Posted on March 21, 2016 in Guardian ad Litem

If you are—or expect soon to be—in the midst of a complicated child-related legal dispute, there is a very strong possibility that the court will appoint a guardian ad litem to assist in the case. A guardian ad litem, or GAL, works essentially as an extension of the court in matters relating to allocating parental responsibilities—formerly child custody—adoption, guardianship, parental relocations, and any other proceeding that is expected to impact or protect a child’s best interests. While it may be useful to have a trained, objective attorney helping the court make a decision in your case, you should be aware that the services of a GAL are not usually free, and the court itself will probably not be picking up the tab.

Filing of Fees to the Court

Within 90 days of being appointed, the GAL must present a detailed invoice to the court and both parties for services rendered. These services include the GAL’s assigned duties to investigate the circumstances of the family’s situation, to interview appropriate parties, and to prepare a recommendation. If the GAL has been required to testify in court, he or she may include this time in the invoice as well, along with any other reasonable expenses incurred. Should the GAL’s services be required beyond those contained in the original invoice, he or she must file a new invoice every subsequent 90 days.

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 Posted on March 16, 2016 in Spousal Maintenance

If you are receiving spousal maintenance, you probably know—or, at least, assume—that your former spouse’s financial obligations to you will end in that event you ever get remarried. It only makes sense. When you get remarried, you become financially interdependent with your new spouse, all but making your ex all but irrelevant—children’s needs notwithstanding. Depending on your situation and your desires, however, you may be inclined to shy away from marriage for a time after your divorce, as your last formal commitment may have soured you a bit on the institution. As an alternative to getting married, you may decide to move in with your new partner, but you should know that, in most cases, cohabitation is grounds for ending spousal maintenance as well.

Growing Trend

Evolving social mores and more liberal views on interpersonal relationships have led to an increasing number of unmarried couples living together. Many choose the arrangement as a precursor to marriage, while others are content to remain cohabiting indefinitely. While sociologists and religious authorities continue to debate the morality of cohabitation, legal systems around the country have been forced to contend with the changing concepts of household and family.

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 Posted on March 15, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

Under Illinois law, a supporting parent is usually required to pay at least 20 percent of their net income to their former spouse to support a child, a percentage that only goes up with each additional child to be supported. The exact percentage of child support that must be paid should be recorded in the divorce decree. In many cases, however, supporting parents are unable to make these payments because of changing financial circumstances, or are unwilling to meet their obligations for some other reason. If this has arisen in your situation, you do not have to accept your former spouse’s noncompliance with the court order. You can take him or her to court and require that they show cause as to why they are not paying child support.

Filing a Petition for Rule to Show Cause

A petition for rule to show cause is a motion filed with the court after it has entered an order directing one or both parties to do something. In a petition for rule to show cause, the petitioner asks the court to have the other party come before it and explain why they are not following the court order. As applied to child support proceedings, this means making your former spouse appear before the judge to explain why they are not making child support payments.

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 Posted on March 10, 2016 in Property Division

Getting a divorce is one of the biggest decisions of your life. Just like with other major decisions, the process will be much smoother if you have a plan. Working with a divorce attorney before you file can help you protect your assets. It can also give you a strategic advantage when you are ready to file.

Gathering Documents

During the course of the divorce, you will need access to a great deal of information. One of the best ways to prepare for a divorce is to gather as much information about your family’s financial situation as possible. This information will help your lawyer come up with a plan of action for dividing the marital assets and may prevent your spouse from hiding any assets after the divorce is filed.

The documents you need to collect include:

• Checking account statements;
• Savings account statements;

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 Posted on March 07, 2016 in Family Law

For many people, the scariest part of any divorce or family law case is knowing what to do when they get into the courtroom. Although your lawyer will do most of the talking, you still need to understand what is expected of you and how to handle yourself in front of the judge. Even if you do not say a word, you can still leave an impression with the judge that affects your case.

How to Dress

The best way to make sure you are dressed appropriately for court is to dress like you would for a job interview. Shorts, t-shirts, and other casual clothes should be avoided. You should also not wear any clothing with profanity or a vulgar message. Dress conservatively. One of the ways you can show the judge that you respect him or her and the proceedings is by appearing presentable in court, even if you will only be there for a short hearing.

