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Options for Protecting Children From a Harmful Parent
It is generally presumed that it is in the best interests of children to have a relationship with both of their parents when the parents are not in a romantic relationship or marriage. However, this is a rebuttable presumption, and in certain circumstances, is negated entirely. Where one parent is causing harm to the child, it is the duty of the other to take steps to protect the child. It is important to understand the legal boundaries of what a parent may and may not do in an effort to keep the child safe. Harm may come in the forms of physical violence, emotional attacks, sexual abuse, neglect, or exposure to an unsafe lifestyle, such as criminal behavior or drug use.
A parent’s behavior need not escalate to the level of legal child abuse offenses to cause significant harm to impressionable children. If you feel that your child’s other parent is a danger to the child’s physical or emotional well-being, there may be steps an attorney can help you take, such as seeking a new parenting time allocation.
When to Prepare for Divorce Litigation
A significant percentage of spouses who divorce in modern times are not required to engage in a courtroom battle in order to terminate their marriage. Many elect for cooperative divorce techniques including but not limited to mediation and attorney-facilitated negotiation. Cooperative divorce is often employed regardless of the level of amicability, as the issues incident to divorce can be resolved by mutual agreement even without bringing the spouses face to face. Yet, certain circumstances can render collaborative divorce impossible or impracticable.
If your spouse is unwilling or unable to cooperate with these alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, it may be prudent to prepare yourself for litigation. If you begin to suspect that litigation is inevitable, it would be prudent to address these concerns with a divorce attorney. It is inadvisable to enter litigation or negotiations that could lead to litigation without the assistance of a qualified lawyer.
What If My Spouse Took Advantage of Me Using a Prenuptial Agreement?
Trust and honesty are extremely important in a relationship. You and your spouse should be comfortable telling each other just about anything - especially when it comes to their financial status. Yet, it happens all the time that people sign a prenuptial agreement thinking they have all the right information, only to find out that some very important things were left out. If you were not represented by a lawyer when you signed your prenuptial agreement, you probably did not do a huge amount of fact-checking. After all, this was the person you were about to marry. You were likely very happy together at the time, even if that happiness stemmed from a falsehood on your spouse’s part.
Now, if things have changed and you are thinking about divorce, your prenuptial agreement could be very important. The good news is that if you were tricked or coerced, your prenuptial agreement may not be enforced against you.
What an Order of Protection Can and Cannot Do in a Divorce
Orders of Protection can be great tools for helping you keep yourself and your children safe during a divorce. However, what these orders can and cannot do is not always well-understood. Some people—women particularly—refrain from getting a protection order even though they are eligible for one, often due to misconceptions about how they work. While protection orders are civil, rather than criminal, your spouse can be arrested if they violate one. This is often enough of a deterrent to keep domestic violence offenders away from their victims.
However, civil protection orders should not be used as tools of manipulation during an ongoing divorce. If you are in need of protection from a violent spouse, you should urgently speak with your divorce lawyer so they can get the ball rolling.
What a Civil Order of Protection Can Do
How Do Financial Affidavits Influence Divorce in Illinois?
As you might imagine, money is a huge factor in any divorce case. This is especially true in contested divorces. When a spouse gets divorced, he or she is expected to provide financial information in a financial affidavit. In Illinois, this document helps to determine things like child support and property division during divorce.
Unfortunately, some spouses lie on their financial affidavits. They may intentionally undervalue their assets or fail to list all sources of income to make their financial situation appear bleaker than it actually is. Spouses may also inflate debts and expenses to reduce financial obligations like child support or spousal support. If you are getting divorced, make sure you understand how this important means of financial disclosure will influence your case.
Financial Disclosure is Crucial During Divorce
It may feel uncomfortable to list personal financial information on your divorce paperwork. However, the court needs this information to make informed decisions during the divorce process. Even if your case settles before trial, you and your spouse can only reach an agreement on divorce terms if you are both honest about your financial circumstances.
What Not to do During a Child Custody Dispute
No one wants to be involved in a child custody dispute, but if you have a difficult relationship with your child’s other parent, it can be tempting to resort to unsavory tactics to gain more parenting time. While many divorced or never-married parents dream of getting sole custody, it is rare in Illinois. Your desire to spend as much time as possible with your children is very understandable, but it is important to play by the rules. Here are some common tactics that you should avoid when you are involved in a child custody dispute.
