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When a baby’s parents are married at the time of birth, both are presumed to be biologically related to the child, and each parent automatically reaps the benefits of parentage. Such is not the case when the baby’s parents are unwed at the time of birth. In this situation, the child’s biological tie to the mother is assumed, but their biological tie to the father must be legally established.
Why go through this extra trouble, especially if you are living together and plan for it to remain that way? What if you are no longer together but have an amicable co-parenting relationship and a standing co-parenting agreement in place? Even in these situations (and others), the legal establishment of paternity is highly recommended. Learn more about the benefits of completing this process, and discover how a seasoned family law attorney can assist you while trying to navigate your way through it.
Children often feel the pain of a divorce, no matter what time of year it is, but the holiday season can be especially difficult for those who are trying to adjust to a new way of life. Days previously spent together, happily planning family events, wrapping gifts, or attending holiday parties together can become a sad reminder of all that the child has lost. Not all is lost, however. In fact, parents can help their child find and experience joy during the holidays, even if they are in the throes of nasty divorce. Best of all, divorcing parents can use the following co-parenting strategies, long after the decorations have been packed away, as these tactics can benefit a child of divorce, all year-round.
Parents are encouraged to focus their energy on their child, rather than their ex-spouse, during the divorce process. Concerns over your ex’s personal life, fighting over parenting matters or marital assets, and worrying about whether your child misses you while spending time with their other parent can hurt more than just you and your spouse; such behaviors can also cause your child to feel as though they are trapped in the middle of the divorce, or that they must “choose sides.” Focus on celebrating your child’s time with their other parent, keep conversations about the divorce private, and focus on rebuilding and reinventing your own life and not only are you likely to be happier, but your child is likely to be as well.
Once the decision to end a marriage has been made, divorcing parties must determine which path may be most appropriate for their situation. Litigation tends to pit the divorcing parties against one another, which can make it an unfavorable option for those who want to end their marriage in an amicable manner (perhaps for the benefit of their children). Divorce mediation - a process in which the divorcing parties select an unbiased third-party to facilitate conversations that must take place during the divorce process (i.e. parenting time, asset division, etc.) - encourages compromise and a willingness to negotiate matters in good faith.
In short, the two methods are almost complete opposites, each with their own set of pros and cons. Learn how to determine which option may be most appropriate for your situation, and discover how the assistance of a seasoned divorce lawyer can improve the outcome in your Illinois divorce case, irrespective of the divorce path you and your spouse choose.
Adoption is usually thought of as the process in which a single- or two-parent household brings a new child into their home, but not all adoptions happen this way. In fact, some adoptions involve a child that is already known and loved by the adopting parent.
One such example is the stepparent adoption.
In such cases, the stepparent is usually already a part of the family unit, and the biological parent in question may be out of the picture, no longer interested in being in the child’s life, or detrimental to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional development. Learn more about pursuing a stepparent adoption in Illinois, and discover how our seasoned family law attorneys can help to ease the process for your family.
While the stepparent adoption process in Illinois is fairly straightforward, there are some critical elements that must be present before the adoption can take place. First, Illinois state law usually requires that the stepparent is married to the child’s custodial parent (the parent with the most decision-making power and, usually, the most amount of parenting time). Second, the child cannot have three parents. As such, the biological parent must either voluntarily relinquish their parental rights, or they must be deemed as “unfit” by the courts and have their rights revoked. Statutory grounds that are necessary for deeming a biological parent unfit by the courts include:
Some child support cases are straightforward, such as those involving divorcing parents, where paternity is assumed. Unfortunately, when the law does not automatically establish paternity, obtaining child support can be far more difficult. Perhaps the most challenging of situations are those that involve a father who outright denies paternity.
If the parents of a child were not married at the time of the birth, paternity must be legally established through one of three methods:
VAP forms are only considered as valid if both the mother and the father agree on paternity. Otherwise, paternity is established through another method. In cases where the father denies paternity altogether, the courts of DHFS may request a DNA test.
