Posted on December 15, 2023 in Divorce

For a lot of people, life follows a path that moves from childhood and school to professional training to a career. However, your circumstances could change and once you begin working, you might find that the career path you had planned for yourself is no longer suitable. When you were getting your degree as a young single person, you likely didn’t picture how the career you were training for could fit with your later life as a married parent. Many parents find that juggling a full-time job while also raising children and undertaking household responsibilities is too demanding. That is why the concept of a stay-at-home parent has become so common. However, most couples that have one working parent and one stay-at-home parent have made their financial plans with the idea that they will be together. If you are a stay-at-home parent considering divorce, a knowledgeable Naperville, IL divorce lawyer can answer your questions and start working on a plan to protect your rights and interests.

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 Posted on December 07, 2023 in Child Custody

Divorce can be an extremely difficult process for a couple to go through. When the couple are parents, it can be even more complicated for the entire family. Sometimes, a couple can get divorced amicably. They recognize that they should not remain together as a married couple, but they are still able to communicate productively and try to figure out how their entire family’s best interests can be served. Other times, the divorce is more acrimonious. The people who once married each other now consider each other the enemy and they are no longer able to even sit in the same room peacefully. In cases like this, when the parents simply are unable to forge a parenting plan together, a guardian ad litem, or GAL, might be appointed by the court to try to determine what would be in the child’s best interests. If you believe you are headed toward an acrimonious divorce and you have questions about how a court-appointed GAL might affect your divorce, an experienced Naperville, IL divorce lawyer can walk you through the entire process and answer your questions.

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 Posted on December 01, 2023 in Paternity

When a couple has children after they are married, the hospital and relevant government authorities automatically determine that the woman who gave birth to the baby is the mother and the man she is legally married to is the father. Even though this might not always be the case, the man who is married to a woman who gives birth is automatically and legally recognized as the child’s father unless proven otherwise. But if the two parents are not married, things can be a tad more complicated for a father who wants to be involved. If you aren’t married but you know you want to be an involved father in your child’s life, an experienced Naperville, IL family lawyer will be able to walk you through establishing paternity and answer any questions you may have.

Why Do Fathers Need to Prove Their Paternity?

When a baby is born to a married couple, that couple is automatically considered the baby’s parents. If the couple decides at some point later to get a divorce, the fact remains that those two people are the child’s parents and they will need to settle on a joint parenting plan that accounts for how they will raise this child separately. The fact that they are no longer married does not affect the father’s claim of paternity, although it could impact how much time he gets to spend with his children and how much authority he can have over decisions that relate to them.

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 Posted on November 27, 2023 in Child Support

When parents go through a divorce, many issues need to be worked out in their divorce settlement. These issues lay out how the couple will continue raising their shared children once they are no longer married. The two sides will need to reach agreements that become legally binding through the courts. They need to agree on things like child support payments, parental rights and responsibilities, and the other things that need to be decided regardless of whether the couple getting divorced has children, like division of assets, distribution of debt, and spousal support.

The decisions about these matters are made based on each spouse’s financial situation at the time of the divorce. If you were only able to hold down a part-time job due to all your household responsibilities, but the fact that you took care of household maintenance meant your spouse was able to work full-time and advance in his career, you likely were granted child support payments. If you are a divorced parent who depends on shield support payments to help you meet all your financial responsibilities and your spouse has just quit his job, an experienced Naperville, IL, divorce lawyer can help shed light on this difficult situation so you know how to move forward.

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 Posted on November 16, 2023 in Divorce

Long ago, people could manage their lives privately, but that is harder to do nowadays. With social media networks becoming so commonly used throughout society, with users of all ages and walks of life, it is an almost unavoidable fact that whatever you do and wherever you go, there will be documentation of it accessible to countless people. If you are not a particularly private person and you live a fairly typical life, this should not be much cause for concern.

But if you need to control the information that other people can use against you, if, for example, you are about to enter into divorce proceedings with a spouse you do not trust to play fairly, you might need to alter your internet conduct. A Naperville, IL, divorce lawyer can explain what information might put your chances of a favorable divorce settlement at risk and what you can do about it.

Should I Be Concerned About My Social Media Footprint?

