Posted on March 07, 2018 in Paternity

Child development experts have for years insisted that a child does best when both parents are an important part of his or her life. Save for instances in which a father is abusive or unable to care for a child, having a father in a child’s life is beneficial for children in many ways. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million American children live without their biological father in the home. This puts them at an increased risk of becoming involved with criminal activity, dropping out of high school, becoming pregnant as a teenager, and abusing drugs and alcohol. Unmarried fathers in Illinois who wish to be involved in their children’s lives must first establish paternity through one of several recognized ways.

Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Form

If the father and mother both agree on the paternity of the father, they may sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form (VAP). Conveniently, this form is available at hospitals, so many fathers sign it soon after the child’s birth. If a father does not sign the acknowledgement of paternity in the hospital, he still has the opportunity to do so later at any local registrar of vital records, Department of Human Services office, county clerk's office, or child support services office. The form can also be completed and witnessed at home, then mailed to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

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 Posted on March 01, 2018 in Mediation

Mediation is a method of negotiation which some couples choose to utilize when they are getting divorced. In divorce mediation, the couple and often their attorneys, meet with a third party called a mediator to discuss the details of ending the marriage. A mediator is not necessarily an attorney, nor will he or she give legal advice. The purpose of a mediator is to be a neutral third party who facilitates conversation and cooperation between the couples.

Advantages of Mediation

Mediation has proved to be helpful to many couples going through a divorce. It is typically faster and less expensive to work out issues using a mediator than to work those issues out in court. Although, not every divorcing couple who uses a mediator to help them resolve their disputes avoids court. One of the biggest advantages to using a mediator is that both of the spouse’s needs and wants are considered. Both people will have input on the agreement and feel like their voices are heard.

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 Posted on February 27, 2018 in Family Law

When two people enter into a relationship, the quality of that relationship is typically defined by how each person treats the other. Outside factors such as finances, children, and employment-related stresses certainly play a role, but the behavior of the individuals involved is usually the determining factor in whether the relationship lasts or not.

Science has long studied the link between hormones and human behavior, particularly in regard to how such hormones affect sexual relationships. High levels of testosterone in men, for example, have been regularly linked to attracting sexual partners and more aggressive sexual behavior. Relatively little research, however, has been conducted to examine how testosterone levels may affect other aspects of human sexual relationships. A new study from a research team in Canada sought to do just that.

A New Look at Long-Term Relationships

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 Posted on February 22, 2018 in Child Custody

If you are a parent, you probably spend a lot of time worrying about the health, safety, and happiness of your children. When a couple with children divorces, the parents main concern is often how the divorce will affect the children. How will they adapt to their new lifestyle? Will they become resentful of their parents? Although divorce is a difficult process for families to go through, research shows that boys and girls have a remarkable ability to adapt to a two-home family and even thrive in it.

Famous psychologist Constance Ahrons spent 20 years studying the effects of divorce on children. She found through her studies that about 80 percent of children whose parents divorce adapt to the divorce and lead contented, prosperous lives afterward. Most do not suffer permanent negative effects on their mental well-being, physical health, school performance, or social skills.

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 Posted on February 21, 2018 in Divorce

Today, social media is quite literally everywhere. Television commercials, movie trailers, product labels, and even roadside billboards list Facebook pages, Twitter handles, and Instagram accounts for people, brands, and companies. Of course, this is simply a reflection of the culture itself, as most of us know at least a few people who are quick to share virtually any experience to their social media feeds. When a person is going through a divorce, however, social media can present some unexpected dangers. If you are a regular user of social media networks, there are some things you should keep in mind during the divorce process.

Image Matters

Social media sites are appealing because they allow users to create sort of an alternate version of themselves. For example, a person’s Instagram account is likely to show photos of the user looking his or her best or celebrating an accomplishment. Rarely does someone post embarrassing stories or unflattering images. While most of us expect there to be some disconnect between a person’s social media persona and real life, the distinction can be especially problematic during a divorce. The biggest problem is the absence of context.

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 Posted on February 16, 2018 in Child Custody

Members of the United States Armed Forces are well trained to expect the unexpected at all points in their careers. However, sometimes the unexpected can affect not only them, but also their spouses and children. Receiving new orders sometimes happens very abruptly, with a minimum of time to make arrangements before shipping out. If you have custody of your children, you may have to act fast to avoid running into trouble.

Your Right to Speak Is Protected

Some spouses will try to file for a parental responsibilities hearing during a deployment or while you are awaiting orders, thinking that with your life in flux, you will be in no position to challenge their wishes. However, in 1940, Congress passed a law now known as the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and SCRA grants an automatic stay of any civil proceedings, usually lasting 90 days, but a judge may extend the stay if they believe that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. The rationale is simple: a soldier, especially a soldier deployed on active duty, is almost never in a position to respond appropriately to such an important document as a custody pleading.

