New Illinois Laws Are Changing Parenting Plan Deadlines

 Posted on March 15, 2016 in Child Custody

On January 1, 2016, the most sweeping changes to Illinois family law in decades went into effect as the legislature amended major portions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Attorneys are still grappling with how the law will affect divorce and child custody cases filed in the new year in DuPage County, but it has already become apparent that a few procedural issues still need to be addressed.

Old Approach Left Much Uncertain 

Illinois courts have always tried to put children first in divorce cases by encouraging judges to award primary custody in the best interests of the child. However, this has never been an easy task in the early stages of divorce proceedings while the parties are hammering out the details of custody.

The previous version of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) allowed for parties to establish custody while the divorce was pending through a series of temporary visitation and custody orders that could require multiple trips to court to extend and enforce. Parents were encouraged to come up with a custody agreement within 90 days of filing for divorce, or the case would be set for mediation. In many counties, the wait for mediation could be several months, leaving the parties in limbo for quite some time.

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Uncovering Financial Infidelity in a Divorce

 Posted on March 10, 2016 in Divorce

Divorcing couples typically have a lot of contention over money. In many cases, this is the one issue that prevents couples from reaching an amicable divorce settlement and keeps divorce cases in court for years. Usually, there is a great deal of money, property, businesses, or other assets at stake. All too often, the thought of having to cash in these assets to split in a divorce is enough to make one spouse commit financial infidelity.

Financial infidelity is defined as one partner’s secretive act of spending money, having separate credit cards or accounts, or incurring debt without the other partner knowing. In divorce proceedings, it is common to employ an accountant to uncover financial infidelity. On the surface, it may be hard to uncover such behavior, but taking a closer look at certain transactions can shed light on what has been happening behind the scenes. Here are several way in which a spouse can hide assets:

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Adoption & Guardianship in Illinois

 Posted on March 08, 2016 in Family Law

For children placed in foster care, there can be an intense desire to be placed in a stable home with a loving family. Over the past decade, programs sponsored by the State of Illinois have helped place over 15,000 children into permanent homes. The decision to bring a child into the home is a life-changing decision for a family and the adopted child. Illinois allows for two processes to take place in order to place a child permanently in a home – adoption and guardianship.

Adoption is a legal process through which an adoptive parent assumes all rights and responsibilities of a child in foster care, including the care, supervision, and custody of the child, as if the adoptive parent actually gave birth to the child. Adoption terminates the rights of the birth parent. Adoption can occur through one of four avenues:

1. Agency assisted adoption – an adoptive parent works with a licensed adoption agency to adopt a child within the United States;

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Child Custody and Visitation Under New Illinois Law Changes

 Posted on February 29, 2016 in Child Custody

One of the major changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act that went into effect on January 1, 2016, addresses not only how the law refers to child custody and visitation, but also to how parental responsibilities are to be shared between the parents.

A Shift in Thinking

Under the previous law, parents may have had joint custody or one parent may have had sole custody with the other parent granted visitation rights. The parent with sole custody was responsible for making most or all of the major decisions regarding the child’s life unless the parents had agreed otherwise on some issues. With the new changes taking effect, a parent may be allocated decision-making power over one or more of four primary areas of responsibility. However, the court does not have to allocate both parents such authority. The judge’s allocation of decision-making responsibilities to a parent is still based on the familiar standard of the child’s best interest. A judge’s allocation of these responsibilities, however, only happens if the parents do not have an agreement in place as to how these decisions will be made.

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The Basics of Marital and Non-Marital Property

 Posted on February 25, 2016 in Asset Division

It has become a common trope in movies and music to portray a wealthy person getting married and subsequently divorced, losing half of his—usually the subject is a man—property to his ex-spouse, regardless of the fact that he owned most of the same assets at the time of the marriage. While such a cliché situation is technically possible under the law in some states, the reality in Illinois is generally much different.

Fair Does Not Always Mean Equal

Property division following a divorce in Illinois can be rather complicated, as the law requires marital assets to be divided according to what is equitable and just. While this could result in a clean 50/50 split, there is no guarantee. Rather the specific circumstances of the marriage, divorce, and expected post-divorce realities must be taken into account to determine the appropriate allocation of assets.

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Is It a Move or a Relocation?

