Recent Blog Posts
Prenuptial Agreements Now More Widely Used
Assuming that prenuptial agreements are only being used by those individuals with extreme wealth is a mistake. A survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers demonstrates the increasing requests family attorneys are getting to draft these documents.
Of the attorneys surveyed, two-thirds reported seeing an increase in the number of prenuptial agreements completed in the past three years, but nearly half also noted that there are more women requesting the documents these days. The shift in awareness and requesting behavior could be due to a higher level of financial awareness on behalf of both men and women; being shaken by the recent economic collapse might clue people in to what they have to lose as well as make them more conscious about how to protect it.
The same attorneys participating in the survey remarked that the top three issues most often covered in prenuptial agreements were alimony, separate property, and division of property. Other recent research has indicated that more people believe that prenuptial agreements are a crucial component of pre-wedding plans, however unromantic they may seem.
Virginia Couple Illustrates Challenges of Adoption For Same-Sex Couples
Doug and Chris Maulden-Locke, from Virginia, moved from Maryland and then back to Virginia again during the process of adoption. The couple waited to get through the pre-adoption background checks for eight months before finding a baby in just 10 days. The couple had to go before a Maryland judge for the final adoption approval, a process that has been challenging for same-sex couples before. With the unique nature of pursuing adoption as a same-sex couple, hiring an adoption attorney is more important than ever.
In some jurisdictions around the country, it’s rare for judges to approve adoptions where same-sex couples are involved. Slowly, however, judges and jurisdictions are paving the way for these individuals to bring a new child into the homes of loving parents. Although decisions used to be made on a judge-by-judge basis, the greater cultural trend of valuing the potential societal value of qualified same-sex adopted parents is making it easier for these couples to grow their families.
Postnuptial Agreements in Illinois
As prenuptial agreements become more and more popular, many married people may be thinking that they wish they could have a prenup. But it’s not too late; a prenuptial agreement created after a couple is married is called a postnuptial agreement, but is, essentially, the same as a prenup.
People who choose to enter into a postnuptial or postmarital agreement do so for many reasons. One reason is if one spouse creates a business, the business partners may ask the spouse to sign and agree not to make a claim on the business should the other pass away or if they become separated. This will prevent a fight over the company from occurring if the couple divorces, and prevent a fight between the business partners and spouse if the spouse who took part in the business passes away.
Spouses may also choose to sign a postnuptial agreement if they have separate properties, which they use to buy a joint property. The agreement will ensure that the spouse with the separate property will still get the same benefits that he or she would have if the properties had stayed separate rather than purchasing joint property.
Common Paternity Testing Concerns
When a person is in a situation in which he or she does not know the father of a child, many questions and concerns arise. Although the mother is more likely to know who the father is, she may not always know, and a father may not believe that he is or is not the father.
A simple fix to the solution is to get a paternity test. Some parents choose to do this before the child is born and others choose to wait until after the birth. Sometimes, parents just choose to believe that someone is the father even though they are not completely sure. Once a test is complete, though, many people still have questions.
The American Pregnancy Association took the time to answer a few questions about paternity tests:
How much will establishing paternity cost, including the test and any other expenses?
New Study Links Marital Bliss and DNA
The happiness of any marriage is dependent on both spouses becoming a team against all obstacles and supporting each other through difficult times. But it also might be deeper than that. Marital satisfaction might be set in your DNA based upon a new study published on October seventh of this year.
Divorceis very likely; the CDC has said that half of all marriages end in divorce. One of authors of the study offered their reason for initiating the study about why divorce is so common. UC Berkeley psychologist Robert W. Levenson stated in a press release that "an enduring mystery is, what makes one spouse so attuned to the emotional climate of the marriage, and another so oblivious." The hope is that this study will start to uncover the reasons.
This new examination was based on a joint effort between researchers at Northwestern University and the University of California at Berkeley. They reviewed the structure of DNA and focused on the regulation of serotonin, which is the primary controller of mood, appetite, sleep as well as more cognitive functions like memory and learning.
