Posted on October 25, 2013 in Fathers' Rights

The removal of a child from a parent's care is something that is treated very seriously in Illinois courtrooms. Indeed, in courts across the country, judges work slowly and carefully to determine a parent's right to raise a child. If the court deems that the best interests of the child would be better served by permanently severing the parents' parental rights, they do so. In many cases, however, courts are reluctant to do this, as a child's biological parents are viewed as a valuable resource for the child's future.

One particularly difficult issue is whether a father's rights to visitation or child custody, once taken away, should be reinstated. Often, children are removed from a father's care due to issues with domestic violence - courts are understandably reluctant to allow such parents to regain custody of their children.

But what if the father turns his life around? Even then, it can be a difficult road.

Take, for example, a Nebraska father who lost custody of his infant son after he committed domestic violence against his wife. The child was removed from his care in 2011 and sent to a foster home. Since then, the father has taken many steps to improve his future. He has taken GED classes and anger management classes. He has consistently attended Alcoholics Anonymous. He has been to parenting groups and taken parenting classes. He moved away from a roommate who could not pass a background check. He has attended his twice-weekly visitations with his child.

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 Posted on October 18, 2013 in Child Custody

The rise of increasingly advanced reproductive technology, such as artificial insemination, has led to a number of very complicated court cases in recent years. It's a common complaint that the law is slow to catch up with our technology, making it difficult for family law judges and attorneys to make sense of new and highly unique situations. These court cases can often take a great deal of time and effort to resolve.

One such situation came to a close recently after a years-long court battle. The case revolved around a lesbian couple who used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive a child. Unlike most artificial inseminations, however, the woman who would bear the child did not use her own egg - she used her partner's.

As a result, the child was, biologically speaking, the woman's partner's. Before the child was born, the couple signed a joint-parenting agreement that gave each parent certain rights and responsibilities regarding the child's custody, care and visitation.

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 Posted on October 09, 2013 in Alimony

It's no secret that a divorce can be an unpleasant experience. Battles over child custody and property division can be time-consuming and emotionally taxing. It's only natural that some spouses are reluctant to begin the process.

In some cases, however, spouses simply skip the divorce; they move out and start to live separate lives even though they are still legally married. In some cases, this can go on for years.

It may seem tempting to some couples to sidestep the divorce process, but spouses should know that living in this sort of marital limbo can present risks to both spouses.

In particular, it may affect the amount of spousal maintenance that a non-working spouse may receive. In a normal divorce, a working spouse is often asked to make regular payments, also known as alimony, to the nonworking spouse as a way to ensure his or her financial stability while he or she begins a new, independent life. It can take a great deal of time for a spouse who hasn't worked in a few years to retrain and re-enter the workforce. Alimony is designed to ease that process.

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 Posted on October 03, 2013 in High Asset Divorce

When a couple decides to get married, the thought of a prenuptial agreement often comes up at one point or another. In many cases, the idea is quickly dismissed, often by young couples who have few assets over which to fight. Often, however, couples choose to pursue a prenup. This is especially common among people who are on their second marriages and presumably have for more assets that must be accounted for.

Indeed, prenuptial agreements are often an element in a high-asset divorce, a separation in which the couple controls a great deal of assets. Generally speaking, these agreements are a helpful tool for spouses who wish to maintain control of the assets they owned before they entered the marriage, many of which may have strong personal or sentimental value. There are some situations, however, in which a prenuptial agreement may be found invalid.

Like most contracts, a prenuptial agreement cannot be upheld if honoring the document would be "unconscionable." This means the prenup may be ruled invalid if circumstances change for a couple in a way that could not have been foreseen.

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 Posted on September 27, 2013 in High Asset Divorce

Though some say celebrity marriages are prone to divorce, fact is, divorce is fairly common in all parts of society - movie stars and average Joes alike. But when celebrities get divorced, the fallout is often more difficult, due to a number of factors.

First, of course, is the public nature of the split. Media outlets often cover celebrity divorces, which makes it more difficult to keep disputes from growing into arguments. Average couples often like to keep their divorce process private or semi-private. This allows for the divorce to have a minimum effect on their personal lives. Obviously, this is impossible for celebrities.

Money is another key issue in celebrity divorces. For obvious reasons, celebrity divorces are almost always high-asset divorces. These splits can be very complicated, as there is so much property to be evaluated and divided. Managing property division among average high-asset couples can be tricky enough; among celebrities, it can be a nightmare.