 Posted on February 23, 2016 in Child Custody

As a divorced or single parent, you understand how challenging it can be to provide all the things your child needs to thrive. In an ideal situation, your child’s other parent would also be committed to helping, both financially and as an active participant in the child’s life. But what happens when you want to pursue opportunities that would force you to relocate to a new city or state with your child? Do you have the right to simply pick up and move? As with most issues of family law and coparenting, the answer depends on the circumstances of your particular situation.

Changing Approach

For many years, the laws in Illinois were fairly subjective about moving with your child. While there was no specific prohibition or distance limitations for an in-state move, if the move presented major obstacles to an existing custody or visitation order, it could potentially be challenged in court. An out-of-state move with a child subject to a custody or visitation order statutorily required the other parent’s consent or an overriding court order.

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Relationship Red Flags: Is Your Spouse Stonewalling?

 Posted on February 18, 2016 in Divorce

You and your spouse are never going to see exactly eye-to-eye on everything. In fact, there may be certain topics or behaviors that lead to very strong disagreements and, yes, possibly even fights. Of course, not all fighting is healthy for your marriage, but, when done respectfully and with a purpose, arguing occasionally can help you better understand each other. Sometimes, though, one spouse may shut down, completely blocking all avenues of communication in the face of conflict. There can be many reasons that you or spouse begin to engage in such behavior, often called stonewalling by relationship experts, but if it is not constructively addressed, stonewalling can destroy your marriage.

Two Different Types

Stonewalling can take several forms. Aggressive stonewalling may be used by a more controlling or manipulative partner simply because he or she knows it will upset his or her spouse. By refusing to engage or communicate, an aggressive stonewaller can feel like he or she is control over the situation. Defensive stonewalling, as you might expect, is just the opposite. A spouse who feels threatened or overwhelmed may retreat into him- or herself, unable—and sometimes unwilling—to deal directly with the issues at hand.

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Family Debt Can Impact Well-Being of Children

 Posted on February 11, 2016 in Finances and Divorce

Financial debt is a major cause for concern around the United States, at the individual and family levels, as well as on collective scale. Families fractured by divorce or other type of similar stresses may be particular susceptible to growing debt, as financial obligations may be harder to meet on a single income, combined with a countless other contributing factors. However, a recently-published study suggests that parents with certain types of debt may place their children at increased risk for behavioral problems in the future.

Quality of Life Connections

The study was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and looked at data from more than 9,000 children and their mothers over a period of nearly 40 years. The research also categorized debt into four distinct types: home, education, automobile, and unsecured debt, which included credit cards, certain loans, and medical debt. Looking for possible connections, the team also examined the socio-emotional health and behavioral concerns of the participating children.

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Increased Privacy in Mediation

 Posted on February 09, 2016 in Mediation

If you were asked to picture a divorce proceeding, would you think about a courtroom with a husband on one side, a wife on the other, and a judge in the middle to officiate the battle? While the image in your head may not be quite so stereotypical, it is likely that your concept—like that of most people—is something similar. What you may not realize, though, is that the vast majority of civil cases, including divorce, are not decided in the courtroom; instead, they are negotiated in other ways and a judge is only required to approve the settlement and enter it as part the judgment. Mediation is among the most common methods used to reach an agreement in a divorce, and the process offers a number of advantages, including time and cost savings, flexibility, and increased participation from both parties. There is one additional benefit, however, that is often overlooked: a dramatically increased sense of privacy and security.

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Negotiate a Workable Parenting Time Agreement

 Posted on February 04, 2016 in Child Custody

When you are forced to consider how you will share parenting responsibilities following a divorce or a separation, your initial feelings may be very confusing. It can be quite overwhelming to think about not being with your child all of the time, but you probably realize how important it is for your child to have a strong relationship with the other parent. Finding common ground during a difficult time can be very challenging, but a mutual commitment to finding a cooperative solution can go a long way in providing security and happiness for your child.

Visitation is Now Parenting Time

Recent changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act have amended the language used to describe a co-parent’s time with his or her child. For many years, any parent who was not deemed unfit or danger to the child was presumed to have rights of reasonable "visitation." While the intention of the law may have been reasonable, referring to a parent’s time with his or her child visitation could have the effect of making the parent feel like an outsider or an interloper in the child’s life.

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