Posted on September 16, 2015 in Child Support

Changes to Illinois child support laws will take effect January 1, 2016. However, there is still confusion about what parents are required to pay in regards to the support and maintenance of their children after a divorce or legal separation-a court judgment will often require certain payments and financial contributions beyond monthly child support payments.

What Child Support Covers

Illinois law states that child support is to help pay for food, clothing, transportation, housing, activities, and medical care for a child. Yet parents can be required to pay for additional expenses beyond child support.

Divorce or legal separation orders involving children may additionally contain provisions for the payment, or contribution towards, uncovered medical expenses. Also, parents may need to help pay for extracurricular activities or educational needs beyond what is paid in child support. Under the new Illinois child support laws, it will be easier for parents to obtain child support adjustments as circumstances change. However, courts will continue to order some financial contributions in addition to child support.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 11, 2015 in Paternity

After a child is born, there are any number of things to think about. Parents need to decide on a name, add the child to health insurance, decide whether or not they will be stay-at-home parents, and go about caring for a newborn. For unmarried parents, an additional step they have to consider is establishing paternity.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity, which is also known as parentage in Illinois, is an established legal relationship between a father and a child. Paternity can be established in a number of ways. Paternity is assumed if:

insurance, decide whether or not they will be stay-at-home parents, and go about caring for a newborn. For unmarried parents, an additional step they have to consider is establishing paternity.

What Is Paternity?

Paternity, which is also known as parentage in Illinois, is an established legal relationship between a father and a child. Paternity can be established in a number of ways. Paternity is assumed if:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 08, 2015 in Divorce

Considering divorce proceedings as contentious is common. For some people, the entire proceeding is adversarial, from filing for divorce to property division. For others, both parties are in agreement that the marriage is not working and have reached a mutual decision to divorce. While parties may disagree on various particulars of a settlement, such as property division, alimony, or child custody, those parties are able to work together to address the issues outside of court and are able to bring their agreement before a judge.

How Does That Work?

In an uncontested divorce, the parties agree to the grounds for a divorce, and are able to come to an agreement on the terms of the settlement. The agreements are generally reached through the parties' attorneys, who are able to work with the parties individually to explain their rights, the law, and what their outcome might be if they are unable to reach an agreement and go before the court for resolution.

divorce to property division. For others, both parties are in agreement that the marriage is not working and have reached a mutual decision to divorce. While parties may disagree on various particulars of a settlement, such as property division, alimony, or child custody, those parties are able to work together to address the issues outside of court and are able to bring their agreement before a judge.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 04, 2015 in Child Custody

Child custody is one of the most difficult issues to deal with, even after a court has entered a formal custody order. In Illinois, it is always possible to ask the court to change a custody order, but getting a judge to agree to make a change is difficult. A change to a court order is called a modification. The steps required to successfully get a modification of a child custody order depend on how long the present order has been in place.

Requirements for Requesting a Modification

Under normal circumstances, when you ask for a modification, you must establish that at least two years have passed since the last custody order was signed and that there has been a change of circumstances. The change of circumstances means a change in the circumstances in the life of the child, the parent with the residential custody (sometimes called the primary residential parent) or the parent without residential custody (or the non-residential parent).

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 02, 2015 in Family Law

The 2016 Illinois child custody laws could affect your family situation if you do not have a preexisting parenting agreement. Under Senate Bill 57, rather than making custody determinations, the court makes decisions based on "allocation of parental responsibilities." One or both parents are chosen to be responsible for a child's education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities.

The 2016 Illinois child custody laws could affect your family situation if you do not have a preexisting parenting agreement. Under Senate Bill 57, rather than making custody determinations, the court makes decisions based on "allocation of parental responsibilities." One or both parents are chosen to be responsible for a child's education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 28, 2015 in Child Custody

Many of the major changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) coming from Senate Bill 57 have to do with the concept of child custody, which has now been reframed as the concept of "parental responsibility." Rather than making custody determinations, beginning January 1, 2016, when the law goes into effect, the court will make allocations regarding decision-making responsibility and parenting time. In addition, the court's role with regard to parental relocation will also change.

Parental Relocation Under Current Law

The current version of the IMDMA requires custodial parents, or parents with whom shared children live, to obtain permission from the court in order to move outside of Illinois. In order to get permission from the court, or an "Order of Removal," the moving parent must prove that the move is in the best interests of the child.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 24, 2015 in Family Law

For many people, the most meaningful and exciting time in their life is when they are having a child. Soon-to-be parents spend time choosing their child's name, getting a nursery ready, reading parenting books, and sharing the news with friends and family. For those who grow their family through adoption, before they begin to take all of the steps to get ready for their child, they have to navigate complex adoption processes and legal proceedings.

Eligibility and Licensing

People going through the adoption process with an adoption agency are required to meet the standards for receiving a foster home license. Those standards require potential adopters, or foster parents, to be at least 21 years old, be able to financially manage the addition of a child or children to the family, and have no criminal history that will prevent licensure. There are no income requirements and no requirements regarding any other children in the home (potential adopters may have no children or they may have other biological or adopted children). There is no requirement that adopters be married - eligible adopters can be single, married, divorced, or separated. There is also no limitation based on sex, gender, or sexual orientation.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 19, 2015 in Child Support

Trying to prepare for financial obligations after a divorce can be stressful. Understanding a new financial landscape can be difficult when trying to assess bills or expenses, such as rent, utilities, car payments, or health care. Preparing for that financial change can be even more challenging when a child is about to start college. College can be a major expense; according to The College Board, the average tuition at a private four-year college is $31,231 a year-and that figure does not include additional costs such as housing, food, and books. While any family preparing to send a child to college is faced with the same financial burden, divorced parents may wonder who is responsible for the cost of college.

Financial Obligations to Children

When people consider providing financial support for children after divorce, the first thing that often comes to mind is child support. According to Illinois law, child support is generally available until a child reaches the age of 18 (or the age of 19 if he or she is still attending high school) and is designed to contribute to the basic needs of the child, including food, shelter, and health care. Illinois law also allows for continued child support for children over the age of 18 or 19 if they are mentally or physically disabled.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 16, 2015 in Mediation

The prospect of going through a divorce can be intimidating and stressful. In addition to adjusting to the change in the relationship, many people are concerned about going through contentious and unpleasant proceedings - particularly if there are children involved. One option for divorcing parties who want to avoid an adversarial courtroom battle is to participate in mediation.

What is Mediation and How Does it Work?

Mediation is a type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) technique that allows parties to a legal issue, including family law issues such as divorce, to address that legal issue outside of a courtroom. The process is similar to a negotiation - where each party and their attorneys tries to reach an agreement. However, in a mediation, a neutral third-party facilitates the negotiation and works with each side to resolve any areas of disagreement. A mediator's role, as a neutral party, is to work with each side to find common ground and creative solutions. In addition, the mediator tries to work with each party to address the root issue of any disagreements and to relay and communicate information between the parties in a productive way.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 14, 2015 in Child Custody

Senate Bill 57, which was recently passed by the Illinois legislature and signed by the governor, will make significant adjustments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) beginning January 1 of next year. In addition to the changes to statutes governing divorce and custody, there have been notable changes to statutes governing support - including both child support and spousal support, or spousal maintenance.

Spousal Maintenance

Senate Bill 57 makes certain changes to the factors that are to be used by the court when determining whether an award of spousal maintenance is appropriate in a divorce action. The bill now requires the court to consider any financial obligations arising out of the divorce, the realistic present and future earning capacity of each party and any impairment of that earning capacity, parental responsibility arrangements, the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, and needs of each party, as well as all sources of public and private income.

Continue Reading ››