When you get a divorce, things might seem complicated. You suddenly need to reach agreements with someone you are ending a relationship with about very important matters like:

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 Posted on November 08, 2023 in Domestic Violence

The State of Illinois takes domestic abuse and violence accusations very seriously. When it seems that measures need to be taken to protect Illinois residents from abusive or violent people, the court can grant a restraining order, officially called an Order of Protection. Its purpose is to stop someone who is accused of harming others from going near them. If they might be in urgent risk of harm, the court can bypass the longer process and almost immediately grant something called an Emergency Order of Protection.

While the importance of protecting people in danger of a domestic violence attack is clear, it is also unfortunately true that some people will use these procedures to harm an innocent person. Someone can claim they were the victims of domestic abuse and are afraid for their lives, and in such a case, an Emergency Order of Protection (EOP) can be granted without an investigation. If your ex is someone who would make a false claim like this, it could potentially harm your custody arrangements for your shared children. If you believe you are being falsely accused of domestic violence and a resulting Order of Protection might get in the way of you being with your children, a compassionate Naperville, IL, family law attorney will be able to answer questions and offer guidance during this difficult time.

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 Posted on November 03, 2023 in Divorce

While most people are familiar with the concept of divorce, the vast majority are not aware of what is actually involved. It is natural to be unfamiliar with all the aspects of a divorce if you have never actually been through one yourself. You may have concluded that divorce makes the most sense for you, but probably have many questions about the next steps. One thing is certain: preparing yourself for the process is a great way to understand your rights and how to advocate for them. If you are considering divorce and want to make sure you are doing proper planning to be prepared for what will come, a Naperville, IL, divorce lawyer can walk you through the process and describe what you can expect to deal with.

I’ve Decided to Get a Divorce. Now What?

If you are sure that divorce is the right move for you, your best bet is to seek a lawyer with a proven history of advocating for their client’s rights and ensuring a divorce settlement that they can feel comfortable with. You will want to find a law firm that has a lot of divorce-related experience. Depending on whether you and your spouse share children, expensive property, high assets, or include otherwise special circumstances, you should look for a law firm that has already won similar cases for their clients in the past.

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 Posted on October 26, 2023 in Spousal Maintenance

Divorce can be complicated. Before a couple can legally end their marriage, they need to figure out how their formerly merged life will transition into two mostly separate lives. Every divorced couple’s settlement is different, each with conditions that are unique to the people involved. One major issue that comes up in a divorce settlement is alimony. It is not a clear “yes or no” issue because it depends on many factors. If you are headed toward divorce and feel confused about whether you might qualify for alimony, a knowledgeable Naperville, IL divorce lawyer can clear things up and set you on the right path to ensure your rights are protected.

Do I Qualify?

In the State of Illinois, alimony is called “spousal support” or “spousal maintenance.” The idea behind this arrangement is that someone in an unhappy marriage should not feel compelled to stay in that marriage for the sole reason that an Illinois divorce could cause them to suffer financially.

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 Posted on October 16, 2023 in Divorce

Annual holidays are a time for family togetherness and a chance to make meaningful memories with loved ones. If the parents of a family have been through a divorce, this can change the holiday dynamic drastically.

In some families, one parent is religious and offers a religiously-based holiday experience while the other parent is not religious and offers a secular holiday experience, which could make exes feel offended by the way their children are experiencing the holiday. In some families, one parent might have limited means and offer a modest celebration at home, and their ex could have exotic travel plans. In some cases, one of the parents might have a new significant other that they want to introduce to their children over a holiday, but the other parent might feel it is inappropriate to bring other people into their children’s holiday celebrations.

However the members of a family choose to celebrate a holiday, it can be an extremely anxious time for divorced parents who are trying to navigate this. If you are a divorced parent and you feel uncomfortable with how your ex is planning on spending a holiday with your children, a Naperville, IL divorce lawyer can help dispel confusion and guide you through this challenging time.

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 Posted on October 10, 2023 in Divorce

Divorce can be an arduous process. There are so many things that can potentially be the cause for an acrimonious fight with your spouse, from custody settlements to alimony payments to living arrangements. Once all of these and more issues that a divorcing couple needs to figure out have been discussed and agreed upon, the two spouses have a divorce decree, which describes what is expected of both sides emotionally, physically, and financially. But if a spouse refuses to follow this divorce decree, it can make everything problematic. If you are divorced and your ex is not complying with your divorce decree, a DuPage County, IL divorce attorney will be able to guide you through the options at your disposal and may be able to help enforce the decree through court proceedings.

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