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 Posted on February 14, 2018 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

There was a time when many thought prenuptial agreements were only for rich celebrities or those who did not have faith in the longevity of their marriage. Today, people realize that prenuptial agreements are not only vital assets in the unfortunate event that a couple splits up or a spouse passes away, but are also tools which can help married couples manage their financial responsibilities while they are still married as well. When creating a prenuptial agreement, one must be careful to draft it in such a way that it holds up in court. Making certain mistakes within a prenuptial agreement can cause it to be considered invalid. In this case, the mandates set forth in the document will not be followed and the document will have been created in vain.

Dishonesty Regarding Assets

One of the major requirements of a valid prenuptial agreement is total transparency with regard to all assets, properties and debts. If a person enters into a prenuptial agreement but does not disclose all of his or her financial information or attempts to hide assets, the document may become useless. If a couple is divorcing and one spouse proves that the other was fraudulent in his or her financial reporting, the prenuptial agreement cannot be used to make decisions regarding spousal maintenance, property division, or family-owned businesses.

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 Posted on February 08, 2018 in Child Support

The purpose of child support is to help the custodial parent—that is, the parent who has more parenting time—pay the costs associated with raising the child. Although child support is most often paid by the father to the mother, both men and women can be recipients and payers of child support. Support payments can be significant, especially when there is more than one child in the family. Some divorced parents struggle to make child support payments on time and in full. If you are a parent who is currently struggling to pay your court-ordered child support, or if you are a parent considering divorce, you should know that there are options for those struggling to finance their child support payments.

Do Not Just Stop Paying

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 7 million custodial parents are owed child support at any given time. However, only about 3 million of those parents actually receive the full amount they expect. Sometimes deadbeat parents attempt to skip support payments because they simply do not want to pay, but more often, noncustodial parents simply do not have the funds necessary. If you are having trouble making ends meet and paying your child support, the worst thing you can do is to just stop paying. Never cease payments without letting the courts know. Parents who do not pay their court-ordered child support are at risk of having their wages garnished, tax refund withheld, occupational license, business license, or driver’s license revoked, property seized, and ability to get a passport revoked. In extreme cases, a parent who continually refuses to pay child support can even go to jail.

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 Posted on February 07, 2018 in Alimony/Spousal Support

As a general rule, when a couple gets divorced in Illinois, spousal support payments are ordered if one spouse’s income is significantly higher than the other’s, in the interest of equity. However, most of the time, these support payments are not intended to last forever. There are several different ways that spousal support is granted to a husband or wife, and modifications may be made after certain criteria have been fulfilled by the obligor or the obligee (or both), or in certain situations which are provided for in statutory law.

Rehabilitative Maintenance

One situation where spousal support is granted with the express intention that there will come a point when payments will slow or cease entirely is when one spouse requires temporary aid. It is still fairly common for Illinois couples to adhere to the old model of marriage where one spouse is the primary breadwinner and the other stays home with the children. As such, upon divorce, many homemakers have no income and outdated skills, and they cannot just jump back into the workforce. In these types of situations, a court may grant rehabilitative maintenance, also known as reviewable maintenance. This will last for a fixed period, determined by a number of factors, including the size of the income disparity, the length of the marriage, and whether or not any children were born of the marriage.

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 Posted on January 31, 2018 in Alimony/Spousal Support

The sweeping new tax law that President Trump signed in December of last year may significantly affect those who pay alimony or spousal maintenance in the future. One provision of the tax plan eliminates the 75-year-old tax deduction for maintenance payments. More than 800,000 couples get divorced each year, and in many of those cases, one spouse is required to pay some sort of spousal maintenance. Interestingly, some divorce attorneys are noticing an increase in divorce filings that may be due to couples wanting to finalize their divorce before the new alimony provision takes effect in 2019. Any divorce that finalizes on or after January 1, 2019 will be subject to the new law.

Tax Plan Eliminates Alimony Tax Deduction

Under the current tax laws, those who pay spousal maintenance are usually able to deduct those payments from their taxes. Right now, every dollar which a person pays in maintenance payments reduces the payer’s taxable income by the same amount. However, the new tax law will disallow divorcees from deducting spousal maintenance payments. Those who finalize their divorce in 2018 before the new plan takes place will get to deduct their spousal maintenance payments for the entire duration of their payment order. Some are concerned that the elimination of the deduction will increase the financial strain of paying maintenance and deprive the lower-earning spouse of vital income.

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