Tag Archives: parenting time
Understanding Parental Responsibilities, Part 2; Parenting Time
Making decisions about parenting in the wake of a divorce can be extremely difficult. It is impossible to predict what the future holds, so your only option is to create a parenting plan that will facilitate cooperation between you and your former spouse for years to come. In a previous post, we discussed the concept of significant decision-making authority and how each parent may be assignedContinue reading
New Child Support Guidelines Coming Next Summer
For many years, the laws regarding the payment of child support in Illinois have been heavily criticized as being very outdated. While few parents would argue about the importance of providing financial support for their children, how such payments are calculated has changed very little over the last several decades. Next summer, however, a new law goes into effect that will change the way that support ordersContinue reading
Alcohol Abuse Can Affect Your Parenting Time
Do you share parenting responsibilities with your child’s other parent? If so, you probably cherish the time you get to spend with your child. While it may not be as much as you would like, you understand that every moment is one that can be enjoyed and used to foster a healthy relationship between your child and yourself. This is especially true around the winter holidays asContinue reading
Check Your Parenting Plan for Holiday Arrangements
A week from today, families around the country will be sitting down to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday together. Traditions, of course, may vary, but the highlight of the holiday season is getting to spend time with friends and loved ones. If you are a divorced parent, however, making plans for the holiday can be complicated as you will probably need to coordinate your intentions with thoseContinue reading
The New Understanding of Child Custody
Beginning in January of 2016, new laws went into effect in Illinois that altered the state’s approach to child custody proceedings for divorced, separated, and unmarried parents. Proponents of the changes had held for many years that the previous version of the law had become outdated and often led to bitter, impassioned disputes between parents who each wanted to “win” custody of their children. While no lawContinue reading
Illinois Child Custody Revamped
On January 1 of this year, major changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act went into effect. These amendments were intended to reflect the societal changes regarding how child custody should be handled. In fact, the updated law does away with the term “child custody,” replacing it with the terms “parenting time” and “parenting responsibilities” instead. Change Needed When many people hear the phraseContinue reading
Relocating With Your Child: Who Else is Around?
As you may be aware, recent changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act have made it more complicated to move with your child if you currently share parental responsibilities. On one hand, this is a good thing. It should not necessarily be easy to up and move without taking into account how the move will impact the other parent’s access and relationshipContinue reading
New Terminology in the Law Focuses on Parental Inclusion
The influence of language and communication in today’s world is tremendous. The schoolyard chant claiming “words could never hurt” is simply not true. Words can definitely hurt. They can also be used to bring people together, to overcome adversity, and to even change the world. For centuries, authors and playwrights have extolled the power that words can have, even compared to physical weapons of war–perhapsContinue reading
Bird’s Nest Parenting: A New Type of Coparenting
Taking its name from the behavior of birds, “bird’s nest” parenting is a different approach to providing a stable environment for children after the parents divorce or separate. Instead of the children being shuffled from house to house, the children stay in one place and the parents move in and out of the home during their parenting time. This concept can be traced to a 2000 courtContinue reading
Substance Abuse and Parenting Time
Substance abuse continues to be a problem all throughout the United States. Addiction to alcohol and drugs can ruin lives and tear families apart. Family law courts are especially concerned about parents with substance abuse issues. Substance Abuse and Being an Unfit Parent Family court judges are often required to decide how much time each parent should spend with the children of the relationship when theContinue reading