For many parents, the most difficult and important questions in divorce all relate to their children. Where will the children live? What responsibilities will each parent have? How will they divide their time with the children? What can they do to help the children...
child custody
When divorced parents want to move
For divorced parents, moving means more than hiring movers or renting a U-Haul. Because your move might impact child custody, you can expect extra steps. For starters, the law explicitly recognizes a parent’s relocation as a “substantial change in circumstances.” This...
What do you need in an Illinois parenting plan?
As a parent headed toward divorce, you have likely stressed about the time you might lose with your children. It’s a natural response, but it may not be the most helpful. A more helpful response may be to focus on how you can best make use of the time you’ll have....
The Foundations of Effective Co-Parenting
In Illinois, it’s rare that anyone gains sole custody and parenting time. Unless one of the parents has been abusive, Illinois courts enter custody disputes with the belief that children do best when they have significant time with both parents. This means that as a...
What To Do When You Are Unhappy with Your Divorce Attorney
It's not uncommon for people to become frustrated or dissatisfied with their divorce or family law attorney as their cases progress. Some very common complaints are: my divorce is taking too long, my attorney never calls me back, or my divorce is too expensive. Often,...
Tips for divorced parents to ace back-to-school
Back-to-school season is wrought with emotions for both children and parents. Children might be apprehensive and excited, while parents are a little nostalgic as their children age, and there is no doubt that returning to school can cause a lot of stress as well. That...
Illinois, American dads more involved than ever with parenting
They’re trying hard and enjoying it. At the same time, many of them feel uncertain regarding their abilities and wish that their self-perceived skill level was higher. We’re talking dads in today’s family law blog post, specifically fathers who live with their...
Emotive child custody bill reintroduced in IL General Assembly
Expect fireworks. Illinois House Bill 185 is currently radiating in a legislative subcommittee in Springfield, and sparks are expected to fly. Figuratively, of course, and much in the same manner that they did last year following legislators' consideration of a...
Parents but not romantic partners: What can you expect from your ex?
You don't really know someone, the noted screenwriter Nora Ephron once said, until you get divorced from them. At first, this may sound like an overly glib line. It could be from a darkly comic movie much darker in tone than such Efron-scripted hits as When Harry Met...
Spotlighting grandparents’ rights in Illinois
Happily for most grandparents in Illinois and elsewhere, their children with kids value the input of mom and dad on matters relevant to child-rearing and related issues. A large-scale national survey of young parents flatly indicates that grandparents are among "the...