Posted on July 08, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

The process of going through a divorce is emotionally and financially stressful. Divorce can become even more stressful when children are involved. Children need to feel loved and secure, and the best way to ensure that children's needs are met is to learn how to co-parent efficiently.

The easiest way to begin making decisions with your ex that will benefit your children is to look at your relationship as a completely new one. This new relationship is not about the two of you, but rather it is about your children. In order to be a successful co-parent, you must always put your children ahead of yourself. You may no longer be a husband or a wife, but you are still a father or a mother.

In order to focus solely on your children, you must put all of your own emotions aside, which can be very difficult. This is both the most important and the most difficult part of working together with your ex. Your child’s happiness, stability, and future well-being are all more important than your current anger or hurt.

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 Posted on July 04, 2013 in Divorce

The Huffington Post has recently reported that a Norwegian study has found that there is a relationship between sharing household duties with your spouse and divorce. According to the study, the divorce rate amongst couples who do housework together was approximately 50 percent higher than those in which the wife is solely in charge of household chores.

However, this finding doesn’t mean that the husband should not be responsible for anything when it comes to housework. The increased rate is presumably related more to “modern” values and attitudes and less to a cause-and-effect relationship. In this modern view, marriage is seen as less sacred than it was in the past.

According to Thomas Hansen, co-author of the study “Equality in the Home,” when couples share household chores “women also have a higher level of education and a well-paid job, which makes them less dependent on their spouse financially. They can manage easier if they divorce.

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 Posted on June 30, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

Adoption is a wonderful thing that brings people together as a family. From infant to teenager, families increase in love and support through adoption. Some children, however, have special needs and/or circumstances that make the adoption more difficult. There are children who are legally under the protection of a part of the government (DCFS), known as wards, and some that are not. Ward children may get some sort of subsidy because of their needs.

There are five ways a child can qualify for an adoption subsidy if they are not under the control of DCFS.

1. A child may qualify if they were determined to be qualified for Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) prior to their adoption. These children do not need to be adopted through a non-profit adoption agency.
2. Children whose adoptive parents receive subsidies remain eligible even if they are adopted again, if, for example, the adoptive parents pass away and another family member adopts the child.

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 Posted on June 28, 2013 in Annulments

There are two general ways to end a marriage. The first way is to simply have the marriage annulled. This deems the marriage null and void as if it has never existed. The other way to dissolve the union is to file for divorce. There are differences between the two processes. Here are a few of those differences.

Annulment

An annulment usually needs to take place within the first 90 days of the date of marriage. Reasons for an annulment can vary but are usually issues like the marriage being a mistake. One cliché example of a marriage by mistake is waking up married after a drunken night in Vegas. Another reason for an annulment is if you are planning to remarry under the laws of the Catholic Church. There are no settlements and awards given in an annulment. The couple walks away as if the marriage never took place. The annulment can usually be completed within weeks.

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 Posted on June 25, 2013 in Property Division

When a couple goes through a divorce, it is not usually a happy time. Instead, emotions are high and feelings of retribution may be strong. Deciding who gets what could be challenging. What you assume is yours perhaps now becomes part of the marital assets. In addition, assets may not be divided based on their dollar value, according to the Huffington Post. Your Illinois family law attorney can help you determine how property division might work in your situation.

Understanding how property division works can be complicated especially if there are significant assets involved. In Illinois, the division of property is not as easy as 50/50. That is why knowing what to expect is important to protect what you may feel that you are entitled to.

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 Posted on June 19, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

If a guardian ad litem has been appointed in your custody case, it's important to know how to relate to this individual and what information to provide this person throughout the course of your case. A guardian ad litem is appointed to represent the interests of the children in divorce cases with contested custody. The guardian ad litem will prepare a report. This report will be submitted to the judge to assist with the determination of the final custody order. It goes without saying that your communication with the guardian ad litem should be professional at all times.

To start with, always follow the guardian ad litem's instructions regarding their requested mode of communication and any desired meetings. Typically, your first meeting with the guardian ad litem (GAL) will be an overview of how the process will work and the filling out of a questionnaire that will allow the attorney to obtain the information needed to conduct research. Make sure to include all contact information that is requested by the GAL. It might help to begin a contact sheet of possible references before you interact with the attorney.

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 Posted on June 16, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

Child custody in divorces is decided individually by state courts, but all states do put the best interests of the child first. Often times, however, parents are concerned about what will happen to their children and have many questions about the process and how the courts will treat each case in Illinois. Your Geneva family law attorney can help you understand the process of determining child custody, and help you to find the best situation for your family.

One question that may come up is whether or not a parent’s psychological problems will have an effect on the custody of the child and if so, what the impact will be. Just because a parent may have a psychological problem, suffer from substance abuse or suffer from mental illness, the courts do not automatically take away the parent's custody rights.

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 Posted on June 12, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

A woman faces two counts of class D felony charges of child neglect. She reportedly went to meet a man that she met on the internet but he never showed. While she waited, her 3-year-old daughter was found crossing a busy road alone. It was later discovered that her 1-year-old son was left unattended in the car secured in his car seat with the windows closed and car door unlocked.

A witness driving by spotted the little girl in the road, and pulled over. He took the little girl to a nearby convenience store. A little while later, it was reported that the mother came out of the restaurant, where the meeting was to take place, looking for her daughter. The witness walked the little girl across the busy road again to return the little girl to her mother.

There were several 911 calls about the incident. In an attempt to prevent the woman from leaving the scene, one caller went to her car and there he noticed the 1-year-old son in the car with the windows closed. When he pulled the child from the car he was confronted by the mother, whom witnesses say attacked the man.

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 Posted on June 08, 2013 in Adoption

We have written with some frequency about adoption, both about the process and its benefits. This post deals with related child adoption, where the adopting parent is someone who is already related to the child, e.g. parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent … etc. See 750 ILCS 50/1. This type of adoption normally arises in the context of a stepparent adopting their spouse’s child. A knowledgeable Kane County adoption attorney can help your family withe the process.

Related child adoption gives the stepparent the same legal rights as the child’s natural parents. In other words, the stepparent steps in the same shoes as the birth parent. After the related child adoption process is complete, the stepparent may make important legal decisions on behalf of the child. Related child adoption also imposes certain legal obligations on the stepparent, similar to those of a natural parent. For example, in case of a divorce, the stepparent would have the same rights and support obligations as a birth parent.

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 Posted on June 03, 2013 in Child Custody and Support

In a recent study, it was found that parents who are going through a divorce who focus more on their children rather than their relationship problems are being better parents than those who are not. Conflicts within a marriage and even after a divorce have the most affect on children, according to Dr. Marilyn Coleman. She also says that it can do damage to a child’s development. This is because kids who go through divorce have lost access to both of their parents and if the fighting continues even after the divorce then the children have not only lost access but also are still involved in the constant conflict. It exposes the children to the ugliness of the conflict, which can be very harmful to a child.

Some relationships between divorced couples have improved once they began focusing more on their children. They communicate freely between each other via text, email, or phone. Once these parents became cordial with each other, they could begin communicating about issues that come up in their children’s lives.

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