Posted on November 23, 2012 in Child Custody

Research recently published in the social work journal Family Relations indicates that when co-parents focus their relationship on the needs of their children, a more satisfying custody arrangement is experienced by all affected family members. Meaning that when parents who are divorced or otherwise not parenting under the same roof put their differences aside for the benefit of their children, these parents benefit from this effort as well.

It can be difficult to know exactly how to go about putting aside your differences and focusing on your children's needs. After all, in the immediate aftermath of divorce especially, the differences between co-parents can seem overwhelming and all consuming. In order to redirect focus away from tension and onto children, parents are advised to put time and thought into creating a parenting plan.

A parenting plan can outline whatever child-related issues would benefit from being communicated about in advance. For example, the parenting plan can discuss how parents will share time with their children during the holiday season and how disputes about extracurricular activities will be solved.

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 Posted on October 26, 2012 in Divorce

Many people have heard of prenuptial agreements but may be less familiar with the idea of postnuptial agreements. Both are used as tools to define the marital assets of each spouse in the event of a divorce. Postnuptial agreements, however, are drafted after a marriage instead of before like a prenuptial agreement. According to a recent survey, postnuptial agreements are becoming more popular.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) found that over half of family law attorneys have seen a rise in postnuptial agreements over the past three years. In particular wives seem to be requesting such agreements more frequently, with over a third of lawyers polled noting a rise in women seeking postnuptial agreements. The survey showed, however, that men still seem to be the party more likely to initiate a request for a postnuptial agreement.

"It is interesting to note the increase in wives requesting postnups, because often one of the most common motivators for these agreements is a dramatic change in the financial status of one or both partners during the marriage," explained the president of the AAML. He also explained that postnuptial agreements may help spouses deal with conflicts about assets which may threaten a marriage.

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 Posted on September 12, 2012 in Child Custody

The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is a very special one. Most grandparents would do just about anything for their grandchildren. For many grandparents this involves contributing financially to their grandchildren's upbringing. Even when grandparents support their grandchildren financially or in other ways, however, at times their rights to spend time with their grandchildren may be limited by the children's parents, leaving grandparents unsure where to turn.

Two different trends are currently going on. One is that more grandparents are now financially supporting their grandchildren than ever before. According to AARP, 25 percent of grandparents spend over $1,000 each year on their grandchildren. Over a third reported helping to cover their grandchildren's daily living expenses.

The other trend is regarding grandparents' rights, which have not been growing at nearly the same rate as their financial contributions. In fact, since the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case of Troxel v. Granville, parents have been given more rights to determine when and if their children are allowed to see their grandparents. This can lead to a very frustrating situation for many grandparents desperate to visit with their grandkids.

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 Posted on September 04, 2012 in Child Custody

It is the time of year when many students are experiencing those first-day-of-school jitters. Most parents want to do everything they can to ensure their children start the school year off successfully. For divorced parents, there are additional issues that need to be taken into account to ensure things go smoothly for the entire family.

Many of the issues below may be addressed in your Illinois parenting agreement. For those that are not, it may be helpful to communicate with your ex about these matters prior to the school year commencing.

Plan your children's schedules and routines: Discuss how the children will get to and from school and various activities. Review upcoming events on the school calendar and coordinate it with your parenting schedule to ensure children will be able to attend important school functions.

Discuss how expenses will be divided: Plan out who will handle shopping for back to school outfits and supplies, and how these expenses will be split. Also consider expenses for sports, lessons and field trips. Make sure you are both on the same page about how much money will be spent and who will be paying for what.

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 Posted on July 23, 2012 in Child Support

Today our society is more global than ever before. It is not uncommon for children to live in a different country than their parents due to a divorce or other circumstances. Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed legislation which would make it easier for state child support enforcement programs to collect payments from parents living outside of the country.

The measure given approval in the House is a move towards ratifying a 2007 international child support treaty. The purpose of the treaty is to facilitate cooperation and information sharing between countries for the purpose of securing financial support payments.

The measure's sponsor, Rep. Rick Berg (R- ND) explained the goal of the legislation, "This bill is about empowering states, which operate the child support enforcement program, to do more to help families, and most importantly, children."

Although the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance was signed by the European Union, the United States and other countries, only Norway has since ratified it. If approved by the U.S. Senate, this measure would provide the language required for implementing it.

