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With the holidays right around the corner, many Illinois families will be making plans on how to celebrate the festivities. For parents who share custody and visitation, termed allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time under Illinois’ statute, this time of year can bring some challenges. Many of these special events are deeply rooted in religious beliefs, leading to such questions as:   How do we handle parenting time if we share the same faith?What if we come fro...   Read more ...  

Published in the Monday November 2, 2020 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Michael C. Craven, J.D., L.L.M. and C.P.A. is a partner at Harrison LLP. His practice focuses on complex divorce and family law litigation, mediation, and collaborative law cases. He can be reached at mcraven@harrisonheld.com. For my colleagues who do not practice family law, I would advise you to pay attention when your clients may need a prenuptial agreement and ...   Read more ...  

In the years after an Illinois court issues an order on child support, it is quite common for a change to take place. In fact, if your children were young at the time of its entry, you may request a higher amount at some point. Illinois’ statute on modification of child support provides reasons that justify an increase: A substantial change in circumstances, such as your child is spending more time with you than under a previous parenting schedule; or, A discrepancy between what you are recei...   Read more ...  

For an adoption to become legally effective, the legal parents must usually consent to giving up their rights and responsibilities regarding the child to be adopted. The issue is relatively straightforward when the mother agrees to the adoption, but legal issues become more complicated regarding the rights of a “putative” father as defined by Illinois’ adoption statute. In using this term, the law refers to a man who may be the child’s father, but:   Was not married to the mother o...   Read more ...  

While some Illinois divorce cases will go through a full trial to determine disputes, many more divorce cases are resolved through less adversarial processes, such as mediation, where parties sit down with their lawyers and a mediator trained in techniques for resolving disagreements. Often, mediators can get divorcing couples to settle their case, instead of conducting a trial to have a judge decide asset division, spousal maintenance, and issues related to minor children. Illinois laws allow j...   Read more ...  

Most couples going through divorce in Illinois realize they need to address asset division, spousal support, and issues regarding minor children. Not many understand the role life insurance plays as part of this process. It may seem strange that a court would require one or both parties to maintain or purchase a life insurance policy, but many judges will order it as part of a final divorce decree – or even while a case is still proceeding. Once you learn the reasons behind such an arrangement...   Read more ...