Posted on September 25, 2015 in Child Custody

Divorce can be challenging and emotional for everyone involved - including grandparents. When parents divorce, courts are required to approve arrangements regarding custody and visitation, including decision-making power and the time that each parent gets to spend with the children. However, parents and children are not the only ones whose families are changing. Often grandparents struggle to understand their new role after a divorce and, in some circumstances, grandparents may be restricted or prevented from seeing their grandchildren. One option for grandparents who are prevented from having a relationship with their grandchildren is to seek visitation.

Non-Parent Visitation

Illinois law provides visitation for certain "non-parents" including grandparents. Those who want visitation can file a petition with the court requesting visitation.

The law establishes a presumption that the parents' actions and decisions regarding visitation are not harmful to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health. Therefore, the court will presume that a parent or parents who prevent children from seeing grandparents are not causing any harm to the children. In order to be granted visitation, grandparents must prove that the parents' decision to prevent or restrict the relationship will cause undue harm to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health. In assessing the case, the court will review:

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 Posted on September 23, 2015 in Hidden Assets

When a marriage begins to fall apart, one spouse may attempt to hide assets and other sources of income to avoid splitting these assets in a divorce settlement or may want to attempt to lower a future child support or spousal support obligation. Illinois law, however, requires judges to equitably divide marital property in divorce settlements. Therefore, if one spouse hides marital property, a court ordered division of marital property will not be equitable.

The Discovery Process

Sometimes, a spouse may know that an asset exists and notices that it is missing from the other spouse's financial disclosures. Or, a spouse may only suspect that an asset is missing. In divorce cases, the law allows both instances to go through the discovery process-a process where both sides ask for certain information.

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 Posted on September 18, 2015 in Family Law

On January 1, 2016, sweeping changes to the way family law works in Illinois will take effect. The changes will affect everyone who has a divorce or child custody case in the state. Because same-sex marriage is relatively new in Illinois, many wonder if the changes to the family law statutes will have any impact on same-sex marriages in the state.

Status of Same-Sex Marriage in Illinois

who has a divorce or child custody case in the state. Because same-sex marriage is relatively new in Illinois, many wonder if the changes to the family law statutes will have any impact on same-sex marriages in the state.

Status of Same-Sex Marriage in Illinois

Same-sex marriage has been legal throughout Illinois since June 1, 2014. While marriage is usually regulated solely by the states, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear earlier in 2015 that no state could prevent same-sex couples from obtaining a marriage license solely because their gender or sexual orientation.

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 Posted on September 16, 2015 in Child Support

Changes to Illinois child support laws will take effect January 1, 2016. However, there is still confusion about what parents are required to pay in regards to the support and maintenance of their children after a divorce or legal separation-a court judgment will often require certain payments and financial contributions beyond monthly child support payments.

What Child Support Covers

Illinois law states that child support is to help pay for food, clothing, transportation, housing, activities, and medical care for a child. Yet parents can be required to pay for additional expenses beyond child support.

Divorce or legal separation orders involving children may additionally contain provisions for the payment, or contribution towards, uncovered medical expenses. Also, parents may need to help pay for extracurricular activities or educational needs beyond what is paid in child support. Under the new Illinois child support laws, it will be easier for parents to obtain child support adjustments as circumstances change. However, courts will continue to order some financial contributions in addition to child support.

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 Posted on September 11, 2015 in Paternity

After a child is born, there are any number of things to think about. Parents need to decide on a name, add the child to health insurance, decide whether or not they will be stay-at-home parents, and go about caring for a newborn. For unmarried parents, an additional step they have to consider is establishing paternity.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity, which is also known as parentage in Illinois, is an established legal relationship between a father and a child. Paternity can be established in a number of ways. Paternity is assumed if:

insurance, decide whether or not they will be stay-at-home parents, and go about caring for a newborn. For unmarried parents, an additional step they have to consider is establishing paternity.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity, which is also known as parentage in Illinois, is an established legal relationship between a father and a child. Paternity can be established in a number of ways. Paternity is assumed if:

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 Posted on September 08, 2015 in Divorce

Considering divorce proceedings as contentious is common. For some people, the entire proceeding is adversarial, from filing for divorce to property division. For others, both parties are in agreement that the marriage is not working and have reached a mutual decision to divorce. While parties may disagree on various particulars of a settlement, such as property division, alimony, or child custody, those parties are able to work together to address the issues outside of court and are able to bring their agreement before a judge.

