Recent Blog Posts
What Is the Difference Between Adoption and Guardianship in Illinois?
When a child’s biological parents are unable or unwilling to care for him or her, it is important to make other arrangements to provide for the child’s basic needs and well-being. In some cases, it is necessary for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to become a child’s legal guardian, at least for a time. However, most children benefit from a more permanent arrangement in a home with parents or guardians who love and care for them. Depending on the situation, this can be accomplished through adoption or guardianship, and there are some important differences between the two that you should understand if you are looking to become a child’s legal guardian.
Adoption Versus Guardianship in Illinois
Guardianship and adoption arrangements can both be made directly with the child’s biological parents or through DCFS. In both adoptions and guardianships, the parent or guardian assumes the responsibility to care for the child and provide for basic needs, and may assume the right to make important decisions on the child’s behalf, including education, medical treatment, and use of assets, provided that these decisions are in the child’s best interest. However, adoption and guardianship are different in a few key ways.
Be Cautious of Trust Mills and Other Estate Planning Scams
There is no question that every American adult should put some kind of estate plan in place to protect themselves in the event of the unexpected. Even a basic will could offer a level of direction and security for surviving family members and loved ones if a tragedy were to occur. Unfortunately, over half of all adults in the United States do not have any type of estate plan, including a simple will.
Many possible reasons exist as to why a person might not have an estate plan, but procrastination is certainly among the most common. Nearly everyone realizes that having an estate plan is probably better than not having one, but relatively few make estate planning a priority. Sadly, those who drag their feet often become the unknowing targets of scams run by individuals and entities looking to profit from the uncertainty and fears of those who are simply seeking the peace of mind that comes with having an estate plan.
Considering Your Children’s Needs in the Division of Marital Property
The decision to get a divorce affects your entire family, especially any children that you and your spouse share. Throughout the divorce process, you will need to resolve important issues related to your children, including child support, parenting time, and the allocation of parental responsibilities. However, your children may factor into other important decisions as well, such as the division of marital assets. As you decide on the properties that will remain with each spouse, you should consider how certain properties may help you be a better parent and help your kids adjust to the changes that divorce brings.
Marital Properties That May Affect Your Children
In general, a fair distribution of assets is important so that both parents can continue to financially provide for their children as best as possible. However, certain tangible or physical properties may be especially important to maintaining a sense of normalcy for your kids. Some of those properties include:
How to Support Your Children’s Education After an Illinois Divorce
For children of divorce, the coping process often continues long after the divorce is finalized. Their parents’ separation is a major, usually permanent change in their lives, and it is only natural that they may struggle in the months and years that follow. One area that often suffers is the children’s educational goals and performance, but parents can help by showing support and understanding. The following are a few examples of how co-parents can encourage their kids to keep up with their schooling after divorce.
Tips for Helping Your Children With School
A new school year is just beginning, and whether your divorce is recent or a few years in the past, this is likely to be a challenging time for your children. Here are some ways you can help:
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Understand that your children may struggle. After a divorce, a drop in a child’s academic performance is common, as he or she may struggle to stay motivated or focused on schoolwork. Try to avoid putting too much pressure on your kids or getting upset about lower grades, and instead make an effort to ask your children what kind of support they need to succeed.
Understanding the Emotional Elements of Trust and Estate Disputes
Trust and estate litigation is a unique area of law, and it usually requires the services of an experienced estate planning attorney. This is because trust and estate litigation does not conform to the model of a typical lawsuit. The issues involved are generally motivated not by the specifics of a trust and how it is set up, but by the emotional content of the family baggage and conflict behind the dispute.
Danger Ahead: Unresolved Family Issues in a Court of Law
The most unique aspect applicable to many cases dealing with trust and estate law is that the clients are usually contending with a situation that is occurring in the context of an unfortunate family tragedy—that is, the death of a loved one. This adds a different dynamic to the needs of the client and how they will be best served by legal representation.
Among the initial concerns in a will or trust dispute are, in many cases, unresolved family dynamics. These unresolved issues (often years or decades in the making) must be addressed under very difficult circumstances, such as when somebody has recently passed away, and in the challenging forum of the courts. The attorney you retain to represent your interests needs to be sensitive to the family issues and be capable of resolving them in such a way that maintains family unity and prevents it from becoming fractured by bitter litigation.
