A common reason parents lose custody of a child, referred to as parenting time and parental responsibility in Illinois, is child abuse. Child abuse or child maltreatment may include physical abuse, psychological abuse that mentally and emotionally traumatizes a child; sexual abuse, and neglect where a child is deprived of their basic needs. Signs of physical child abuse may present as wounds, broken bones, burns or dislocations, or may include symptoms of headaches, stomach pain or vomiting, or a reluctance to use an extremity. A child may present with anxiety, depression, and social withdrawa ..read more

As of 2016, Illinois is a no fault divorce state. Therefore, courts no longer assign fault in a divorce case, but instead consider spouses equally responsible for the divorce. Spouses need only claim that they have irreconcilable differences, that they have tried and failed to reconcile, and that any further attempts are impractical and do serve the family’s best interests in order to get a divorce. That said, sometimes spousal misconduct can impact a divorce settlement. Say for example, a spouse is unfaithful and dissipates (spends) marital assets to carry on an affair. Even though fault is n ..read more

Being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) in Illinois may result in loss of driving privileges. Furthermore, someone who refuses to submit to a chemical test to determine their BAC when they are suspected of driving drunk may have their license suspended for up to a year. Need Help with Your Illinois drivers license reinstatement after DUI? When someone loses their driving privileges, it can be very difficult to get back and forth to work, transport children to school, and engage in other necessary activities such as grocery shopping or keeping medical appointments. If ..read more

When couples divorce, sometimes a parent may falsely accuse the other parent of abuse to influence the outcome of a child custody matter. Being accused of family violence is not only very upsetting, it can have a significant impact on your case. The best course of action is to work with an experienced family law attorney if you are falsely accused of child abuse, domestic assault, or another form of family violence. Most people first become aware of an accusation of abuse when they are served with a protective order from the court legally prohibiting them from taking certain actions, which may ..read more

Divorced parents may not always see eye to eye when raising their children. There are many important decisions that parents must make on behalf of their kids such as what religion they will practice or where they will attend school to decisions regarding medical treatment including whether their child will take a vaccine. In Illinois, the allocation of parenting responsibilities (and parenting time) are part of a parenting plan submitted to the court for approval when parents’ divorce. Parenting responsibility, or the right to make important decisions for a child, fall into three categories wi ..read more

A divorce settlement agreement details everything that you and your spouse have worked out such as the division of marital property and debts, how you will share custody of children, whether one spouse will pay spousal maintenance, and other issues that will have to be resolved to finalize your divorce. Child Support and Miscellaneous Expenses Although child support is calculated using a formula that takes into account each parents income and the amount of time they spend with the children, there are a number of miscellaneous expenses above and beyond standard child support that parents should ..read more

Many parents wonder whether they can secure more parenting time with their children if the other parent is not planning to be with the children during their scheduled parenting time. It may be that the other parent is traveling for work and plans to hire a live in nanny to care for the children in their absence or that the other parent plans to hire a sitter for an evening on the town.  When the other parent gets wind of the fact the children are spending their time with a sitter instead of the other parent, they may feel that it makes more sense for them to have that time with the childr ..read more

When spouses come to the realization that their marriage is over, many are eager to get the divorce process over with so that they can move on to what many hope will be a happier future. If you and your spouse have decided to divorce, you may wonder “how long will it take to get a divorce?” The answer to that question depends on various factors, but generally speaking, contentious divorce cases, or those involving complex assets, take more time when compared to cases where couples agree on most everything and have fewer assets to divide. The Uncontested Divorce Spouses who agree on the terms o ..read more

Many divorcing parents hope to reside in close proximity to their child after the divorce in hopes of continuing a close relationship. However, sometimes one parent may have to move to a different state for employment or other reasons. Regardless of where parents live they still maintain rights and responsibilities over their child and many try their best to keep regular and meaningful contact despite the geographic distance that separates them from a child. When parents live in different states, many wonder which state takes on the role of creating and enforcing child custody arrangements, w ..read more

Child support payments represent a significant expense for the parent who pays the higher amount of court ordered child support payments. Illinois child support is calculated using a method that takes into account both parents income and the amount of parenting time each spends with a child, however, sometimes one parent will initially pay more child support because: They are higher earner at the time of the divorce, sometimes because the other parent has been out of the job market during the marriage. There are very young children involved and the other parent has primary caretaker respons ..read more