Recent Blog Posts
What Types of Adoption Are There?
Adoption is a popular option for many couples and individuals who wish to start a family. More than 135,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. Although it is often said parents who adopt are saving the child’s life, adoption significantly benefits the lives of parents as well. Adoptions vary, including the processes involved. Here is a look at the different types of adoptions so you can determine which is best for you. Whichever method you choose, adoption is a legal process, and you want a skilled adoption lawyer to help you throughout.
Domestic Adoption
These adoptions are those completed entirely within the U.S. There are two ways in which a domestic adoption can be completed: through an agency or private adoption. Agencies facilitate the adoption process and connect prospective parents with potential adoptees. Independent adoptions are often the choice of couples who already know the birth mother or family.
How to Help Your Aging Parents with Their Estate Plans
If you have aging parents, you have probably already noticed a certain amount of role reversal. As children grow to adults and parents get older, it sometimes becomes the child’s job to help his or her parents manage life’s challenges. If you have worried that your parents do not have adequate estate plans in place but are unsure of how to broach the subject, experts have some tips to help.
The Risk of Dying Without a Will
Although they are arguably one of the most important documents a person could write, many people pass away without ever having written a will. When the world famous singer Aretha Franklin died last year at age 76, she had no will or trust to direct how her assets should be handled. Her lawyer explains that he encouraged her to draft a will or trust for years, but she never did. Her four children must now endure a public probate process which could take years. Passing away without a will leaves private decisions up to strangers and impersonal state laws. It can also have a negative financial impact on the decedent’s estate and his or her surviving family.
Military Pension Law Affects Military Personnel and Former Spouses
The annual military divorce rate is not as high as many people believe. The divorce rate has remained at 3 percent over the last four years. Numerically speaking, 21,290 of 689,060 married troops divorced in 2017.
The legal issues surrounding military marriage and divorce can be difficult to understand, as military law is different than civilian law. Over the past few years, many changes have been made regarding military pension and its division with divorcees.
The Frozen Benefit Rule
This law is meant to benefit military members of all branches. This includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Service’s Commissioned Corps. The law comes into effect for military personnel going through a divorce. Under this law, a member’s rank and pay are frozen at the time of their divorce. This means the pension received by the individual’s former spouse will match the rank and pay that the member was receiving at the time of the divorce. Therefore, if the military member receives a higher rank, the former spouse will not receive additional compensation.
The Most Compelling Reasons to Write a Will
There are many misunderstandings about wills and estate planning in general. People incorrectly assume that they do not need to worry about estate planning until they have retired or that only the rich need a last will and testament. The reality is that having a will is beneficial to people of all ages and lifestyles. Passing away without a will means that strangers will decide how your property and wealth is managed and distributed to heirs instead of you. Although it can be difficult to make decisions about what will happen after you die, creating an estate plan put you in control of the assets you worked so hard to earn. The following are the most compelling reasons to stop procrastinating and get started on your will today.
Choosing a Guardian for Children if You Pass Away
If you are a parent of minor children, have you ever considered what would happen to your children if you passed away suddenly? Even a family with two parents can be struck by an unexpected tragedy which leaves the children parentless. A will allows you to name a legal guardian or guardians for your children if the worst happens. Parents who pass away and did not name a legal guardian for their children leave that decision up the court.
What is Emotional Abuse and How Do You Escape an Abusive Relationship?
Abuse comes in various forms, and unfortunately, many people experience some form of abuse in a romantic relationship. The three most common forms of abuse are physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. While the definitions of physical and sexual abuse are fairly clear, emotional abuse can be difficult to detect.
Emotional abuse is classified as using a person’s emotions against them as a weapon of control. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly half of women and men have experienced psychologically aggressive behavior by an intimate partner. Emotional abuse may not be easy to recognize, but it is one of the most common forms of abuse that occurs between partners and often leads to divorce.
Recognizing Signs of Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse often breeds from the insecurity of one partner. The abuser often does not realize their words and actions are abusive. This is because emotional abuse usually starts small and continues to escalate as time goes on. The following are common signs of emotional abuse:
How to Choose Your Power of Attorney
When creating your estate plan, it is vital to choose the right person to be your power of attorney, or agent. Powers of attorney have a tremendous amount of responsibility when it comes to estate planning, so choosing a representative who is accountable and trustworthy is imperative. A power of attorney document allows you to authorize someone to act on your behalf if you cannot do so due to illness or other incapacitation. The authority given to a power of attorney is largely dependent upon the document’s language. For help drafting a power of attorney document or for other estate planning assistance, contact a qualified estate planning attorney.
