Posts By: MICHAEL C CRAVEN

Divorce and College Tuition

Seeing your children go to college is an emotional time. It’s difficult for everyone to let go. For the teenager, they feel pressure as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives. For parents, regardless of your marital status, it’s seeing your children be independent for the first time and feeling the stress of ever-increasing price of college tuition.   For divorced couples, the question regarding who pays for college tuition is important. Some states, such as Illinois, have sta...   Read more ...  

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Vacations with Kids Can Be Fun, but Divorced Clients Need Advice

  Published in the Tuesday May 14, 2019 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin   It is no secret: Ending a marriage is difficult.   Personally, one tool I employ is to tap into empathy and patience to help my clients deal with the problems they have in their divorces. This approach is often helpful when working out how to structure the good times — and summer vacations are certainly a good example.   Remember that this is probably also the first time your client must d...   Read more ...  

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Coping Through a Bitter Divorce

Between 40 and 50 percent of married partners in the U.S. end up in divorce. Unfortunately, not only is divorce a legal technicality, it’s also an emotional roller coaster. You may find your soon-to-be-ex is more difficult to work with than you thought. This is not uncommon and there are tools to make divorce as smooth as possible.   Put Your Feelings Aside An emotional state can diminish your capacity to think clearly, impair your judgment and make rational decision making difficult or i...   Read more ...  

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When a Parent is Granted Sole Decision-Making Responsibilities

Even though Illinois law changed in 2016 to no longer use the word “custody,” including the phrase “sole custody” and “joint custody,” Illinois courts still have the authority to grant one parent sole decision-making responsibilities, if necessary. If you intend to petition the court as the parent responsible for making the sole decisions with your child, in Illinois, the court will only choose this arrangement if it serves the best interest of your child. Sole legal custody is idea...   Read more ...  

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Mediation and Divorce

If you are thinking of mediating during your divorce, I often recommend it — but that was the topic of a previous post. During this article, I will explain what mediation is in the context of divorce disputes. I will also provide some procedural details from Lake County and Cook County, IL. This is general information, not legal advice. You would need to look at the specifics of your situation to know how to proceed in any legal matter. What Is Mediation? There is an Illinois Supreme Court rul...   Read more ...  

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Extended Summer Visitation

Summer break: that unstructured stretch of the year. Without proper planning, it has the potential to become a parenting debacle. In this article, I will discuss how an upcoming divorce might change current plans and set future guidelines for summer vacation custody, even if you and your spouse will no longer live close to each other. While reading, please keep in mind that this information is not intended as advice to apply to any specific case. Your final custody agreement should be the result...   Read more ...  

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