Posted on August 18,2015 in Family Law

With a very wide array of adoption routes to take, exploring the idea of adopting a child can seem daunting. Adopting a child is a wonderful decision and can bring immense happiness to parents and the child. Many hopeful parents considering adoption fear the high costs commonly associated with the process. While it is true that certain routes to adoption cost more than others, every adoption does not have to be expensive. Illinois residents looking to adopt may be surprised to discover that not all adoption methods cost thousands of dollars.

There are different types of adoption that each have varying degrees of costs associated with them. As one would imagine, adopting infants typically is much more expensive than adopting a child in foster care or a child under the care of another state agency. In the United States, there are more hopeful parents waiting to adopt infants than there are infants available to adopt. Many would-be adoptive parents work with agencies to locate available infants, and these agencies can be costly. Adoption agencies can set strict acceptance criteria and can charge high rates for home studies, counseling, and medical expenses. Choosing to adopt through an adoption agency can often range from $20,000 to $40,000.

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 Posted on August 13,2015 in Divorce

The Catholic Church has historically been a strong opponent of divorce. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, divorce, no matter the cause, is to be avoided if at all possible. Those in a new relationship after divorce are also thought by the Church to be committing adultery. A recent new opinion from the leader of the Catholic Church himself, Pope Francis, shows an interesting shift in the views of the Catholic Church. For the first time in history, Pope Francis has declared that divorce can be considered a “lesser evil” in cases where getting a divorce is “morally necessary.”

The Catholic Church has always considered marriage a permanent union. Catholics believe that, in the eyes of God, a couple getting married forms an unbreakable bond. For this reason, civil divorces are not considered valid by the Church. Divorcees are not able to receive Holy Communion, though the church does make exceptions for those who have had their marriages annulled and those who have not been remarried. While divorcees are still allowed to be a part of the Catholic Church, they are often left with feelings of guilt and exclusion. Any Catholic wishing to remarry in a Catholic church is forbidden unless their former spouse passed away, or they had their marriage annulled. The Catholic Church considers the idea of marriage permanence as universal.

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 Posted on August 11,2015 in Child Support

Establishing initial child support arrangements that adequately reflect the financial abilities of both parents can often be a challenge. Having one standardized system for determining child support is an important step toward equality in payments. Federal law requires a specific system, but does not require a uniform model for all states. Two primary standards have developed, as a result, in determining child support formulas: percentage of obligor income model and income shares model.

Illinois Obligor Income Model

Under current law, Illinois employs the lesser-used system, known as the percentage of obligor income model, because of its ease and simplicity. In this model, the income of the payor, or supporting parent, after taxes and other deductions, is taken into consideration, and a percentage of this income is set as the payment based upon the number of children to be supported. However, the more money and assets one possesses, the more difficult it is to determine fair payment, especially if the custodial parent has more income or assets than the payor parent.

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 Posted on July 30,2015 in Visitation

After divorce settlements and child custody arrangements have been determined, parents must make decisions on how visitation rights will be structured. In Illinois, unless a parent is viewed as a threat to their child’s well-being, visitation rights for the non-custodial parent are required by the courts. Parents have the option to create visitation schedules on their own, or the court may set a visitation schedule for them.

Reasonable Visitation

Illinois courts require that visitation be “reasonable,” meaning that visitation rights are neither prohibited nor unlimited. The specific application of “reasonable visitation” varies from case to case. In some cases, supervised visitation may be required, either at a visitation center or in the home of a third party. Parents have the ability to drop the child(ren) off at predetermined locations if they do not want to have contact with their former spouses. Visitation rights can also be granted for other relatives such as grandparents.

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 Posted on July 28,2015 in Divorce

Most custody cases deal with living children, but, in light of increased use of in vitro fertilization, a very important legal question is beginning to emerge: Who owns an embryo?

Legal Statutes Struggle to Keep Up with Rapidly Advancing Technology

Not long ago, infertile couples had virtually no options for bearing children of their own. Reproductive medicine came along and changed all of that by providing a solution that enabled them to create and carry their own baby through an assisted reproductive technology known as in vitro fertilization.

