Posted on August 26, 2014 in Family Law

According to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), over 17,000 deserving children have received the opportunity to thrive and flourish with a loving family over the past decade. For those deciding to adopt, it may be viewed by others as a selfless act, but this personal decision of offering the gift of love is the driving force.

If you are an Illinois resident considering adoption, working with the DCFS and an experienced adoption attorney is key to ensuring a smooth transition, and both can also provide you with information about state and federal resources available to you and your growing family.

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 Posted on August 22, 2014 in Parental Relocation

There are several reasons why, after a divorce, people make the decision to move away. If you experienced divorce and are originally from another state, maybe you decided to move back home where your extended family lives. Maybe you received a better job offer, or are re-marrying someone who lives in another state. Whatever the reason, if you have children with your ex-spouse, moving away could be a lot more complicated than just packing up the moving van.

If your ex-spouse is against you taking the children and moving away, you will have to file a moving away motion, which could be expensive. This is also a process that is typically long and drawn out. Judges are not quick to make a decision and these cases can sometimes take years to decide, especially if the other parent is fighting the move.

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 Posted on August 19, 2014 in Divorce

A divorce brings on many new life changes. One of the biggest, and perhaps one of the most overwhelming, is dating. There has been a surge of popularity in online dating sites over the past several years. Many of these sites “guarantee” you will find love. But will you?

A recent 64 page report, written by scientists who were commissioned by the Psychological Science in the Public Interest, challenges the assertions of mathematical algorithms scientifically proven to predict successful relationships as used by online dating websites.

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 Posted on August 15, 2014 in Visitation

The bond between grandparents and their grandchildren is special. Sunday trips to their home for family dinner or perhaps a week or two during the summer can leave lasting memories for the grandchildren as well as the grandparents. The bond is different from that of a parental bond. However, divorce can often weaken that bond.

The divorcing parent may withhold visitation or any type of involvement in the child’s life to the parents of the exiting spouse. Grandparents.com, an organization dedicated to the sanctity of all things grandparents, recently pondered if grandparents have enough rights when it comes to visitation post divorce.

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 Posted on August 12, 2014 in Mediation

According to a recent study by the Pennsylvania State University and chronicled by edivorcestatistics.com, women reveal that growing apart and losing common ground with their spouses remains one of the top five reasons most consider contacting a divorce attorney.

Surprisingly, more couples are turning to divorce mediation as a means to dissolve a lackluster marriage. It is less intrusive than formal divorce proceedings and may ease the pain of filing for divorce. However, debunking some of the myths of mediation, prior to contacting a mediation divorce attorney, may prove helpful in the end. A recent article highlights the misconceptions attached to divorce mediation. And if you are considering divorce and your personal situation does not involve physical or emotional abuse, substance abuse problems, or hidden personal assets, divorce mediation may be the right choice for you.

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 Posted on August 08, 2014 in Divorce

A new trend in divorce, referred to as “grey divorce,” is on the rise as the baby boom generation ages. Grey divorce applies to people who are 50 years of age or older who divorce. Besides the usual challenges that people who divorce deal with, grey divorce presents a whole new set of issues for people to face, especially financial ones.

A recent survey of 1,000 people, who have gone through a divorce after the age of 50, was conducted by Investors Group. Of those that participated in the survey, 80 percent said they will now have to delay their retirement. Sixty-two percent of participants noted that the funds they have left in their savings or investment accounts after the divorce will not be enough to live on after they retire. Other statistics revealed in the survey included:

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 Posted on August 05, 2014 in Child Custody and Support

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) occurs when a child is being turned against a parent by the other parent, typically in child custody cases. It was officially recognized as a syndrome by forensic psychiatrist Richard Gardner, who defined it as “a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child’s campaign of denigration against a parent, a campaign that has no justification. It is caused by a combination of a programming (brainwashing) parent’s indoctrinations and the child’s own contributions to the vilification of the targeted parent.”

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 Posted on July 30, 2014 in Divorce

According to the U.S. National Centers for Health Statistics, almost one in six fathers do not reside with their biological children. Either the result of death or divorce, this statistic provides little comfort for the newly single parent raising his or her children on their own.

If you recently divorced your husband, there are ways to explain and deal with an absent father to avoid taking a toll on your children. When your spouse vacated the home, your children began missing an important member of the family structure. Dealing with this type of situation not only results in extra stress on you as the sole parent but also on the children.

One of the most important steps you may undergo is to take full advantage of all available resources to ensure that the absence of their father does not affect your children’s stability but to further reinforce that this is not their fault under any circumstances.

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 Posted on July 24, 2014 in Divorce

A wedding ring is a symbol of love and life. Placed upon the finger as couples say their vows, a ring is a symbol of marital bond and visual declaration of marital commitment, never to be removed. Yet why are couples admitting to voluntary removing their rings to disguise their marital status? An article published earlier this year notes several interesting facts derived from a study as to why people remove their wedding rings. In the study, two thousand study participants offered their insight into this growing trend.

Although removing a wedding ring can arouse deep suspicions of pending infidelity, one-fifth of the young married participants have come clean and admitted to removing their wedding rings as preparation for a night out on the town. The reasoning – more attention from the opposite sex when enjoying a girl’s or guy’s night out. They also confessed that after an argument, the ring was also intentionally removed to solidify their point and to let their partner wonder if divorce is in their future.

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 Posted on July 21, 2014 in Divorce

Dr. Willard F. Harley, Jr. has proclaimed to have saved thousands of marriages over the years by offering advice on marital conflicts and several of the quickest methods for restoring a harmonious path for couples. One area of concern for Harley is that we should carefully choose our friends after the nuptials to decrease the chances of appearing before a judge awaiting a final divorce decree.

Harley mentioned that when discussing the topic of avoiding the extramarital affair it is often wise to forego continuing friendships with members of the opposite sex. Even though many have bulked at Harley’s suggestion, believing it to be somewhat ridiculous and controlling, Harley believes that keeping these types of friendships intact often prove to be the breeding ground for infidelity even among the best of friends.

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