How Not to Fight a Child Custody Battle
You would do anything for your children, but some tactics are likely to backfire on you. Even if your child’s other parent is attempting these strategies, it is generally best to let your attorney handle it. It is easy for a guardian ad litem, judge, or child custody evaluator to tell when a parent is trying a tactic like:
What Does "Unfit Parent" Really Mean?
During a divorce, it is not uncommon for one parent to claim that the other is an unfit parent in an effort to get sole custody. You may be reading this because your (soon to be ex) spouse has called you an unfit parent and threatened to take sole custody of the children. If this is your situation, you should know that your spouse is not very likely to succeed. Unless you have truly endangered or harmed the children and there is proof, it is exceedingly rare for a court to deem one parent unfit and award the other sole custody. However, hearing your spouse refer to you this way can be incredibly hurtful and alarming. Our attorneys are ready to step in and fight for you and your children.
Defining “Unfit Parent” in Illinois
In Illinois, the definition of an unfit parent is relatively vague. Our state law says that an unfit parent is one who cannot be trusted to take care of a child. For you to lose custody and visitation rights, your child’s other parent would have to prove that there is a specific reason that you should not have access to your children. Reasons a parent may be deemed unfit include:
Can a Potential Father Start a Paternity Case in Illinois?
It is common for the mother of a child to initiate a parentage case, hoping to positively identify her child’s father and seek child support. It is a bit less common for such a case to be opened by a father, but in Illinois, either parent - or alleged parent - can petition a court to declare parentage. Fathers often do so when the mother of the child they believe is theirs is not letting them see the child. Establishing paternity opens the door for a father to seek court-ordered time with his child. This sometimes happens when the mother and father have broken up or were never romantically involved beyond a casual sexual relationship. If you believe that you are the father of a child, you do have the right to seek a court order declaring you are the parent. An attorney can help you take the right steps.
How Can I Ask the Court to Declare Parentage as a Father?
Establishing yourself as your child’s father is the first step toward gaining the legal right to be a part of their life. Once you are declared the father, you can start seeking joint custody rights so that you can enjoy a meaningful relationship with your child.
Can I Get Divorce While My Spouse is in Jail?
This is a fairly common question - and the answer is yes, you can divorce your spouse while they are incarcerated. There may be a few extra steps and some complications, but it can be done. In fact, you may have somewhat of an advantage in your divorce if your spouse is currently locked up. Prisons and jails rarely, if ever, allow inmates to appear in divorce court. Your spouse can retain their own attorney to represent them, however. Especially if your spouse is incarcerated for a crime against you or your children, like domestic violence or child abuse, it may be much safer to get your divorce while they are locked up. An attorney can help you through the process of divorcing an inmate in prison or jail.
How Can I Divorce Someone Who is Locked Up?
Your spouse can be served with your divorce papers while they are incarcerated. In fact, it is even easier to serve an incarcerated individual - they will not be able to claim that they did not receive the divorce petition. Your attorney will need to find your spouse’s inmate number in order to do this.
Tips for Smooth Custody Exchanges During Divorce
One of the few reasons that divorced parents still need to see each other is to make custody exchanges. Generally, both parents need to be present at a child custody handoff unless there is an agreed-on third party with authorization to pick up or drop off a child. For parents whose divorce is still pending, these exchanges can be very tense. Both parents may be tempted to use child exchanges as a time to find fault in the other parent. For those whose divorce is far from amicable, handing off a child can even turn into an argument. It is important for both parents to know how to handle handing off a child in order to avoid further upsetting the child. When parents work together to put the child first despite their differences, the child is more likely to have a relatively smooth adjustment.
Ways to Keep a Child Custody Exchange Safe and Civil
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From our office in Orland Park, we serve clients throughout the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago including but not limited to Bolingbrook, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Crest Hill, Flossmoor, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Hyde Park, Joliet, Kankakee, Lockport, Markham, Mokena, New Lenox, Plainfield, and South Holland.
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