Adoption is one of the most rewarding decisions that a person can make. Of course, that single decision soon becomes just one of many. Some of the decisions you have to make will be fun or simple: coming up with a theme for the nursery, figuring out where the child will go to school, etc. Others will be more complex, and some might even feel like taxing, multilayered decisions, such as knowing if you are comfortable with the child knowing his or her birth parents.
You must also decide when and how you would like to adopt, as there are several avenues that one can pursue on this journey. Some prospective parents choose to adopt through an agency, while others decide to go through the state. There are those who would prefer an international adoption and others that would rather adopt a child in foster care. Whatever your path, know that you do not have to travel it alone. The following information, along with the assistance of a seasoned family law attorney, can make all the difference in the weeks and months ahead.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 20 percent of all businesses in the United States are now owned by women. While the 2.8 percent increase from the previous year might be considered a win for gender equality, female business owners still face serious risks if their marriage ends in a divorce. Learn how to protect your enterprise during an Illinois divorce in the following sections, and discover how a seasoned divorce lawyer can assist you with the process.
While any business-owning party can be at risk for extreme financial loss during a divorce, the overall risk for female entrepreneurs is significantly higher. Part of this could be because men are more likely to protect their companies, as they have been advised to do so for decades, but other factors play into this increased risk as well. For example, women are more likely to be the victims of domestic and financial abuse. They may also be less likely to envision their company as successful (until it actually is). Women are also less likely to initiate a prenuptial agreement, even when they have a substantial amount of wealth before their marriage.
When divorcing couples think about the process ahead, they tend to focus on the division of their assets. However, it is important to understand that marital debt is usually factored into the divorce settlement as well. Learn more about divorcing with joint debt, and discover what a seasoned divorce attorney can do to improve the outcome of your case and future financial standing.
Debt is handled a lot like assets in a divorce; parties report any debts that they have and they decide whom will be responsible for it. Some negotiate this matter, while others have their debts and assets divided by a judge. In either case, the balance of the debt is usually deducted from the settlement amount. The assumed “owner” of the debt is then responsible for paying it back. Unfortunately, if the spouse that is responsible for the debt defaults, creditors may start looking at the other party to collect any remaining balance.
Money is one of the leading stressors in a marriage, which also makes it one of the leading causes of divorce in the United States. It is not necessarily a lack of money that leads to a divorce, however. In fact, statistics show that divorce rates actually rise during periods of economic growth instead of declining, which suggests that a couple’s relationship with money (and how it ultimately affects their relationship with each other), is more of an influential factor in their risk of divorce than the balance of their bank account.
Wealth is often seen as the answer to all money problems, but the upper-middle-class and barely wealthy can prove this simply is not the case. They can experience the same issues that lead to financial strain for lower-income families - the ever-increasing cost of living, child tuition costs, student loan debts, expected lifestyle, social pressures, etc. - and they can just as easily over-expend. If the financial strain becomes bad enough, the marriage may start to crumble. Fears over losing one’s status, feelings of guilt or remorse for the poor choices that one made during the couple’s downfall, and casting blame at the other party can further exacerbate matters. If left to fester, or if financial strain worsens, a divorce may ultimately ensue.
The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community has experienced some major victories in the past few years, including the requirement that all states allow and recognize same-sex marriages. Their most recent win came when Congress rejected a discriminatory amendment that would have negatively impacted their ability to adopt a child. Sadly, the very presence of that amendment proves that the battle for equality is still far from over. Learn how you can protect your rights as an adopting LGBTQ parent, and discover how our seasoned family law attorneys can assist you with the process.
Discrimination is far from a new experience for members of the LGBTQ community, but when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could no longer ban same-sex marriages, many hoped the worst would be over. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In fact, an alarming number of LGBTQ couples have been denied the right to end their marriage in divorce. Even when successful in obtaining a divorce, parties may be at risk of losing their parental rights to a child if they did not establish legal guardianship during their marriage. A total of 10 states also have laws with language that is similar to the recently rejected amendment.
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