Tag Archives: Illinois law
Stepparent Adoption in Illinois
Relationships between stepparents and stepchildren can be just as important and strong as the relationships between biological parents and children. Under Illinois law a stepparent can file a petition to legally adopt a stepchild. However, the family must follow the rules and regulations exactly if the adoption is to be successful. The Basics Illinois considers stepparent adoptions related adoptions. Both biological parents must consent to the adoptionContinue reading
Understanding Fixed-Term Maintenance
As part of the family law changes that went into effect this month, courts will now have the authority to enter fixed-term orders for spousal maintenance during a modification review. Dating back to the beginning of last year, fixed-term maintenance has been an option for new orders related to the dissolution of shorter marriages, but has now been extended to modified orders as well. What is Fixed-TermContinue reading
New Law Places Limits on Support for College Expenses
If you are currently paying child support pursuant to a court order, you probably expect that your obligations will be complete when your child turns 18 and/or graduates high school. While such an expectation is certainly reasonable, and even accurate in most cases, the state of Illinois may require you to continue providing support beyond age 18 for the purposes of assisting with educational expenses.Continue reading
QDROs and Back Child Support
When you are working hard to raise your child, but the other parent fails or refuses to comply with his or her obligations for child support, it is easy to feel like your options are limited. You may begin to believe that once he or she has missed an ordered payment, your child will never see that money, no matter what type collection activities are pursued.Continue reading
New Law Permits Nursing Home Monitoring Devices
According to AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo, public health officials in Illinois receive about 19,000 complaints each year from residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Throughout the past year, the state legislature and Governor Bruce Rauner officially took a stand against nursing home negligence and abuse by passing a measure designed to protect some of Illinois’ most at-risk residents. Beginning in 2016, IllinoisContinue reading
Family Law Changes for 2016: Child Custody and Visitation
In the last post on this blog, we talked about a number of upcoming changes to the laws regarding divorce in Illinois. These changes are being implemented January 1, 2016, and are the result of a family law reform measure that was signed by the governor this past summer. The amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act also address child-related concerns, making substantialContinue reading
Family Law Changes for 2016: Divorce
Throughout the last few months, various posts on this blog have been discussing some of the expected effects of the family law reform passed in Illinois in the summer. For the first time in nearly four decades, a large portion of the existing statutes regarding divorce, child custody, and parentage is being completely overhauled. With the effective date of the new provisions fast approaching—they are setContinue reading
When is Litigation Your Best Option in a Divorce?
Even though divorce cases are among the most emotional and divisive of all civil cases, the vast majority of them settle before ever going to trial. There are many benefits to settling a case before trial. Often, this can save on court costs and avoids the uncertainty of letting a judge decide the case. However, settlement is not always to best option. Sometimes, your rights are betterContinue reading
Factors Affecting the Property Division Process
Long before most couples file a petition for divorce, they begin at least informally talk about how to divide their marital property. For some, especially in more amicable situations, this can lead to more formal negotiations and the development of a mutually agreed-upon property settlement. For others, however, the first discussions are essentially the last, as neither party is willing to compromise or attempt toContinue reading
Developing a Sound Divorce Agreement
According to most estimates, somewhere between 90 and 95 percent of all divorces are negotiated outside of the courtroom. The remaining percent, as you might expect, are litigated often causing a high degree of stress and emotion for all involved parties. Of course, even a negotiated divorce can have its challenges, as reaching an agreement is not always easier, especially in contentious situations. The law regarding divorceContinue reading