Posted on October 06,2016 in Family Law

“The best interests of the child” is one of the most common phrases in the realm of family law. A child’s well-being, of course, should remain among the top priorities in proceedings for divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, non-parent visitation, and adoption. The challenge, however, is that determining what exactly constitutes a child’s best interests is open to interpretation. As such, each parent may fully believe that they are acting in their child’s best interests yet hold vastly different objectives regarding the outcome of the case.

Helping the Process

When you and your child’s other parent cannot agree on a parenting plan or other arrangements regarding your child, the court is likely to offer several options. To start with, you may be required to participate in court-ordered mediation designed to help you and the other parent reach an agreement with the help of a third-party mediator. Mediation, however, is only possible in situations where both parties are willing and able to work constructively with one another.

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 Posted on October 04,2016 in Domestic Violence

October is domestic violence awareness month, and while it may not seem that reminders are necessary, the numbers seem to suggest otherwise. Every minute, on average, 20 Americans are abused by an intimate partner. At some point in their lives, one in three women and one in four men have been or will be the victim of violence at the hands of a partner. Every day, nationwide domestic violence hotlines report more than 20,000 calls for help. The sad reality is that nearly as many calls should be going to law enforcement as well, but, in many situations, victims of domestic violence are afraid to call the police because, until recently, local laws allowed such callers to be evicted for calling too often.

Nuisance Laws

It is understandable that nobody wants to live in a dangerous neighborhood. Communities and municipalities, for their part, would rather project an image of safety and order. Police cars constantly on the street responding to calls do not help present an idyllic residential area. With this in mind, many such communities enacted so-called “nuisance laws” which allowed residents to be essentially punished in some way if the police were called to that location too many times. Landlords could face fines, and tenants could ultimately be evicted based on too-frequent police calls to a particular home.

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 Posted on September 30,2016 in Mediation and Collaborative Law

No matter the circumstances, divorce is a life-altering experience. It will be a piece of who you are for the rest of your life. Luckily, it does not have to be an awful experience full of courtroom drama and all that goes into divorce litigation. Other options exist for you and your ex-spouse to have an amicable divorce, including collaborative law and mediation. Both of these choices offer benefits unavailable through traditional divorce options.

Mediation

Rather than enduring a lengthy, financially draining divorce litigation trial, there is an option to complete the divorcing process outside of a courtroom. Mediation is one useful alternative. Rather than having two separate attorneys and meeting in front of a judge who will then make all of the decisions, in this alternative, you retain control of the situation. You meet with a hired third-party, the mediator, to discuss the issues at hand to determine a resolution that works best for both of you. The outcomes are enforceable similarly to any other written contract. In addition, there is still the option to go to a judge for the unresolvable issues. Benefits of this option include:

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 Posted on September 27,2016 in Annulments

There are different ways to end your marriage, whether it is on a temporary or a permanent basis. Depending on your situation, annulment, legal separation, and divorce are all options that may be available to you, or that you may be interested in pursuing. Only an experienced family law attorney can assist you in evaluating your situation and determining the best course of action in your case.

Annulment

Under an Illinois law, what is commonly referred to as an annulment is called a declaration of invalidity of marriage. This is a court order that makes a marriage invalid. There are four reasons under Illinois law that you can get your marriage annulled:

• One spouse could not consent to the marriage due to mental disability, influence of drugs or alcohol, force, duress, or fraud;
• One spouse is unable to have sexual intercourse, and the other spouse did not know that at the time of the marriage;

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 Posted on September 22,2016 in Child Support

Illinois law sets forth specific guidelines for calculating child support obligations following a divorce. Under these guidelines, a child support award is based on a percentage of a non-custodial parent’s “net income” and the number of children for whom he or she is responsible. Unless the court makes specific findings that application of the guidelines would be inappropriate under the circumstances of a particular case, based on the best interest of the child, the court must utilize the guidelines in ordering child support.

Defining Net Income

Illinois law defines a parent’s net income as all income from all sources, minus various deductions. These deductions include federal and state income taxes, Social Security, mandatory retirement contributions, union dues, insurance premiums, other support or maintenance obligations, and other reasonable and necessary expenses. One type of income, however, that has been difficult for Illinois courts to interpret, is gifts and substantial loans to a parent from his or her family members. For instance, according to a parent’s paycheck stubs and income tax returns, a spouse may have very little net income. However, if the parent is the recipient of thousands of dollars from his parents or other relatives, then the parent may very well have a larger net income than it initially appears.

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 Posted on September 20,2016 in Division of Assets

Divorce among the Baby Boomer generation is more common now than ever before. According to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research, divorces among married couples 50 and over doubled from 1990 to 2014. Over the same period, divorces among couples 65 and older tripled. Divorce among older couples has its unique challenges. One important issue that older divorcees face is divvying up retirement accounts. Older Americans have a smaller window to earn after they divorce, so retirement accounts are a commonly fought over topic.

