Chicago Divorce Law Blog
Navigating the adoption process as a hopeful LGBTQ parent
If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, you may worry about challenges you could face on your path to adopting a child. The Child Welfare Information Gateway answers questions you may have about navigating the adoption process as an LGBTQ parent. Preparing for...
Contesting prenuptial agreements
As your marriage ends, you and your spouse may disagree about how to split up your belongings. Perhaps you signed a prenuptial agreement spelling out who has the rights to what property. Yet now that divorce is upon you, the agreement may seem questionable. Certain...
What are the dangers of parental alienation?
Illinois parents often struggle to strike a balance after a divorce. It is hard to co-parent your child with someone you likely are not on the best of terms with. However, many parents in your situation come up with a livable arrangement that works for all parties....
Excessive drinking and child custody
Whether you are struggling with an alcohol problem or your ex is battling a crippling drinking problem, it is very important to think about the different ways in which alcoholism impacts child custody. First of all, your child's best interests must remain a top...
How can you stop and prove dissipation of assets?
In high-conflict divorces, one spouse may try to ruin the other spouse’s right to a fair division of assets. One partner will try to dissipate the marital assets to prevent the other from receiving them in the divorce settlement. As a high-income couple, your partner...
Creating pet agreements before or after a marriage
Illinois considers inherited or gifted assets acquired by an individual during a marriage as separate property. All other assets obtained during a marriage, however, belong to both spouses unless an agreement states otherwise. As noted by Forbes magazine, a prenuptial...
How can I increase parenting time while maintaining my career?
Maintaining a good work-life balance is challenging even under the best of circumstances. When going through a divorce, you may find yourself struggling even further. It is important for both parents to spend ample quality time with their children, but it is also...
Custody in cases of interstate or international moves, part 2: Akula v. Akula
Our prior post on interstate and international custody reviewed the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). In that post, we discussed the requirements for deciding which court has jurisdiction over a custody matter when one parent moves to a...
When should a divorce attorney hire an appellate lawyer?
Good attorneys know when they have an ethical and professional responsibility to enlist the help of another attorney for a client. There is a reason that competency is the very first requirement addressed in the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. Appellate work...
Tips for same-sex adoption
Same-sex couples in Illinois who want to start a family must understand the unique obstacles standing between them and successful adoption. According to The Chicago Tribune, nonprofit adoption and foster care advocacy groups encourage more same-sex couples to adopt,...