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 Posted on July 19, 2012 in Child Support

Most new parents will tell you that raising a child is expensive, but rarely do you hear an actual dollar amount. The federal government, however, recently released its annual report laying out the specific costs of rearing a child.

The report is prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and used by states in calculating financial guidelines for child support and foster care. The report found that parents who welcomed a little bundle of joy into their families in 2011 can expect to spend almost $300,000 in the next 17 years.

Did you catch that the cost calculation stops after 17 years? That means the $300,000 doesn't even include the cost of college. That amount was also based on middle-income families earning $59,410-$102,870 before taxes. For higher earners the cost of a child was $490,830, and it was $212,370 for the lowest income households.

According to the report, it is the least expensive to raise a child in rural areas and the most expensive to rear a child in the urban northeast.

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 Posted on July 17, 2012 in Alimony/Spousal Support

Over the past few decades, women have been making significant strides in climbing the corporate ladder. Many women now have high paying executive positions, which used to be almost exclusively held by men. One indication of this trend is that increasing numbers of women are now paying spousal support and child support to their husbands after a divorce.

Nationwide over the past three years, 47 percent of family law attorneys reported an increase in the number of women paying spousal support, and 56 percent saw a rise in mothers paying child support, according to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The president-elect of the AAML explained, "It shows that women have really moved up financially and that in many instances they are the major bread winners in a lot of families."

The shift in women's careers can also be seen in the numbers of those seeking advanced degrees. According to information from the Digest of Education Statistics, the number of women graduating from law schools has almost doubled, and women are now the recipients of about half of all medical degrees. In 1980, only about one out of three medical degrees was awarded to a woman.

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 Posted on July 13, 2012 in Divorce

When a couple divorces, puppy love may give way to a fierce dog fight. As more people treat their pets like family members instead of property, the number of pet custody cases has been growing.

A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2006 found that 25 percent of respondents had seen a substantial rise in pet custody cases since 2001. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, one attorney recently reported his pet custody cases had grown as much as another 15 percent since 2007.

Illinois, and all other states, consider pets to be property which is subject to the division of property in a divorce. Many pet owners, however, treat their dogs, cats, birds and other animals as members of the family. This can lead to emotional disagreements as to who will keep the pets when spouses part ways.

The law does not recognize visitation with pets, but a knowledgeable family law attorney can help couples discuss options and develop their own agreement regarding who will own the pet, visiting arrangements and how the pet expenses will be divided. For those considering sharing custody of a pet, a book about pet co-parenting has also recently been released titled, "What About Wally?"

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 Posted on July 10, 2012 in Child Custody

Since the 1990s when the first electronic visitation cases began to appear, virtual visitation between children and their parents has continued to grow. In 2010, Illinois became the most recent state to legally recognize virtual visitation. Currently six other states have laws governing "electronic" or "virtual" child visitation, and 22 more have efforts underway to develop similar legislation.

Virtual visitation includes anything from instant messaging to social media to video chatting. Technology has made it easier for parents who live far from their children to stay connected and involved with their kids' daily lives. For instance, a child may show off a lost tooth over Skype, or a parent may play a game with a child through Facebook.

According to the National Center for State Courts, an estimated 35 million children have parents who are divorced, separated or never married, and 25 percent of these kids have a parent who lives in a different city. Almost 10 million kids don't have routine in-person contact with one of their two parents.

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 Posted on July 02, 2012 in Divorce

Americans are familiar with wedding expos where future brides can see the latest wedding dress designs, check out new floral arrangements and sample wedding cakes. Recently, however, divorce expos have been attracting a significant amount of attention. At such events expo-goers will find seminars and booths on financial planning, parenting after divorce and an array of other topics.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece discussing the phenomenon of divorce expos, highlighting an event that took place in New York last month titled "Start Over Smart: A Modern Divorce Expo." Examples of featured seminars included: "Moving on After Infidelity," "Parenting Through Divorce," and "Into the Fog-Becoming a Single Dad and a Single Dude Again." The event also included booths staffed by attorneys, financial planners and even dating coaches.

The organizers who planned the New York expo based it on an event in Paris, and similar expos have gone on across Europe. They feel it fills a need to provide resources for those going through a divorce. "Even after divorce, people need a network of continued support to help them transition into their new, post-divorce life," one of the organizers explained. The expo serves as a place for people to get legal and financial information, as well as network with those individuals facing similar challenges.

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