Avoiding Passive Aggressive Behavior can Help Your Marriage
There are many kinds of abusive relationships. The most obvious type of domestic abuse is violent behavior like hitting, kicking and yelling. But there are other ways that a spouse’s behavior can be covertly abusive. Passive aggressive spouses can be just as disruptive to a marriage as outwardly abusive spouses.
Passive aggressive behavior is used to avoid conflicts, suppress feelings of anger or try to control a situation. It is covert because it can mask emotions and feelings to a point that the person’s behavior may seem nice at times.
Since passive aggressive behavior can be hidden, it is helpful to know what the typical traits are of a passive aggressive person. Identifying the behavior is the first step to stopping the destructive cycle of hurtful actions and words.
Options for Expanding your Family
In recent years, people are marrying later in life. Or they have health issues that make it harder to conceive a child. In order not to miss out on creating a family, they review different options for expanding their families if they cannot do so naturally. Some options include adoption and surrogacy.
Surrogacy requires a third party to carry a fertilized egg to term for a couple who can&t have a child of their own. Traditional surrogacy requires the surrogate to provide their genetic material to create the baby. The sperm can be provided by the intended parent or by a third party donor. Gestational surrogacy does not require the surrogate to supply an egg so there is no relation between the surrogate and the baby. Both kinds of surrogacy require a legal contract to ensure transference of custody after the birth.
Surrogacy has gained popularity lately, partially due to the number of celebrities who have used the process to become parents like Jimmy Fallon, Elton John and Nicole Kidman. But it has also gained esteem in Illinois because of the Gestational Surrogacy Act of 2005. So much so that couples come from around the United States and Europe to have their surrogate births in Illinois to benefit from the pro-surrogacy climate. The major benefit of the Gestational Surrogacy Act is that it transfers parentage immediately after birth which eliminates the need to visit adoption court and eliminates a possible custody battle with the surrogate.
Dating as a Single Parent
Being divorced is a difficult transition. It is hard to move on from the life you used to know. But there must have been some reasons that your relationship with your spouse did not work. And now that you are single again, there are things you can change the next time around. And if you are a parent, there is even less opportunity to mess around and take this next step lightly.
The first consideration is to make sure that you know why you’re dating in the first place. Having a clear purpose in your new life will help you stay on track and eliminate distractions.
But always keep in mind that you are dating again to have fun. This is not a search for lost keys, so do not make it a job. It should be a hobby that should be spontaneous and enjoyable. Hobbies like learning a new language, trying new sports, and other exciting activities will put you in front of new people and new connections.
Abusive Relationships
Abusive relationships have been around as long as relationships have been around. The reason that there are more statistics about abusive relationships today, is that in the past is that the abused victims today are doing something about it. People are not taking the abuse and there are others outside of these relationships to help them get out.
It’s not easy, once you are in an abusive relationship, to get out. The best option is to stay away from abusers all together. But how do you know if your new significant other is going to abuse you? Usually, you don’t, and that’s why so many people get stuck.
DomesticViolence.org helps to explain who these abusers are and how to spot them:
Often, abusers are normal-looking people. If you were to see one in public, you wouldn’t give them a second look because they may be friendly and loving to strangers and they may even be friendly and loving to their partner at times. Behind closed blinds, however, they can turn into a completely different person.
Paternity Testing
Many children are being raised in single parent homes today. Sometimes it cannot be helped because parents are in the military or they are deceased, but other times it is because the mother simply does not know who the father is. Sometimes, it is a sore subject in divorce when the woman becomes pregnant at the end of the marriage or in the divorce process because there is no longer a guarantee that the husband is the father.
Paternity testing is easier than ever, now, and should be done at the very least so that every child has two parents on his or her birth certificate.
Here are some frequently asked questions about paternity testing from the American Pregnancy Association:
How soon can a paternity test be done after the child is conceived?
Timing for different types of tests varies, but they cannot be done any sooner than the end of the first trimester. Tests can be done as early as the ninth or tenth week of pregnancy.
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