These are the issues currently faced by Richard Gere, the lead man of the hit movie "Pretty Woman." He is reportedly seeking a divorce from his wife of 11 years, Carey Lowell.

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 Posted on September 20, 2013 in Child Custody

Child custody battles are often the most hotly contested issues in the realm of family law. This stands to reason, of course; it's a decision that will drastically affect the lives of the parents and their children. The court system has processes in place to ensure that these issues are quickly resolved in such a way that best suits the best interests of the child. In some cases, however, unique circumstances can come into play which greatly complicate the situation. Take, for example, the case of Baby Veronica, which is now entering its fourth year.

Baby Veronica is the child of a Cherokee man and a woman of Hispanic descent. In 2009, when the girl was a young baby, her mother gave her up for adoption. She was adopted by a couple from South Carolina. Her father, however, demanded custody of the girl, citing a 1978 law known as the Indian Child Welfare Act. Under this law, Native Americans were exempt from certain practices by which a child could be removed from their custody. The law was intended to help Native Americans maintain their cultural heritage.

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 Posted on September 12, 2013 in Child Support

In the state of Illinois, child support is usually awarded based on a set formula according to a percentage of the noncustodial parent's income. Parents of a single child, for example, usually pay 20 percent of their net income in child support. The court usually adheres firmly to this model except in unusual circumstances, such as joint or shared custody of the child.

And usually, the model does a fairly good job of ensuring that children receive the financial support they require. In some extreme cases, however, the payment model can't keep up with the financial obligations of noncustodial parents.

Take, for example, a man from Ohio who recently announced that he is the father of 27 children. The man recently appeared on a highly publicized episode of "Divorce Court," where he stated that he has child support orders for 21 of his children.

The man, a poet and performer by trade, says he is behind on his child support obligations, but he is making payments every week. He also says that he has never tried to escape his financial obligations, but blames his failure to pay in full on the tough economy. He has not disclosed the full amount that he is required to pay, stating that the number was a private matter.

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 Posted on September 05, 2013 in Alimony

Spousal maintenance, better known as alimony, is a court-mandated payment plan from one spouse to another following a divorce. Historically, alimony is paid by a working husband to a nonworking wife.

That historical trend has changed in recent years, as female participation in the workplace has reached an all-time high. In some states, however, spousal maintenance laws have been slow to keep up with societal changes.

A New Jersey man, for instance, has been imprisoned eight times for failure to pay his alimony payments. A former investment banker with a seven figure salary, the man lost his job when the economy collapsed in 2008. His alimony payments, however, were calculated when he was still making $1 million per year. As a result, he was asked to pay nearly $100,000 per year in combined spousal support and child support.

Without a job, the man was unable to make the payments for long. Within two years, he was out of money and unable to pay. Following a family court hearing, the man was imprisoned for contempt of court. Since then, he has been imprisoned seven more times.

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 Posted on August 30, 2013 in Child Custody

After a contentious separation, divorced parents are still faced with the difficult challenge of raising a child together. If the split was particularly acrimonious, parents often have little incentive to work together, leading to difficult times and hard feelings. Parents who work hard to do the best for their child can often be disappointed in the efforts put forth by the other parent, especially when they miss custody appointments, skip child support payments or otherwise fail to uphold their side of the child custody agreement.

There are a number of things a parent can do to help deal with the frustrations of such a situation. First, parents should examine their own efforts, and their own reactions to the other parent's decisions. Often, lowering one's high expectations and easing up on harsh judgments can go a long way toward reconciliation.

When working with the other co-parent, parents should communicate their concerns clearly and patiently, and be open to compromise. Parents should try to be open to the other parent's point of view.

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 Posted on August 23, 2013 in Child Custody

Co-parenting can be a difficult process. After a divorce, emotions can be raw and there may be little goodwill left between the two parents. The child custody proceedings will set up the framework for the relationship between parents and children. But cooperation is essential between divorced parents if they are to help their children through this potentially difficult time.

This cooperation is especially necessary during back-to-school season. There are many financial and organizational hurdles at this time of the year, and often both parents feel the need to contribute. Pencils, notebooks, folders and a backpack all need to be purchased, as well as new clothes and sports equipment.

If possible, the best thing to do is to split these purchases up between parents. One parent can go with the child to purchase school supplies, and the other can help with the clothes shopping. This helps to spread out the financial strain, and it allows both parents to participate in the process.

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