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Time magazine recently reported on the history of divorce in the United States. While it may be assumed that divorce is a modern concept that did not become popular until the 1960s and 1970s, the first uptick in the American divorce was approximately 200 years beforehand.
Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin, identifies the American revolution as the beginning of the increase in the divorce rate in America. The concept of the revolution and breaking the union of countries was a precursor of the increase of divorce in the 1820s and 1830s as people began to realize that independence from spouses could be analogous to the separation between England and America.
However, the laws were very different then. Moreover, couples had to prove to the court that there was adultery or physical cruelty in order to get divorced. To get around these restrictions, many people relied on the “omnibus clauses” in divorce law which allowed judges to grant divorces in other cases at their discretion.
In Illinois, there is a statute that regulates a sperm donor’s liability for child support. Illinois law removes child support liability from any sperm donor as long as the insemination takes place with the assistance of a licensed physician. This is the only time donor agreements are specifically upheld in Illinois.
This September, a Cook County case dismissed a woman’s claim for child support from a sperm donor with whom the woman claimed she also had a romantic relationship. The Chicago Law Bulletin reports that this case is the first published case law that concerns donor agreements.
With the exception of truly unique circumstances, biological parents are generally not able to contract away their responsibilities for child support without court approval. The main circumstance where the court may agree to terminate the responsibility for child support is if one or both of the biological parents voluntarily give up their rights. In addition, there must be at least one person who is willing and able to adopt the child and take on those responsibilities.
If you have followed any recent celebrity news, or even mainstream news, you have probably heard about the impending divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie—two of the most famous people in the United States.
The actors have six children together. Therefore, along with figuring out the monetary parts of their divorce, they will also have to determine parenting time and responsibility arrangements regarding the children.
The divorce was filed in California and thus California law would apply. If they were getting divorced in Illinois, however, things would look a little different.
Jolie’s Proposal
According to news sources, Jolie has requested sole physical custody of the children and has asked for joint legal custody. What this means is that if granted, the children would live with Jolie. Though, presumably, Pitt would have some visitation with the children with or without other conditions (such as supervision).
NOTE: As of July 2017, the law governing child support in Illinois has changed. Please see our Child Support page for more information.
Issues of child support are often about more than money and can be very emotional for all parties involved—having to face an ex-spouse in court can be difficult and nerve wracking. Hence, mistakes may be made by both the party paying child support and the party receiving child support. Still, many (if not all) of these common mistakes can be avoided with the assistance of a knowledgeable child support attorney. Consider the following mistakes and how they can be avoided.
Not Speaking With an Attorney Early Enough
Child support laws may seem straightforward; however, like most laws, there are important exceptions and clarifications to every rule.
If someone is alleging that you are the father to a child that you do not believe is yours, then it is important to take the necessary steps to prove parentage and make sure that you are not liable for child support or other responsibilities to the mother or child.
If You Are Married to the Mother
Under Illinois law, if you are married to the mother of the child at the time of the birth, there is a presumption that you are the father of the child. The spouse of the mother is also presumed to be the father of a child if the mother was married and the marriage ended within 300 days before the birth of the child. If there are two different presumed fathers, then the court will look at all the facts and circumstances and make a decision in line with the best interests of the child.
Illinois allows an exception for babies born under a valid gestational surrogacy agreement. For instance, if a man is married to a woman who has agreed to be a gestational surrogate pursuant to a valid contract, then he will not be presumed to be the father.
It is no secret that Illinois child welfare system, specifically the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS), has various problems that need to be fixed. The Chicago Tribune describes the state’s child welfare system as “troubled.” However, hope is on the horizon.
A federal judge recently approved an Illinois plan to make massive changes to the system and to keep more children in home-like environments rather than in institutions.
Issues with DCFS
In the past, DCFS has been criticized for not doing a sufficient job at keeping the children in its care safe and well treated. The children that end up in DCFS custody are often the most vulnerable; hence, it is even more important that these children are treated humanely.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been monitoring the Illinois DCFS for decades and has been critical of the state’s use of residential juvenile detention facilities. Last year, a court appointed a panel of experts who found that the Illinois DCFS system needed sweeping reforms and also suffered from systemic deficiencies.
NOTE: As of July 2017, the law governing child support in Illinois has changed. Please see our Child Support page for more information.
When considering divorce, couples often question the financial situation that may result. One major question a divorcing couple with children often has is how much money a parent must pay in child support. Unfortunately, not all couples see eye to eye on matters of child support, or other family matters such as parenting time and parental responsibility. Therefore, it is essential to speak with a skilled family law attorney who can inform you of the law and guide you through the process.
Which Parent Pays?
With the elimination of the term “custody” from the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, it may not be clear as to which party is responsible for paying child support and which party will receive it. In the past, the non-custodial parent paid child support to the custodial parent. However, now that parenting time is allocated between the two parents, it may be more difficult to determine who pays child support.
Studies show that children who witness a domestic violence attack grow up feeling isolated and vulnerable. Witnessing an incident can mean more than just seeing an attack happen. It can also mean a child hearing threats or fighting noises of an abusive situation, or observing the aftermath such as blood, bruises, crying, torn clothing, and broken items around the house. All of these can have long term effects on the child of an abusive relationship.
Exposed children can become more fearful or anxious when put into certain situations. This can result in keeping a secret from the rest of their family, whom could have helped the victim otherwise. In some cases, the burden of keeping this undisclosed information can cause adolescents to blame themselves for the abuse they witnessed and think that if they would have told someone or done something about it, then the abuse would not have continued. In extreme cases, children can become emotionally, physically, or even psychologically abandoned.
If you in the process of a divorce or even just considering divorce, it is important that you have a basic understanding of divorce mediation because it may be a viable, or even your best, option.
What is Divorce Mediation?
Divorce mediation is a process where a trained third-party neutral mediator helps you and the spouse you are divorcing come to decisions about division of property, spousal support, child custody issues, and any other things that you need to figure out for your divorce. Divorce mediation allows a couple to prioritize what is most important to them and to hopefully come up with solutions to problems that both can live with. The mediator is there to help couples come to an agreement and to also make sure that the negotiations are fair and both sides have their voices heard. The mediator is impartial, though he or she can advise couples on the law in Illinois if he or she is an attorney. Mediators also keep the couple focused on the task at hand instead of letting them get bogged down in resentments and emotions.
Historically, in order to get a divorce, one of the parties would have to prove that there were “grounds” for the divorce. Accepted grounds included adultery, abandonment, and cruelty. In the 1970s states began to pass so called “no fault” divorce laws. No fault divorce laws allow couples to get divorced without one of them being blamed for bad behavior. At the beginning of this year, Illinois made changes to its divorce law to make it even easier for couples to take advantage of the no fault statute.
No Fault Divorce Law History
California was the first state to pass a no fault divorce law, which went into effect in 1970. No fault divorce gives couples a way to end their marriage more amicably, at least on paper. In some cases, when both parties wanted a divorce, one would allege a ground and the other party would falsely testify that it happened so that the divorce would be granted. The change toward no fault divorce was in part intended to reduce this perjury. State legislatures also saw community norms changing around divorce, which prompted them to make divorce easier and more of a choice of the couple rather than something to be proven in court.
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