The first birth from this technology happened less than 40 years ago. Since that time, several advancements have been made in the field of reproductive medicine. Most were aimed at improving success rates or reducing risks, but they have happened so rapidly that there is now a dearth of legal statutes governing fertility treatments.

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 Posted on July 24,2015 in Divorce

Illinois couples may elect to initiate divorce proceedings for a variety of reasons. In some cases, a spouse may have mental health issues that contribute to or cause a breakdown in the partnership. While the spectrum of mental health issues and personality disorders is broad, one disorder that is often misunderstood or overlooked is narcissism. Contending with a narcissistic partner can be an emotionally exhausting experience and many spouses may be unaware of what exactly they are dealing with and just how much of a toll it is taking on them.

Many experts in wellness, both mental and physical, have thought-provoking ideas about how a relationship with another person can be unhealthy if that other person has narcissistic qualities. A person’s holistic wellness in relationships is about having healthy, positive people around us which, in turn, creates healthy, positive relationships. Keeping a narcissist in one’s life can only contribute distress, thus deciding to end the relationship, if it cannot be changed, is often imperative.

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 Posted on July 21,2015 in Spousal Maintenance

When a couple divorces, one spouse may be ordered to make alimony, or spousal maintenance, payments to his or her former partner. These payments are usually allocated to the spouse who makes less money, allowing them the opportunity to better their financial situation.

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) dictates the rules and regulations governing spousal maintenance such as who receives payment, the dollar amount to be paid, and how long payments will continue. Additionally, the IMDMA states that payments may end if the receiving spouse remarries or moves in with a new partner. In some cases, this type of change can also affect the paying spouse.

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 Posted on July 21,2015 in Child Support

The State of Illinois faces a serious problem in collecting child support from delinquent parents. There is currently over $3 billion in overdue child support payments, and with just 58% of child support payments collected by the State, that number is likely to continue growing.

Parents have an obligation to their children to support them financially, even if the child’s parents are divorced. The State of Illinois calculates the amount of a parent’s income that should be paid to their child through child support based on a set of legislative guidelines that considers the number of children for which the parent is responsible.

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 Posted on July 21,2015 in Child Custody

Divorce and custody arrangements are difficult enough, but the difficulties may be intensified if one parent decides to relocate out of state after a divorce. The geographical change can present a number of obstacles for parents as they try to foster healthy, meaningful relationships with their children. There may, however, situations in which such a move would, overall, serve the best interests of the child.

Illinois state law requires that the court be notified if a custodial parent is planning on moving out of state. If the non-custodial parent agrees to the move, the court may simply enter a modified custody or visitation order. In other cases, the purpose of the move will be questioned, along with other considerations, before the court will grant approval. Children Need Access to Both Parents In addition to defining rules and regulations about divorce, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act also protects the rights of the children. By law, children of divorced parents have rights to access both parents and cultivate relationships with them. This requires children to have contact with both parents, which could become difficult if one parent moves out of state. For this reason, non-custodial parents have the right to object to such moves if they think it will impact their relationship with their child(ren). Court Considerations A custodial parents who wishes to move out of state with his or her child must petition the court to request approval to remove the child from Illinois. The court will review the case thoroughly before making a decision and is expected to consider a variety of factors, including:

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 Posted on July 21,2015 in Domestic Violence

It is important for victims of domestic violence to know they have options to protect themselves from spousal abuse or harassment. An order of protection will require the threatening spouse or individual to follow the interaction rules set forth in the orders or face criminal charges. Before filing for an order of protection, individuals should seek legal counsel to gain a better understanding of the scope of this type of protection.

Types of Orders

An Illinois family law attorney can help an individual choose which of the orders of protection apply to their case. While each type of order differs from the others, they all seek to provide safety for victims of domestic violence.

The first type of order is known as a Plenary Order of Protection. This applies to cases in which both the victim and the alleged abuser have gone to court to testify. The order will be effective for up to 24 months, which is the longest lasting order of protection in the state.

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