Posted on June 09, 2015 in Child Custody

Typically, a discussion surrounding paternity rights involves the rights of a married (and subsequently divorcing) father. Unmarried fathers, however, also struggle with paternity battles and the rights they have to their biological child (also known as fathers’ rights).

Historically speaking, unmarried fathers have fewer rights with respect to their child as compared to married men or the unwed mother. The Supreme Court of the United States addressed the constitutional rights of a father in a series of cases during the 1970s. The court found “the existence of a biological link between a child and unmarried father gives the father the opportunity to establish a substantial relationship” with the child. This includes being involved in raising the child.

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 Posted on June 04, 2015 in Cohabitation

With the passage of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act in 2011, Illinois moved away from having most of the benefits or rights of marriage available to only traditional married couples. Also known as the Civil Union Act, the short law confers “all the rights, interests, benefits, and burdens” available to married spouses to individuals in analogous circumstances. The statute, however, does this without mention of gender or marital status. What does this mean? Simply put, it puts civil unions on equal footing with marriage from a legal standpoint in the state of Illinois, regardless of gender. Such a law is critical to allowing for couples that may not fall under the traditional definition of marriage to receive equal treatment under the law.

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 Posted on June 02, 2015 in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Many individuals have heard of a prenuptial agreement, but many couples are unaware of an arrangement known as a postnuptial agreement.

Postnuptial agreements are written and signed after you are married. A postnuptial agreement is a way for couples to look over their financial, family, and economic situation without the awkward pre-marital conversation that many recently engaged couples fear having. A postnuptial agreement provides an avenue in which to establish ownership of financial obligations and goals and how the couple will share the burden in the event of a death or divorce.

A postnuptial agreement can be a way of addressing concerns a couple may have once they are married. It helps the couple establish a concrete framework to divvy up the mortgage, savings, business, and household expenses. For example, if one spouse is burdened with heavy student loan or business debt, while simultaneously juggling a mortgage, a postnuptial agreement can create confidence in the marriage by entrenching a financial agreement.

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 Posted on May 28, 2015 in Divorce

In a sign of the times, a Manhattan judge allowed a woman to serve divorce summons to her husband via Facebook.  The 26-year old nurse had been having an extremely difficult time getting a hold of her husband. It was only through phone call or Facebook that she was able to reach him. Even a private investigator was unable to find a location in which to deliver the summons. With those facts in mind, the judge ruled that serving her husband through social media was next best option.

The decision, while novel, is not necessarily surprising. As the judge concedes, “The past decade has also seen the advent and ascendency of social media, with websites such as Facebook and Twitter occupying a central place in the lives of so many people. Thus, it would appear that the next frontier in the developing law of the service of process over the internet is the use of social media sites as forums through which a summons can be delivered.”

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 Posted on May 26, 2015 in Child Custody

As the number of divorced and blended families increases, studying the effects of such arrangements on children has been a growing area of interest. The most recent study by the Journal and Epidemiology and Community Health found that children fare better when they spend timing living with both of their divorced parents. The study looked at 150,000 12 and 15-year-old students across the country. Sixty-nine percent of these children lived in a non-divorced family household, 19 percent lived with both parents separately, and 13 percent only lived with one. The study analyzed a variety of psychosomatic health problems, including sleep patterns, concentration difficulties, headaches, stomach aches, loss of appetite, dizziness, and feeling sad or tense.

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 Posted on May 21, 2015 in Divorce

A recent UK survey solidified what many couples, divorcees, and lawyers already knew: social media is bad for marriage and contributes to divorce.

A survey of 2,000 married couples in England found that one in seven partners contemplated divorce because of their spouse’s activities on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Snapchat, or WhatsApp. The survey also found a partner’s usage of these social media sites contributed to at least one argument per week in 25 percent of the couples surveyed. Seventeen percent of couples, however, said social media usage led to arguments every day.

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 Posted on May 19, 2015 in Divorce

While the stereotype one sees in Hollywood is people marrying for citizenship, the fact of the matter is many couples have legitimate immigration concerns as they move forward in marriage and in the event of divorce. Depending on which stage of the immigration process you happen to be in, the act of divorcing your spouse can have varying effects on your residency status.

Visa Application (Green Card)

If you are in the start of your immigration process and your spouse has filed a visa petition on your behalf, a divorce would derail that petition and prevent you from moving forward in the process.

Conditional Permanent Residency

Permanent residency status is conditional if it is founded on a marriage that is less than two years old on the day you were given residency. This means your immigration status is affected by your marriage status, and thus you have conditional permanent residency. Ultimately, the federal government wants to make sure you did not fraudulently marry simply for the sake of citizenship.

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 Posted on May 14, 2015 in Child Support

In most cases, child support ends when a child turns 18. If the young adult is still in high school at this birthday, support for him or her may continue until he or she graduates or reaches the age of 19. In some cases, a parent may be required to help pay for some of his or her grown child's college expenses. But what about a child support and special needs situation?

If you are a parent of a child with special needs, you might have wondered what will happen to your child support agreement once he or she reaches adulthood.

Legal Requirements for Child Support

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act addresses the requirements for parents to pay child support for minor children and adult children with special needs. It outlines the factors the court may use to determine a divorcing couple's child support agreement.

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 Posted on May 12, 2015 in Child Custody

When a couple with children divorces, child custody and child support are often two of the most important issues that the couple has to work out. The court tries its best to work with parents to create a custody arrangement that meets every family member's needs. Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the court may make the final decision regarding a child's custody arrangement following his or her parents' divorce. There are various guidelines that the court follows when making this decision. These outlines are also part of the Act.

It is important that a child have contact with both of his or her parents following their divorce. In fact, unless there is a compelling reason to award one parent sole custody of the children, the court usually makes sure that both parents have regular custody time with their children. A child's parents are his or her biggest influences. Studies have shown that children who have consistent, positive relationships with both of their parents have higher self esteem, better communication skills, and a lower chance of becoming addicted to alcohol and other drugs.

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 Posted on May 07, 2015 in Asset Division

In a surprising move, the Illinois Supreme Court has decided it will hear a case involving a property dispute between former same-sex domestic partners. The surprise of this decision by the court comes in light of the 1979 Hewitt v. Hewitt decision. The state Supreme Court decided then that the courts should not decide property disputes between unmarried couples. However, with an increasing number of same-sex domestic partnerships (and in turn separation proceedings), the court is willing to evaluate if those same policy concerns apply to same-sex domestic partnerships and divorce now.

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