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Adoption is a great opportunity for a family to expand. Adoption is a particularly great option for potential adoptive parents who are related to the child. Related adoption, or kinship adoption is one of the most common methods of adoption in Illinois. Illinois adoption law requires state-funded agencies to make reasonable efforts to identify and locate a child's relative when the child needs to be place outside the home. This has made related adoptions the preferred method of placement for agencies, as they are required to give preference for children in need of placement.
The Social Security Act (SSA) directly ties federal funding for foster care and adoption to placement. The SSA requires that state-funded agencies “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child, as long as the relative caregiver meets all relevant state child protection standards.” Additionally, the state of Illinois regulates foster parents and foster care payments/financial for caregivers related to a child. A relative may receive payments for foster care and any other benefits just like a non-related foster parent, as long as he or she meets the state's criteria for being a foster/adoptive parent. In Illinois, the prospective adoptive parents must be:
As couples consider marriage, they may also wish to consider prenuptial agreements. Prenuptial agreements are no longer something used to protect the wealthy. Prenuptial agreements are also used by couples from different financial backgrounds to determine how they will handle various issues if they divorce.
If you are considering a prenuptial agreement, it is imperative that you understand their full capabilities, as well as limits, before signing any documents presented to you.
What is a Prenuptial Agreement?
A prenuptial agreement, or prenup, is a legal document that potential spouses create before they are married. Usually, a prenuptial agreement helps a couple figure out how to deal with their assets, debts, and other financial issues if they decide to divorce or if one spouse passes away. The document can also lay out the couple’s agreement for addressing these issues during their marriage. The agreement is valid as long as both spouses sign it and it goes into effect the day the couple gets married.
While it is common for parents to establish college saving funds for their children, the financial strain of a divorce may distract parents from saving for college. It is also possible that the divorcing couple may find they have different expectations about funding their child’s college. One parent may want to fully fund college, while the other parent only wants to cover certain expenses. These sorts of differences may make it difficult for a divorcing couple to agree on funding their child’s expected costs for college.
If a savings plan was not established before a divorce, it can be difficult to set up an account or agree on a strategy for paying for college. A court can order one, or both parents to make college contribution payments. College contribution payments are a form of child support and may make it easier to plan for a child’s future college expenses.
Petition to Request a College Contribution
Couples deciding to divorce later in life will deal different issues than those faced by younger couples. Often, a couple's children are adults or are in college. Therefore, the couple will not need to focus on developing parenting plans or making child custody decisions.
Additionally, dissolving the marriage may feel less threatening for a couple if they have both had successful careers and have established retirement accounts. This does not mean dissolving a marriage after 20 or 30 years is simple, but rather that divorce negotiations may center on issues related to retirement such as dividing Social Security payments or cashing out retirement accounts.
Dividing Social Security Payments
Most people can start collecting Social Security when they turn 62. Social Security payouts can become an important point to discuss in a divorce negotiation. This is true when both spouses are close to retirement and one spouse worked and accumulated Social Security. In this scenario, it is possible the financially supported spouse could be entitled to a division of those benefits in a divorce. It is also possible that both spouses are eligible for Social Security payments and the couple will only need to agree on how to split the Social Security payments. If a couple is divorcing later in life and there are young children, they may want to consider using the supporting spouse’s Social Security payments when calculating child support.
Changing your name can be the last step in completing a divorce, and it may even assist you in leaving behind the emotional difficulty of the divorce as you shed your former identity. However, after the emotional turmoil, it may be difficult to give up a name. Still, it does not have to be done immediately. You can legally change your name after a divorce when it works best for you.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want to maintain your name for professional reasons or to help your children cope better with the divorce. Whatever your reason, you can change your name at the best time for you and your family once a divorce is finalized.
Steps for Changing Your Name
Changing your name is an easy and straightforward process under Illinois law. The process happens in a few stages yet is relatively simple. The name change process after divorce in Illinois is as follows:
After a couple has separated and decided upon parenting and custody agreements, it is possible that the custodial parent may want to move out of state. The parent seeking to move out of state will need to follow a process before relocating with his or her child or children. Illinois has set up a specific statute that lays out the process for a parent seeking to move out of state with a child.
Filing a Out of State Removal Petition
In Illinois, a parent seeing to temporarily or permanently move a child out of state must ask the court for permission before doing so. The court will consider the best interests of the child and make a decision about permitting the parent to move out of state with the child.
A parent must file a petition to seek out-of-state removal with the court. This should be done before the parent relocates with the child. If not, the custodial parent may be in violation of the custodial agreement and may be subject to criminal sanctions. The court will review the petition and will determine whether moving out of state is appropriate. The court will consider many factors; key factors the court will consider include:
Parents who have a disabled or special needs child understand the complexity of ensuring adequate care for their child. A divorce adds to the complexity of this issue both financially and emotionally. Whenever possible, divorcing parents should seek to develop a parenting plan and come to an agreement on long-term care for their special needs child.
Generally, child support is calculated using a formula. The court uses the net income of the non-custodial parent and the number of children supported to determine the total amount of support. In most cases, child support terminates when a child is 18. However, when a child is disabled and has special needs that require long-term care, then the court may extend child support. This is particularly true if a child has a severe disability. In these extreme cases, it is possible that the court may order child support to extend for the child’s entire life.
Court May Order Lifelong Child Support
Divorcing couples must decide how to divide assets and marital property. If a couple can decide how to divide assets without contention, this process can be simple. Sometimes, however, it is not easy for a couple to identify marital assets or decide on how to divide the assets. When this happens it is important to understand how marital property is defined. Understanding basic differences will allow a divorcing couple to properly discuss marital assets with their divorce attorney.
Defining Marital Property
Illinois is a non-marital property state. This means that property either spouse gained during the marriage is marital property. It does not matter if only one spouse has the title to the property. If the property was purchased during the marriage it will be divided in the divorce. Examples of marital property acquired during a marriage include:
Divorce and child custody are complex issues. These issues are even more complicated when one parent attempts to prevent the other parent from seeing his or her child during a court ordered visitation.
Visitation interference and visitation abuse are two common issues that a non-custodial parent may need to address. Therefore, if you are a non-custodial parent, it is important to understand the difference between visitation interference and visitation abuse.
What is Visitation Interference?
Visitation interference, or parenting interference, is criminal offense. Visitation interference happens when the custodial parent intentionally interferes with the non-custodial parent’s visitation time. Under Illinois criminal law, visitation interference occurs when a parent violates “visitation, parenting time, or custody time” as ordered by a court and attempts to “detain or conceal a child with the intent to deprive another person of his or her rights to visitation, parenting time, or custody time.”
Divorce is a complex issue. The complexity only increases when the divorcing couple has children. The couple must make many decisions about child custody, visitation and parenting plans. Some couples are able to arrive at a decision on custody issues. Other times, the couple is not able to make a decision even after trying mediation or other efforts to settle. When this happens, it is not uncommon for the divorcing couple to ask the court to decide issues of child custody. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act directs the court to seek the advice of a mental health professional (e.g. psychologist, psychiatrist or licensed social worker) on child custody. The court may make this decision by requesting a child custody evaluation.
When Do I Need a Child Custody Evaluation?
The child custody evaluation process allows a mental health professional to evaluate a child in his or her environment and then recommend a custody, visitation, or parenting plan. Child custody evaluations have tremendous influence on a court’s custody decisions. A custody evaluation is critical when the mental health of a child is a concern (e.g. eating disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia). The opinion of a mental health professional will help the court determine a custody arrangement, which serves the best interests of the child, and will ensure the child's mental health will remain stable.
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