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 Posted on February 29, 2016 in Paternity

Under Illinois law, the legal relationship between a child and his or her father is only presumed if the man was married to child’s mother at the time of, just prior to, or just after the child’s birth. According to the most recent available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, more than 40 percent of all births in the United States are to unmarried mothers. These numbers indicate that, on average, paternity cannot be presumed in about two out of five cases.

The most common method for establishing paternity when there is no existing presumption—or to rebut a presumption in certain cases—is by means of a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity (VAP) form. When both the mother and father complete the form properly, it creates a legal parent-child relationship between the man and his son or daughter. As such, completing the VAP form is an extremely serious matter and one that should not be taken lightly.

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 Posted on February 24, 2016 in Child Custody and Support

Most people are very aware that divorce can have a tremendous impact on children. The new reality created by divorce often creates a great deal of emotional turmoil and instability, feelings that children, in particular, are not generally equipped to handle well. Parents, of course, are always encouraged to pay close attention to the needs of their sons and daughters throughout the divorce process and beyond, but the relationship between a father and daughter may suffer the most. If left unaddressed, the impact can long-lasting, potentially affecting the daughter’s interpersonal relationships with males for the rest of her life.

According to family and relationship experts, a girl has a much better chance of growing into well-adjusted, self-confident woman if she shares a close bond with her father. Conversely, a damaged relationship between them can create serious self-esteem and trust issues for the daughter. In a divorce, professional indicate, the father-daughter bond is particularly vulnerable for several reasons:

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 Posted on February 22, 2016 in Divorce

It is no secret that divorce can be messy and complicated. This is all the more true with the proliferation of social media, a virtual world in which very little is left secret and no trauma is left private. If you are facing divorce, there are several lifestyle choices that you will have to make—beginning with finances, living arrangements, and parenting schedules. With these crucial and weighty decisions to make, it can seem a fool’s errand to attempt to also control less-important things like social media. And yet if you are going through divorce, understanding how to get your social media accounts under control can be one of the most important things you can do.

Why Worry?

There are several reasons for this, and they are not all only applicable if you are going through a less-than-amicable divorce process. The first, and most obvious, is that it can be painful to watch your soon-to-be-ex spouse moving on with his or her life. The second is that anything you say on social media can be used against you during the divorce proceedings—something that divorcing couples in the past never had to even consider. If, for example, you have separated from your spouse and each are dating (even if it is an arrangement to which you both have verbally agreed), posting pictures of anyone you are dating can be used against you in court. It could be wise to refrain from posting any pictures of yourself out on the town on public social media accounts during divorce proceedings, as they could be construed as cheating. Again, this is advisable even if the arrangement has been verbally agreed upon.

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 Posted on February 17, 2016 in Property Division

Taxes can be complicated even under ideal circumstances. However, when you are going through a divorce at tax time, it can put additional strain on everyone. You will have to decide the best way to file taxes. If you are due a refund, how should the refund be divided? The last thing you need is to create tax problems on top of getting through your divorce.

Choices for Filing Taxes

If you filed for a divorce before the last tax year ended, as long as the divorce was not final in that year, you and your spouse are still able to select the option of “married, filing jointly” on your federal tax return. You can also use the “married, filing separately” option, but most of the time you pay less in taxes or get a larger refund if you file jointly. In some cases, you may be able to file as  “head of household”. You will need to check with your tax advisor to see what your best option is.

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 Posted on February 14, 2016 in Divorce

While it can certainly be fulfilling and ultimately bring happiness to both spouses, marriage takes a great deal of work, even in the best of circumstances. In more challenging situations, staying together might prove impossible, especially if one spouse is particularly unhappy. This can become painfully obvious if that spouse files for a divorce that you may have never seen coming. If you have recently been served with divorce papers and the request has taken you by surprise, it is time to start preparing for the road ahead.

Act Quickly

Once you have been served with divorce papers, it means that your spouse has formally filed a petition for divorce with the court. For your part, you must file a written response or, at least, an appearance within 30 days. Your response does not necessarily mean you agree to the divorce. In fact, you can directly refute any complaints or allegations your spouse may have included in the petition. If you do not file an appearance or a response in the allotted time, however, you risk being held in default, which means the process can continue without you. A default judgment against you in your divorce should be avoided at all costs.

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