How Does That Work?

In an uncontested divorce, the parties agree to the grounds for a divorce, and are able to come to an agreement on the terms of the settlement. The agreements are generally reached through the parties' attorneys, who are able to work with the parties individually to explain their rights, the law, and what their outcome might be if they are unable to reach an agreement and go before the court for resolution.

divorce to property division. For others, both parties are in agreement that the marriage is not working and have reached a mutual decision to divorce. While parties may disagree on various particulars of a settlement, such as property division, alimony, or child custody, those parties are able to work together to address the issues outside of court and are able to bring their agreement before a judge.

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 Posted on September 04, 2015 in Child Custody

Child custody is one of the most difficult issues to deal with, even after a court has entered a formal custody order. In Illinois, it is always possible to ask the court to change a custody order, but getting a judge to agree to make a change is difficult. A change to a court order is called a modification. The steps required to successfully get a modification of a child custody order depend on how long the present order has been in place.

Requirements for Requesting a Modification

Under normal circumstances, when you ask for a modification, you must establish that at least two years have passed since the last custody order was signed and that there has been a change of circumstances. The change of circumstances means a change in the circumstances in the life of the child, the parent with the residential custody (sometimes called the primary residential parent) or the parent without residential custody (or the non-residential parent).

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 Posted on September 02, 2015 in Family Law

The 2016 Illinois child custody laws could affect your family situation if you do not have a preexisting parenting agreement. Under Senate Bill 57, rather than making custody determinations, the court makes decisions based on "allocation of parental responsibilities." One or both parents are chosen to be responsible for a child's education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities.

The 2016 Illinois child custody laws could affect your family situation if you do not have a preexisting parenting agreement. Under Senate Bill 57, rather than making custody determinations, the court makes decisions based on "allocation of parental responsibilities." One or both parents are chosen to be responsible for a child's education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities.

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 Posted on August 28, 2015 in Child Custody

Many of the major changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) coming from Senate Bill 57 have to do with the concept of child custody, which has now been reframed as the concept of "parental responsibility." Rather than making custody determinations, beginning January 1, 2016, when the law goes into effect, the court will make allocations regarding decision-making responsibility and parenting time. In addition, the court's role with regard to parental relocation will also change.

Parental Relocation Under Current Law

The current version of the IMDMA requires custodial parents, or parents with whom shared children live, to obtain permission from the court in order to move outside of Illinois. In order to get permission from the court, or an "Order of Removal," the moving parent must prove that the move is in the best interests of the child.

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 Posted on August 24, 2015 in Family Law

For many people, the most meaningful and exciting time in their life is when they are having a child. Soon-to-be parents spend time choosing their child's name, getting a nursery ready, reading parenting books, and sharing the news with friends and family. For those who grow their family through adoption, before they begin to take all of the steps to get ready for their child, they have to navigate complex adoption processes and legal proceedings.

Eligibility and Licensing

People going through the adoption process with an adoption agency are required to meet the standards for receiving a foster home license. Those standards require potential adopters, or foster parents, to be at least 21 years old, be able to financially manage the addition of a child or children to the family, and have no criminal history that will prevent licensure. There are no income requirements and no requirements regarding any other children in the home (potential adopters may have no children or they may have other biological or adopted children). There is no requirement that adopters be married - eligible adopters can be single, married, divorced, or separated. There is also no limitation based on sex, gender, or sexual orientation.

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