Types of Powers of Attorney
A non-durable power of attorney is designed to provide only a temporary solution. This document can be custom-made to authorize your agent to complete specific transaction. For example, you could give authorization to another person to sign a document that requires your signature if you are unable to do so yourself for some reason. A non-durable power of attorney terminates when you lose the mental capacity. Alternatively, a durable power of attorney is a more permanent solution which stays in effect even if you become incapacitated and cannot manage your own financial affairs. Both types of power of attorney can be designed to give your agent the level of authority you feel comfortable with.
Presumed Parentage and Establishing Paternity in Illinois
Getting pregnant and having a child does not always go as planned. Families come in many different forms, especially those created outside of marriage. Being married and having children do not always go hand in hand, but it often makes paternity much easier to establish. Here we will discuss Illinois parentage laws and proving paternity.
Presumed Parentage
Like many other states, Illinois has a presumed parentage law. The term presumed parent means an individual who is recognized as the parent of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial or administrative proceeding. The presumed parentage law makes it much easier for married couples to legally name a child as their own. This law was recently updated to apply to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Though the presumed parentage law makes things easier on married couples, it can complicate parentage outside of marriage because life is sometimes more complicated than simply saying, “I do.” Just because an individual is married does not necessarily mean their husband is the father of their child. Infidelity sometimes plays a role in pregnancy. This law can help make things easier on married couples, but it can also make it easier for a mother to avoid having a paternity test.
Estate Planning and Guardianship Considerations
One of the most important purposes of estate planning is safeguarding the best interests of minor children. If you are a parent with a child under the age of 18, you should be aware of your options regarding guardianship. Although it can be incredibly difficult to think about, all parents should consider who they would want raising their child or children should something happen to them and/or the other parent. In the tragic case that parents pass away before their minor children, an estate plan will dictate who will have legal guardianship of them as well as address inheritance benefits. While it can be an emotional process, creating an estate plan gives parents peace of mind knowing their minor children will be cared for should the worst happen.
When Parents Pass Away Without an Estate Plan
When someone dies without a will, his or her property is divided according to Illinois law during probate court. Minor children can inherit property or wealth but are legally unable to receive the property or manage it before they are a legal adult. The inherited property is instead be managed by a legally-appointed guardian. If no estate planning documents addressing guardianship have been created, this guardian will be appointed by the court. Without an estate plan, it is possible that children’s inheritance and guardianship decisions will be in hands of strangers.
Second Parent Adoption: A Common Option for Same-Sex Couples
Historically, adoptions for same-sex couples have included their share of difficulties. Many people still believe children need a mother and father figure in their lives rather than two “similar figures.” This type of thinking has slowly phased out over the past 20 years, especially with the legalization of gay marriage.
Same-sex couple adoptions made progress in 2016, just months after that legalization became official. A lesbian mother finally won legal custody of her children in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The woman had cared for the children most of their lives and wanted legal documentation to recognize her as their mother. After deliberation, the Court overturned an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that said the court should not recognize the woman as the children’s mother. This court case opened doors for gay couples across the nation, allowing for non-nuclear families to exist.
Second Parent Adoption in Illinois
Common Reasons People Procrastinate About Estate Planning
When you stop and think about it, you probably realize that it would be a good idea to have an estate plan—or at least a will—in place. We all understand, at least at a basic level, that it is better for us to decide what will happen to our assets after our death than to let the state decide for us. Put simply, we know that we cannot take our assets with us when we die, so there should be a plan for how they will be handled.
Despite knowing all of this, more than half of American adults still do not have created even a will, let alone other estate planning instruments. Experts have conducted surveys and studies to determine why this is the case, as people may put off estate planning for a wide variety of reasons. Let’s take a look at some of the common ones:
Facing the Reality of Death
Advances in Western medicine and knowledge about nutrition and related concerns have pushed the average life expectancy upward in America over the last few decades. (In the interests of accuracy, it bears pointing out that the average life expectancy has dipped slightly in recent years, but we are still living longer than we did a century ago.) The obsession with longevity and quality of life makes many people hesitant to truly accept the reality that everyone will eventually die. The refusal to confront one’s own mortality can result in avoidance of any topics related to death, including estate planning.
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