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Parental alienation occurs when one parent uses his or her influence to manipulate a child’s opinion of his or her other parent. Typically one parent convinces the child that he or she is the good parent and that the other parent is bad, or even evil. Sadly, these types of cases are common. When judges suspect parental alienation, it can drastically alter the way the court decides parenting time and custody.
Signs of Parental Alienation
There is a wide range of behaviors that may point to one parent trying to alienate his or her child from the other parent. Classic signs include the following:
Often times divorcing couples focus on ensuring that they continue to cultivate strong relationships with their children during and after a divorce. They work with the courts and their lawyers to carefully develop parenting and timesharing plans. However, there is another important relationship that may be negatively impacted by divorce: the grandparent and grandchild relationship.
A divorce rearranges the relationship between the divorcing couple and may also dissolve the relationship between the divorcing spouse and his or her in-laws. A divorce may leave the bad feelings between former in-laws and ex-spouses. Oftentimes, the negative feelings that may develop during a divorce are expressed, intentionally or unintentionally, when grandparents interact with their grandchild. It is important that ex-spouses maintain cordial relationships with each other and it is also important for grandparents to respect their former daughter or son-in law for the benefit of their grandchildren.
Deciding to divorce is difficult decision. Once a couple makes the decision to separate there are many stressful decisions to make as the divorce process moves along. Pets and companion animals can make the process easier for many people. It should not be surprising that deciding who gets to keep a pet is a common issue in divorce disputes.
The Law Views Family Pets as Property
Pets play a key role in the lives of many people and many of those people will also go through a divorce. This means that courts will decide who gets ownership of the pet when the couple divorces. The law views pets as property. Of course, pets mean a lot more to their owners than just property. However, in a courtroom, pets are treated similar to a record collection or heirloom jewelry. A court may never need to decide who gets ownership of the pet if both spouses agree who will keep it.
Oftentimes, one spouse is responsible for managing household finances, while the other spouse may not have a clear idea about the family’s income and expenses. Handling finances this way is fine when both spouses plan to stay in the marriage. However, if the marriage begins to deteriorate and divorce becomes a possibility, then the spouse handling family finances may try to take advantage of this situation by hiding assets.
Most divorces will involve the division of property, including marital financial assets. Spouses may hide assets in an attempt to avoid losing all or part of these assets in the divorce settlement. They may plan to then use these hidden assets for their own gain later on. Hiding financial assets is unethical and illegal.
Stay Involved in Household Finances
The easiest way to prevent your spouse from hiding assets is to manage household finances together from the beginning of the marriage. If your spouse is likely to hide assets it will be much more difficult to do so when you both are involved in making financial decisions. If your spouse already manages family finances, and you are considering divorce, then you should be aware of these commons signs that your spouse is hiding assets:
Under Illinois law, judges are required to equitably divide marital property in a divorce. This means that before a judge can figure out how to divide property, a court must first decide whether property is marital property. It is important for divorcing couples to understand how the court will view commingled property and the consequences of commingling property—a process that can be aided by an experienced attorney.
Fair Division is not Equal Division
It is important to understand that fair division of property does not mean property will be split equally; instead, courts will divide property so that the division is fair to the couple under the circumstances of the divorce. And ultimately, the difference between marital and non-marital property is not always clear.
Non-Marital Property
In Illinois, there are several types of property that are not considered marital. Generally, property acquired by one spouse before the marriage and any value increases or income from the property are not considered marital property. Non-marital property includes:
On January 1, 2016, Senate Bill 57 (SB57) will bring tremendous changes to various aspects of family law, including child custody and divorce. If you will be facing a child custody decision when SB57 goes into effect, then it is important that you understand how a court will make custody decisions under the new law.
Currently, Illinois law allows courts to award physical and legal custody to one, or both parents. The child will live with the parent awarded custody and the custodial parent will almost exclusively make decisions about the child’s care. The custodial parent is also the parent who will make nearly all decisions about how the child is raised. This will change under SB 57.
Under SB57 courts will allocate parental responsibilities between both parents. Therefore, both parents will share responsibility for making decision about their child’s care and how their child is raised.
A non-custodial parent may refuse to pay child support. He or she may cite reasons for not complying with child support orders such as concerns regarding how the payments are utilized by the custodial parent or a lack of visitation. Unfortunately, this is an common issue.
If you are a non-custodial parent and are required to pay child support by a court, then it is important to understand that your duty to pay child support is not tied to your visitation or custody rights. In other words, you may not withhold child support, even if your former spouse is unjustly denying you visitation or parenting time. In fact, it is possible that a non-custodial parent may be required to pay child support yet does not have custodial or visitation rights.
In Illinois, the law regarding child support is focused on the best interests of the child, not the parent. Additionally, Illinois requires non-custodial parents to provide financial support to the custodial parents—children have the right to receive care and support from their parents. The parental responsibility to provide this care does not end because a marriage or relationship is over. If a non-custodial parent withholds or fails to pay child support, the Illinois department of child support services can assist the custodial parent in receiving support.
Oftentimes, couples want to adopt a child from another country but do not realize that there is a specific process they must follow before they can bring their child to the United States.
When a couple adopts from another country, they must meet adoption criteria in the United States and their child’s home country. This does not mean international adoption is impossible; it simply means the adoptive parents must be prepared. If you are considering an international adoption, it is imperative that you understand the requirements before you begin the process.
First Steps for an International Adoption
It is important to first research the country from which you are hoping to adopt. You should consider several factors when selecting a country from which to adopt. Important factors to consider include:
In Illinois, if parents are not married when their child is born, then they must establish the child’s paternity if they wish to establish certain rights between the child and the father. There are a number of ways to establish paternity for a child. The easiest method to establish paternity is for both parents to sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) form.
In some cases, however, parents may sign the form, yet later on wish to revoke their signature, for a number of reasons. If you are considering signing or revoking a VAP, it is important to understand the legal ramifications that go along with these actions and prepare yourself for the process.
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
Under Illinois law, unmarried parents can establish a child’s paternity through an order from a court. Arriving at a final order from a court can take a while and both parents may want to simply sign a VAP to ensure their child’s paternity is immediately known. A VAP is a legal agreement. By signing the VAP, the man who signs the form declares he is the child’s father and gives up the right to have a DNA test performed to determine the child’s parentage.
When spouses separate, it is possible that one spouse will need financial support. Illinois law provides courts with specific guidelines for determining the amount and duration of spousal maintenance.
If you and your spouse are divorcing and you are interested in learning more about spousal maintenance, do not hesitate to contact an attorney with skill and experience in the field of family law.
Types of Spousal Support
Alimony, or spousal maintenance, is the financial support one spouse pays to another during, or after, a divorce. There are several types of spousal support a court may grant to a spouse:
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