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There are several ways to bring children into a family. One way to create a family is through adoption, and many people choose to adopt children through foster care. It is important to understand basic information about adopting a child from foster care if you are interested in pursuing this option.
Foster Care Basics
Foster care is necessary when a child cannot be cared for by his or her parents, for whatever reason; in this case, the the child lives with someone else. Foster care can also include kinship care where a child is cared for by relatives or family friends.
Some children are in foster care for a temporary time while a parent receives services or other kinds of treatment. Other children are in foster care for much longer. Not every child in foster care will be adopted. Adoption can only occur after a biological parent’s rights have been terminated and the other parent consents or also has had his or her rights terminated. According to Adopt US Kids: “There are 17,920 children in foster care in Illinois; 3,347 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.”
When people think about divorce they usually think about long and stressful hours fighting over property and parenting responsibilities with their spouse. They also tend to think about the high attorney fees that go with it. However, that does not have to be the case. Some couples are choosing mediation as a way to make decisions about their divorce.
What Can Mediation Offer?
Mediation involves a trained mediator, who is not the attorney for either side, to help couples come to decisions about how to divide assets, handle parental responsibilities, and manage other issues that need to be figured out before a divorce can be finalized. Mediation can be flexible and involve other practitioners if need be as well. For example, some mediators will call in a counselor or social worker to help with the mediation process if there are emotional issues that keep coming up that are interfering with the mediation process. However, mediation is not counseling and should not be used as a substitute for seeing a marriage counselor if you think your relationship can be salvaged.
During the lifetime of a child, circumstances can change greatly that may mean that the amount you pay or receive in child support should be altered to take these changes into account. This is called a “modification” of child support.
Illinois law provides circumstances that may allow parties to go to court for a change. However, keep in mind that because family law is centered on the best interests of the child, judges are generally able to find outside of what the statute says if it is in the child’s best interest. A qualified family law attorney can help you with the specifics of your case.
Getting into Court
Courts do not like to waste resources and they want to make sure that you have a good reason for trying to get child support modified before you can even go in front of a judge. If you are in the process of a divorce where there are children from the marriage, or this is your first attempt at trying to collect child support from a parent, then you are not seeking a modification of child support, but just establishing child support in the first place. That process is different than a modification. Modifications occur when there is already an order governing child support in place, but one party wants the amount either raised or lowered.
Generally, we think of divorce as a personal matter that remains private. However, once in awhile, a divorce or information that comes out as part of a divorce can negatively impact someone’s job.
Recently, an Illinois chief of police found this out the hard way when information that was being investigated as part of his separation from his wife led to his resignation.
The man had worked for the Columbia Police Department for 24 years before he resigned on May 16, 2016. This was after the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department was called to investigate into a domestic matter involving the man and his family. The investigation was related to the divorce process in which he and his wife were involved. While it is not clear the specifics of the domestic matter, it was enough for the man to resign as the Columbia, Illinois police chief. The man's separation from his wife was also granted.
When a couple divorces, sometimes one spouse is ordered to pay the other spouse maintenance. Maintenance used to be called alimony and is generally paid from the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse. Maintenance can be ordered by a judge or a couple can agree on it. There are several types of spousal maintenance and different circumstances that apply when determining whether maintenance will be paid, how much, and for what period of time. Therefore, if you are seeking maintenance after a divorce, then it is imperative to understand the specifics of this process and to enlist the help of a skilled family law attorney.
Kinds of Spousal Maintenance
Different types of spousal support can be ordered depending on the situation and include the following:
NOTE: As of July 2017, the law governing child support in Illinois has changed. Please see our Child Support page for more information.
If you are thinking about divorce and do not plan to have significant parenting responsibilities, you may be wondering how much child support you will have to pay. Every state has a different formula to calculate child support, and the information below only applies to Illinois child support, though other states often have similar calculations.
When thinking about child support it is important to remember that every case and family is different and you may be required to pay significantly less or more than the basic percentage. You need to talk to a knowledgeable child support lawyer to see how these guidelines will fit your situation.
As of January 1, 2016, Illinois made many major changes to its family law code. One of these changes was to move away from the concepts of custody and visitation and to move towards division of decision making responsibility and parenting time. While the change seems more semantic than anything else thus far, the new language does indicate changing values in family law.
“Parenting time” acknowledges that relationships with both parents are important to children and while one parent may have more time with the child, the child deserves the right to spend meaningful time with the other parent as well.
After the divorce and after parenting time has been apportioned by the court, there still may be issues that arise. An unfortunately common issue is that one parent may not want the other parent to see the children and will deny the opportunity for the court ordered parenting time that he or she, and the children, deserve. If your ex spouse is denying you visitation time with your children, there are steps that you can take to preserve this time and enforce your rights.
Couples planning to divorce have several factors to consider. For example, couples often worry about how property will be divided during a divorce. Specifically, who will get the house? It is important to understand specific elements of Illinois divorce law that commonly arise when determining who will get the marital home if you are planning to separate from your spouse.
Fault Does Not Matter
In a divorce in Illinois, fault is not taken into account. When dividing assets, a court will not consider the events that went on in the marriage or reason for divorce, unless resources were wasted or misspent.
What Can be Done With a House
There are a few situations that can occur with a marital home during a divorce. One party may get the house and the other party may get other property of approximately the same value. Another option is for the court to order that the house be sold and the profits be divided between the parties. The house may also be in foreclosure. Additionally, one spouse may get the house and “buy out” the other spouse’s share. Finally, property can be divided in such a way that one party may get the house without the other party being fully bought out or receiving an equivalent share of property. This is most likely to happen when kids are involved.
The default rule is that married couples filing joint returns are liable for the taxes owed. However, sometimes one spouse will erroneously file an incorrect return in which the other spouse is unaware. Erroneous returns can either not include taxable income or events, or incorrectly claim a credit or deduction to which that the taxpayer is not entitled. If your spouse engaged in some of these activities without your knowledge, whether you were together or separated, you may be able to apply for “Innocent Spouse Tax Relief” and your liability will be forgiven and your ex-spouse will have to pay the taxes out of his or her own separate pocket.
Joint and Several Liability
When you are married and filing joint returns with your spouse, you are jointly and severally liable for those returns. Therefore, you are both, and each, liable for the whole amount. For example, if as a couple you owe $1,000, the IRS can go after each of you for $500, or they can make you alone pay the $1,000, even if it is your spouse or ex-spouse that made the mistake. This is true even if in your divorce decree you agree that your ex-spouse is liable for the whole amount. No matter what the divorce paperwork says, the IRS can still go after you for the full amount owed. However, if you did not know about these erroneous entries you may be able to escape liability for the additional tax charged; still, you have to meet certain criteria first.
On March 7, 2016, the United States Supreme Court further solidified the rights of adoptive parents by upholding the rights of an adoptive parent.
The Case: V.L. v. E.L.
The case involves two women, E.L. and V.L., who were together for 16 years. While together, E.L. gave birth to three children and both E.L. and V.L. raised the children from birth. Originally based in Alabama, the family moved to Georgia and took advantage of the more favorable adoption laws in Georgia so V.L. could legally adopt the children in what is typically called a “second parent adoption." Second parent adoptions allow another person to be an adoptive parent to children without the current parent giving up his or her own parental rights. Second parent adoption is often used by same-sex couples and stepparents when one of the biological parents is out of the picture.
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