Month: January 2015

An Illinois resident who wishes to end his or her marriage must file a lawsuit to do so. However, it may be possible to negotiate the terms of a divorce settlement through mediation. Mediation may make it possible to avoid hard feelings after a divorce. It may also...

Some parents in Illinois might benefit from learning more about how paternity is established in the state. Paternity may be described as the legal relationship between a child and the father. When a child is born out of wedlock, the father has limited legal rights...

Illinois couples who are divorcing and who have dogs or cats may wish to include those pets in their divorce settlements. Increasingly, couples are arranging for visitation and negotiating custody of their shared pets. Traditionally, animals are considered property...

One Illinois county has started a new program that is intended to make the exchange of a child between parents less stressful for everyone involved. DeKalb County has joined two other counties with similar programs. The county will offer the Neutral Exchange Program...

When Illinois couples prepare to get divorced, it is important for each spouse to protect their own finances. Since married couples typically intermingle their money and assets, getting divorced involves a division of everything the couple owns, including debts. One...

If your marriage is ending, you are likely to want to get your divorce completed soon and with as little disagreement as possible. Your divorce likely involves many aspects that will need to be decided, including how to divide your property, with whom your children...

Although it may not seem obvious at first, there are both advantages and disadvantages to opening an Illinois custody case. As individual situations differ, there is no correct answer on how parents should proceed. Some parents are capable of coming to a mutually...

Those who willfully fail to provide support for their spouse or child may be guilty of failure to support. The law defines failure to support as leaving the state to evade a support order. An individual may also be guilty of failure to support if support payments have...