Posts By: MICHAEL C CRAVEN

Grandparent’s Visitation Rights in Illinois

Grandparent Visitation Rights in Illinois Grandparent’s rights vary from state to state. In Illinois, the law attempts to balance the traditional deference to a parent’s right to make decisions regarding their children with the reality that in many family settings grandparents are taking on a more active role in rearing grandchildren, often out of necessity, many times due to divorce or death. While most relationships between grandparents and grandchildren are loving and supported by the p...   Read more ...  

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: View from a Chicago Divorce Lawyer

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren It used to be commonplace for multi-generational families to live together with all adults having a hands-on role in the rearing of children. Divorce was uncommon. In those idyllic days grandparents played a special, part-time role. Nowadays many grandparents have more involved roles and it’s usually because of a sad story, including divorce, which left no other choice. According to AARP, 31% of adults are grandparents.  8% of those grandparents are regular...   Read more ...  

Life Insurance and Divorce in Chicago

Life Insurance and Divorce Today Brent Novoselsky , Financial Planner in Chicago, gives us his personal thoughts on life insurance during and after divorce:   As a financial planner in Chicago, I often have clients that ask about what happens to life insurance when you’re about to divorce? How do you deal fairly with a soon to-be ex-spouse, yet still make sure you have coverage for the future? Is there a way to provide for adult children of a previous marriage without going broke, es...   Read more ...  

Facebook Providing Divorce Ammunition

Facebook and Divorce Stories of Facebook affecting divorce have been rampant in the news lately.  I recently stumbled upon a news story that was too good not to share. A woman living in Ohio was surprised and upset when her family revealed they had found pictures of her husband and another woman posted to Facebook. The fact that her husband was having an obvious affair was not the end though. A few weeks later dozens of wedding pictures were posted to Facebook, showing the woman’s hu...   Read more ...  

Is Divorce a Luxury or an Opportunity In these Tough Economic Times?

Many couples living out this recession have cut back on eating out, new cars, and fancy vacations. According to an article in the New York Daily News, some couples have cut back on divorce. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers polled its 1,600 members, and almost 40 percent said their filings were down. Additionally, the National Marriage Project released a study in December 2009 which showed divorce rates were down for the first time in five years. The recession has definitely affected d...   Read more ...  

Divorce Ceremonies: Divorce Lawyers Watch New Trends

Japan has long been behind the curve when it comes to large numbers of divorces, but lately they have been busy catching up to the rest of the Western world.  This has led to an extremely interesting phenomenon: divorce ceremonies. The ceremony takes place at a mansion in Tokyo, which a former salesman bought with the specific intention of performing divorce ceremonies.  The ceremony itself provides a public end to a marriage.  Family and friends are invited to attend and witness...   Read more ...