody and visitation plans can be some of the most challenging and potentially contentious aspects of a dissolution of marriage proceeding. Additionally, the composition of the modern, blended family can present additional challenges when there are stepparents involved in or impacted by custody agreements.

Visitation and Custody Agreements in Illinois for Natural Parents

In Illinois divorce cases involving children, it is typical that one parent is designated as the primary or residential parent of the child(ren). This is to ensure continuity for administration of a legal mailing address and school district qualifications.

The residential or custodial parent is most often the parent with whom the children spend the majority of their time. It is important for parents to understand that joint custody agreements do not automatically equate to an even split of the parenting time between both parents. The non-custodial parent will receive, unless there is a reason to deny the request, visitation rights to foster their relationship with the child(ren) and provide him or her with parenting time.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

There are hundreds of reasons people tend to stay in bad marriages long after they should be dissolved. This is one of the most toxic behaviors in which otherwise healthy adults engage—regardless of circumstances bad marriages are a bad idea. Less obvious is the thought that this is true whether or not you have children—sometimes staying in a bad marriage can actually be detrimental to the kids. Many kids who live in a household in which parents constantly fight experience more severe problems later in life than children of divorce whose parents were able to amicably move on with separate lives.

While many people customarily make resolutions for life changes every January, a bad marital situation pays no attention to the calendar. The present is is always a good time to reevaluate your situation and make necessary changes. “If you’ve been contemplating the idea of divorcing your spouse, but keep coming up with new excuses to put it off because you are afraid of the messy repercussions, then this is the year you need to let go and move on,” advises Corri Fetman, attorney, author and contributor to the Huffington Post. There is no shortage of reasons why divorce may be the best option, and when you are ready to take the next step, contact an Aurora family law attorney.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Illinois family law attorney

The State of Illinois is geographically larger than many entire nations. Covering an area of nearly 58,000 square miles, Illinois is roughly the same size as the countries of Tunisia and Nepal, and about 15 percent bigger than Greece. As a state, Illinois ranks 25^th in geographic area, placing it squarely in the middle of the pack. Despite its expanse, current laws regarding child custody make it completely legal for a custodial parent to move a child from one side of the state to the other without approval, while making a short move across state lines illegal. Beginning in 2016, however, this is set to change as a law signed last month will completely revamp relocation guidelines for parents subject to a custody order.

Current Requirements

Under the current law, a parent with primary residential or physical custody of a child is permitted to move anywhere within the state of Illinois without approval from the court or the other parent. While such a move could certainly create logistical difficulties and, most likely, strain the relationship between the parents, there is no statutory measure in place prevent it. This means a parent could move with the child from Evanston to Carbondale—about five and half hours and 350 miles away—without approval.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

Receiving a foreclosure notice can be extremely frightening. The idea of losing your home may be overwhelming and confusing, as you try to figure out what to do. The situation can be even more complication if you were unaware of the danger, especially in relationship to a divorce situation. You trusted you spouse to continue making the mortgage payments until the divorce was finalized, and now you find out he did not. While it may not provide immediate relief, you may have some recourse available in the form of a dissipation claim, which can help you recoup some of the value lost by your spouse’s action or inaction.

Dissipation Explained

When a marriage has begun to irreparably break down, both spouses must take care not to spend or devalue resources in such a way that the other would be affected during the divorce process. This is known as dissipation, and includes both marital and non-marital property. Reckless spending on purposes unrelated to the marriages, unreasonable gifts, and allowing real estate to fall into disrepair or foreclosure are all considered types of dissipation. The dissipation of marital assets is understood to have a direct impact on the division of property process, while dissipating non-marital assets affects a spouse’s personal resources, a consideration for child support, spousal maintenance, and other proceedings.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Chicago divorce attorney

If you took your husband’s last name when you got married, you will be faced with a potentially difficult decision upon your divorce. Of course, the divorce process includes many challenging decisions, but you may find deciding what to do about your name to be among the most conflicted. From an official, legal perspective, changing your name back is easy, but the impact of your changing your name can affect you on a much deeper, emotional level.

While there are examples of divorce decrees requiring a woman to change her name after divorce, for the most part, nobody can force you into a decision. It is a very personal consideration impacted by a wide range of factors, and the right answer is whichever choice satisfies you. In making the decision about changing your name, think about some of the concerns that countless other women have considered:

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

With divorce laws set to change next year in Illinois, including the elimination of at-fault divorce, adultery will no longer be legally considered grounds for divorce. That, of course, is not to suggest that cheating cannot destroy a marriage; it simply means that the divorce itself must be based upon irreconcilable differences, which may certainly result from the actions of an unfaithful spouse. Any act of infidelity, whether within the context of marriage or not, raises questions regarding the motive behind the act of cheating. Is the unfaithful partner unhappy in the relationship or is it something deeper and more primal?

Could Cheating Be Genetic?

A relatively small-scale study from Texas Tech University and the University of Nevada recently looked to find a relationship between parents who cheat and the future infidelity of their children. The survey asked approximately 300 students if they had ever cheated on a partner, and about one third said they had. Roughly the same percentage of respondents indicated that at least one their parents had been unfaithful at some point. Interestingly, though, cheating students were found to be twice as likely to have cheating parents as students who remained faithful.

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 Posted on December 00,0000 in Child Support

The battle for child support does not always end in the courtroom. In some cases, after child support is determined by the court, the non-custodial parent refuses to pay the expected amount. This defiance of a court agreement can cause the custodial parent financial strain and emotional trauma as he or she attempts to recover the required support payments.

Wage Garnishment an Important Tool

Though the Illinois Public Aid Code authorizes the state to post the photographs and names of those parents who owe more than $5,000 in support payments, and though a list of the most egregious offenders is kept up by the Illinois Child Support Services, much of the monies for support payments are still not collected. Therefore, a solution must be found, such as direct wage garnishment. While this tool is especially effective, family law attorneys need to be aware of the new stipulations enacted by the Illinois Supreme Court regarding procedures for notices of garnishment.

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