How Is Retirement Split Up?

Regardless of who saved more, retirement accounts are often split 50-50 when a couple divorces. Attorneys say that in a large majority of divorce cases, retirement accounts are considered marital property, and funds that were saved up to support one household must be divided to support two individuals. “There are a number of people who say ‘I have socked away every month and I do not see why I have to divide it with my spouse,” says Joslin Davis, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “The law says ‘too bad.’”

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 Posted on September 15,2016 in Divorce

Did you know that in some cases, people can choose the state in which they would like to file for divorce? Most people file for divorce in the state they reside in, but there are a few factors that may allow a divorcing couple to choose which state when there is more than one option. Why does it matter what state? States have differing divorce laws, so there may be advantages and disadvantages to filing in one state over another. Procedural rules also vary from state to state, and even the fee to file for divorce is different depending on the state, so it is important to consider your options if you do have the ability to choose one state over another.

Who Can Choose Where to File?

As stated above, most couples end up filing for divorce in the state they reside in. If, however, a couple owns property in another state, or if the couple already lives apart in separate states, they may be eligible to choose which state in which they would like to file. Couples curious about their filing options should meet with a qualified divorce attorney who can advise them on each state’s laws and the pros and cons of selecting one state over another. Keep in mind that because each state’s divorce laws vary, some states do restrict where you can file for divorce. For example, some states have restrictions on couples even if they have multiple homes in different states. On the other hand, some states require that any decision made about property must be decided in a court in the state where the property is located. Other states require that child custody be determined by the laws of the state where the children reside. The rules and requirements vary so greatly from state to state that it is always best to first consult an attorney.

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 Posted on September 13,2016 in Divorce

Social media is great, but sites like Facebook and Instagram do have their downsides. Social media impacts marriages and divorce in a number of ways. In fact, according to a 2010 survey from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, over 80 percent of divorce lawyers reported seeing an increase of social media sources being present in divorce cases. How exactly does social media impact marriages? Here are just a few ways social media can harm your marriage and potentially lead to divorce.

Hidden Conversations

It is important to be honest and open with your spouse about your social networking activities. Having an active Facebook page, for example, is totally normal. Having secret conversations with a past romantic partner on Facebook, however, crosses a line that may impact your marriage. Even if nothing is going on, the secrecy can damage your relationship. Great marriages are built on trust, so it is important that any social media activity does not damage the trust in your relationship.

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 Posted on September 08,2016 in Visitation

Do grandparents have a legal right to visitation of their grandchildren in Illinois? Grandparents' rights vary from state to state. Some states do automatically give grandparents and other close relatives visitation rights. Others, including Illinois, consider grandchild visitation a privilege rather than a right. So what does this mean? Prior to 2005, grandparents had no legal option in Illinois to pursue visitation rights. Fortunately, Illinois lawmakers recognized that grandparents do play a significant role in my children’s lives, and changes to the law were made. Now, grandparents who are being denied visitation time can petition an Illinois court to grant them visitation rights.

Obtaining Visitation Rights

Due to the fact that grandparent visitation is considered a privilege in Illinois, grandparents being denied visitation by the child’s parents must petition a court where their grandchild resides to grant visitation rights. To do so, certain criteria must be met. The grandparents need to prove that the child is harmed in some way - physically, mentally, or emotionally - by being denied access to their grandparents. Interested grandparents must be able to prove that they have been denied visitation to an unreasonable extreme by one of the child’s parents

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 Posted on September 06,2016 in Mediation and Collaborative Law

Many divorcing couples choose mediation over a typical litigated divorce. It is a beneficial alternative for many reasons - mediation allows both parties more control over their divorce, it protects couples’ privacy, and it can be a faster and more cost-effective divorce method when compared to litigated divorce. Mediation, while growing in popularity, is often misunderstood. Many couples shy away from choosing mediation because of the many myths and misconceptions surrounding the process. Mediation is truly a worthwhile option to consider despite the misunderstandings of how it works.

My Spouse and I Fight Too Much for Mediation to Work

Each divorce is unique, and mediation is certainly not an option for everybody. Cases involving domestic abuse, or hidden assets, for example, are not ideal for mediation. That said, most divorces can be handled completely by mediation. Many couples believe that they fight too much to pursue mediation, but this simply is not true. A mediator’s job is to keep both parties productive and on topic. Divorce mediators have experience working with conflicted parties, and they know how to get results. There is no risk in trying mediation either. If arguing keeps the two parties from discussing their divorce, they can always pursue a more traditional route.

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