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Intuition can be a wonderful thing; it can be what encourages you to complete a project sooner than its due date, only to learn that you wrote down the date incorrectly but still had it done on time, or it could be the reason you end up having a much-needed item at exactly the right moment. Intuition can also feel like a bit of a curse sometimes - like when that tiny voice in your head is trying to tell you that your spouse is contemplating a divorce. If you have that nagging feeling, the following five signs can tell you whether your intuition may be correct. You shall also learn how to prepare for an Illinois divorce, should you or your spouse decide to file for one in the immediate future.
Although there are many behaviors and actions that can indicate a divorce may be on the horizon, five specific clues are almost always present in impending cases. These include:
Divorce can be a painful and difficult process for all involved parties, but children are said to be at an exceptionally high risk of experiencing long-term consequences. Child experts believe their heightened risk of complications could be attributed to the sense of powerlessness that children often feel during the divorce process.
Children typically have no say over whether their parents’ marriage continues. In fact, most are unaware that a divorce is even happening until the proceedings are well underway. They are also rarely given a say over the decisions that are made during the divorce process, yet many of them affect the child’s day-to-day life. Examples include where the child will live and go to school and the amount of time that they get to spend with each parent once the divorce has been finalized.
Thankfully, it is possible for loving parents to mitigate many of the issues that children may experience during and after the divorce process. The first (and perhaps most important step) is to ensure that you put your child at the center of every decision you make - especially if it will directly affect them in the months and years to come.
While some divorcing couples fight and argue until the bitter end, more and more parents are striving for an amicable end to their marriage. One might even go say that the decision to “consciously uncouple” has become somewhat of a trend in divorce. There are even “new” parenting time plans being used by well-meaning parents. One such example is the “bird-nesting” arrangement.
Is this type of parenting time plan a positive one for kids, or is it merely a trend? More importantly, could this type of agreement result in unnecessary harm for children of divorce? The following examines both sides of a bird-nesting divorce, and it explains how you can determine if it may be a suitable parenting time solution for your family.
When most parents divorce, one typically moves out of the house. The other may soon follow, or they may opt to keep the family home. In either case, the children may be shuffled back and forth between the two homes. In the midst of all the changes occurring in their lives, such arrangements can be daunting for children of divorce. It can also amp up the discomfort they feel while trying to adjust to their “new life.”
While some divorcing couples are able to reach an amicable agreement on the division of their assets and debts, others struggle with reaching a compromise on even the smallest of details. These cases, which are often referred to as “contentious divorces,” can cost couples a great deal of both time and money. Learn how you can protect your assets in such a divorce, and discover what our seasoned Illinois divorce attorneys can do to improve the outcome in your case.
Perhaps the best way to protect one’s self in a contentious divorce is to determine, as soon as possible, if negotiations may turn hostile. First, consider your wealth class.
Marriages with an exceptionally high net worth (typically over $5 million dollars) tend to end with little fighting, as parties recognize that peaceful negotiations are one of the most effective ways to protect their wealth. Of course, parties may still become greedy during the proceedings, or they may feel the need to be vindictive toward their former spouse. As a result, individuals may attempt to either hide or spend (dissipate) assets in order to keep them away from their spouse.
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.
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