When a minor is emancipated, there is no turning back. Emancipation makes a minor a legal adult. This means that a minor is not entitled to support from his or her parents. However, there are some cases where a court may order parents to support a partially emancipated minor. Minors and their parents should make sure they have considered the full impact of emancipation on their family, as emancipation will have important effects on a minor’s future decisions.

Understanding divorce and the associated timeline can be confusing. However, it is important that you respond to request from the court and show up for court when you have a hearing. If you do not appear at hearing related to your divorce, it is possible that a court may decide to enter a default judgment against you in the divorce proceedings. When the court enters a default judgment, this means that the court has decided that you did not properly respond or participate in your divorce proceedings. If the court believes you have not properly responded, the court will make a judgment in favor…

The concept of property division and divorce are familiar to most Americans. Using the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, a court will divide property between a divorcing couple in a fair and equitable manner. Dividing a business is much more complicated than dividing a car or the value of a home. Determining the value of a business is further complicated by the fact that the value of a business may fluctuate over time, increasing or decreasing in value at any point in time. If your spouse owns a business, how will an Illinois court value the business upon divorce?

Changes have finally come to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5)—changes that The Illinois General Assembly passed last July and went into effect January 1, 2016. The new bill, SB 57, significantly modifies the areas of child custody and divorce.

Blended families, ones that unite a couple in a second marriage after a divorce, are not uncommon. And, in many cases, stepparents and stepchildren will not share the same surname. A biological mother or father retains the right to seek permission from the court to alter a child’s last name to match the last name of the biological parent and the stepparent. Under Illinois law, parents seeking a change of name for their child must demonstrate that the modification will benefit the child.

Divorce is the legal process that many couples will decided to initiate under Illinois law. However, as with many legal processes, the legal jargon, or vocabulary, often prevents people from understanding the process. However, a clear understanding of the divorce vocabulary can assist people to cut through the legal jargon and understand what is happening in their divorce case.

Military life can be demanding for a service person and oftentimes places unrelenting strain on a military couple. This is especially true in situations where a service member is deployed and the family lives apart for months at a time. Sometimes, this pressure may become more than the relationship can bear and the couple decides to divorce. If you, or your spouse and you, are considering divorce, then you will need to understand the special circumstances that surround military divorce.

Child custody and visitation decisions are always difficult for parents. It is even more difficult for parents when a court believes that supervised visitation is necessary. If a court has ordered supervised visitation for you and your child, it is important to understand the purpose of supervised visitation and what to expect during a visit. 

Once a couple separates, it is very likely that one spouse will want to move. The move may be for a career advancement, to start a new life with a new spouse, or to simply start over in a new place. Regardless of the reason for the move, relocating is not as simple as packing a few boxes and calling movers when children are involved. Even if child custody and divorce are finalized, custodial and non-custodial parents will want take a few steps before relocating with their child.

Human relationships are complex. Unfortunately, these same relationships can become abusive. Abuse can become more intense if a couple decides to divorce or separate. When this happens, it can be difficult to know what to do in order to protect you and your family. This is particularly true when children are the victims of the abuse. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) specifically forbids a family member or members of the same household from abusing others in their home.

When a couple separates, they may have a difficult time agreeing on child custody. When this happens the court has a number of ways of getting the information they need to decide child custody.

When a child is born and the parents are not married, it is important for both parents to establish paternity. By establishing paternity, a child’s biological father is recognized as the legal father, with the rights and responsibility the law provides.