Establishing a Parenting Plan Through Mediation in Illinois
Many divorcing couples recognize that although it is no longer the right decision for them to stay married, they both continue to share the goal of providing the best possible life for their children. This desire to co-parent effectively can be a major motivating factor toward pursuing a cooperative divorce, rather than allowing the process to devolve into destructive conflict. If you and your spouse are hoping to work together to establish a parenting plan that works for everyone in your family, divorce mediation may be the right choice for you.
Why Is Divorce Mediation Beneficial?
In divorce mediation, you and your spouse are able to make your own, cooperative decisions regarding the terms of your divorce. A neutral mediator guides the process so that discussions stay on track and both spouses have the opportunity to voice their perspectives. If mediation works for you, you may be able to reach a faster resolution and reduce expenses when compared to a trial, and you are also able to keep your divorce proceedings out of the public eye. Mediation can resolve a variety of issues in your divorce, including the division of property and spousal support, but it can be especially helpful for child custody and visitation.
Why Unmarried Couples Need a Formal Estate Plan in Illinois
In the state of Illinois, couples and life partners currently have more options for how they can legally define their relationship than ever before. Same-sex marriage has been recognized throughout the state since 2014 and across the country since 2015. While some couples may wish to have the legal recognition of marriage, others may not. This may be the case in a variety of relationships, regardless of the partners’ genders. What couples who do not wish to marry must understand is that “common law marriage” is not recognized by the state of Illinois. This distinction has a serious impact on the need that unmarried couples in Illinois have for estate planning.
What Is Common Law Marriage?
“Common law marriage” is the term that generally defines the status of two people who agree to marry and live together but have not actually taken the legal steps required to procure a marriage license and register their union with the state. Each state sets its own guidelines for recognizing common law marriages. In Illinois, there is no recognition of such unions. Regardless of how long a couple has been together, Illinois probate law essentially treats unmarried partners as strangers to one another. Neither party is presumed to have any rights to the other’s property upon his or her death.
How Will Parental Relocation Affect Your Parenting Plan in Illinois?
During your divorce process, you likely devoted significant time and energy to establishing a parenting plan that was suitable to you and your ex-spouse and addressed your children’s best interests. However, as your children get older and all of your living situations change, it is sometimes necessary to revisit and modify your parenting plan to meet your current needs. One of the biggest changes that can affect a parenting plan is the relocation of one of the parents. If you or your ex are planning a major move, you should consider how you will need to modify your parenting plan to accommodate this substantial change in circumstances.
Modifying Your Parenting Plan After Relocation
It is important to note that when divorced parents share custody of their children, one of them may not simply move at any time. The relocating parent must provide the other parent with reasonable notice, usually at least 60 days, of his or her intent to move. Even then, the other parent can object, in which case, there will be a court hearing to determine whether the relocation will be permitted. One of the most important factors the court considers is the impact the relocation will have on the existing parenting agreement.
4 Estate Planning Tips for Keeping Your Money in Your Family
Make no mistake about it, estate planning is not just for the excessively wealthy. Anyone—even those with smaller estates—can have their assets eaten up by various types of taxes and other obligations, especially if the items being passed down have appreciated greatly since they were acquired. However, there are some solutions that could allow you to keep more of your money within your family regardless of the current tax laws.
Tip #1: Check and Update Beneficiaries Frequently
It is surprising just how many people end up having no beneficiary or a previous spouse listed on life insurance policies, investment accounts, and even their wills. To an extent, it is understandable—life is busy, things change often, and before you know it, years have passed and you still have not gotten around to updating your beneficiaries.
Unfortunately, if you pass away while your accounts or policies are still in limbo, your assets will go to probate as “intestate.” This time-consuming and expensive process can very quickly eat up your assets and leave a much smaller estate for your loved ones than you had hoped. To make sure this does not happen, review your beneficiary information after any major life event, including the birth of children, marriage, or a divorce.
Can Non-Biological Fathers Seek Parental Rights in Illinois?
Whether they are divorced from their children’s mother or were never married, biological fathers usually have rights to some involvement in their children’s lives and responsibilities to contribute to their well-being. However, there are many situations in which a non-biological dad may also want to seek fathers’ rights after the relationship with the child’s other parent has ended. For example, you could have been part of a same-sex or opposite-sex couple in which a child was conceived through artificial insemination. You could be an adopted father or stepfather, or you could have raised a child believing you were the biological father and later found out otherwise. From a legal standpoint, these situations are not as clear-cut, but a recent Illinois court ruling has established that non-biological parents can have parental rights under certain circumstances.
Illinois Appellate Court Ruling on Non-Biological Parental Rights
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