Posted on June 15, 2016 in Child Custody

Entering the post-divorce world as a single parent can be overwhelming, especially in the wake of the emotional toll brought on by the separation. One of the most important tasks you will face as a newly single parent is handling the “allocation of parental responsibilities” (formerly known as child custody). This is a term Illinois law began using as of January 1, 2016, to refer to arrangements that are made that determine what a parent is responsible for when it comes to the child they share.

Allocation of parental responsibilities covers all aspects of the child’s care, including where the child lives and with whom, and which parent is responsible for making decisions for the child’s well-being. The court also determines parenting time (also known as visitation), another aspect of allocation of parental responsibilities.

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 Posted on January 28, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Crimes where children are the victims carry stiff penalties and are among the type priorities of federal, state, and local law enforcement. The crimes of kidnapping and parenting time interference often overlap, but they also have some important differences.

What is Parenting Time Interference?

While most parenting time disputes are handled within the family court system, sometimes actions cross the line from civil issues to criminal issues. The crime of custodial interference is known as Unlawful Visitation or Parenting Time Interference.

You commit this crime when you detain or conceal a child with the intent of depriving someone of his or her rights to parenting time. There is a provision to the law that allows for this type of activity if the parent has a reasonable fear the child will be harmed or put in imminent danger if the other parent exercises their parenting time.

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 Posted on January 26, 2016 in Divorce

When your spouse has engaged in behavior that is destructive to your relationship, it is not unreasonable to want to extract a measure of recompense. If his infidelity or her continued verbal abuse caused your marriage to break down, you may feel entitled to some type of restitution or other consideration to help alleviate your loss. While such a reaction may be a normal part of the grieving process inherent to divorce, the law in Illinois does not really provide such relief.

No Recognized Fault

For many years, it was possible to obtain a divorce on fault grounds in the state of Illinois. Doing so required proof of a spouse’s wrongdoing, which could often be very difficult, but the judgment actually reflected a specific reason for the divorce. Such grounds included adultery, physical or mental abuse, abandonment, habitual substance abuse, and the commission of an infamous crime. Divorce proceedings involving fault, however, were rarely conducive to amicable settlements, which has become a major focus of divorce laws around the country. In keeping with such trends, Illinois has eliminated fault grounds for divorce beginning in 2016. Now, no matter what may have happened within the marriage, a divorce will only be granted on the no-fault grounds of irreconcilable differences.

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 Posted on January 21, 2016 in Criminal Defense

News stories and government reports often focus on the numbers and trends related to violent crime. Aside from the obvious social and cultural impact of such actions, the penalties for violent crimes are the among the harshest in the criminal justice system. To provide a level of statewide consistency, many violent crimes carry mandatory minimum sentences.

What Crimes Are Considered Violent?

Violent crimes involve harm or threat of harm to other people. They are considered to be much more serious than property crimes like theft or trespassing. Common examples of these type of offenses in Illinois include:

• Murder;
• Sexual assault;
• Battery;
• Robbery;
• Assault and/or battery;
• Kidnapping;
• Reckless discharge of a weapon; and
• Arson.

Domestic violence crimes are also considered violent crimes. If you are charged with a violent crime, bail is likely to be set higher upon your arraignment, if you are eligible for bail at all.

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 Posted on January 19, 2016 in Child Support

For a number of years now, Illinois family courts have had the authority to order one or both parents to contribute toward the post-high school education of their children. In fact, the court even has the discretion to order college expense support to be drawn from the estate of a deceased parent. However, until very recently, each case was considered entirely on its own merits with little in the way of standardized guidelines to provide consistency. Beginning this year, the future of non-minor support proceedings may look significantly different.

Subjective Decisions

In years past, a parent looking for help paying for his or her child’s college expenses could ask the court to require the other parent to assist. The court would examine three relatively subjective factors in making its determination, including the financial resources of each parent, those of the child, and the child’s academic performance. Everything else was considered on a case-by-case basis, including the choice of school, the appropriateness of the educational program, and the costs to cover reasonable expenses.

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 Posted on January 14, 2016 in Criminal Defense

White-collar crime is a term that refers to many different offenses. It is not an official legal category of crime. The term is most often used to refer to non-violent property or financial crimes. There is often a component of fraud or fiscal impropriety to white-collar crimes.

Types of White-Collar Crimes

Because the law does not distinguish between white-collar crimes and other types of crimes, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of everything that may be considered a white-collar crime. Additionally, there are both Illinois state crimes and federal crimes that are often considered to be white-collar offenses.

Here are a few crimes that are generally considered to be white-collar crimes:

• Embezzlement;
• Bank fraud;
• Securities fraud;

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 Posted on January 12, 2016 in Child Support

With the recent updates to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act taking effect this month, 2016 promises to be a year of change for families around the state. New laws regarding divorce, parental relocations, and what used to be known as child custody mean that a period of transition is just beginning, one that will likely last for a number of years. Child support, however, was not really addressed in this year’s updates, though the legislature did indicate that it may take up the issue in the near future.

Percentage of Obligor’s Income

In Illinois, most orders of child support require a parent who does not have the majority of the parenting time with his or her child—formerly the non-custodial parent—to make payments to the other parent. The payments are intended to help the parent with primary residential responsibilities to provide the child with basic necessities, including shelter, food, and clothing. The existing law provides a basic guideline for determining the amount to be paid as a function of the supporting parent’s net income and the number of children to be supported. A supporting parent is expected to pay 20 percent of his or her income for one child, up to 50 percent for six or more children. Deviations from the standard are permitted, and must be based on the courts consideration of the family’s circumstances.

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 Posted on January 07, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Illinois’s medical marijuana program has only recently gone into effect. For many, the new law will give them access to much needed treatment options. But, there are also potential legal complications that can come into play if people are not careful. You could still find yourself facing serious drug charges, even if you do have a medical marijuana card.

Compliance With the New Law

Before you can legally buy medical marijuana you must:

• Complete the multi-step application process;
• Have received a diagnosis of one of the legally approved conditions;
• Register with a single dispensary; and
• Receive your medical marijuana identification card

If you do not follow all of these steps, you can still be arrested, charged, and convicted of a drug crime.The application process includes running a criminal background check, so if you have a history of certain drug crimes you can be denied a medical marijuana card.

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 Posted on January 05, 2016 in Divorce

After months of waiting, changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act have finally gone into effect. Passed by the state legislature in the spring of 2015 and signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner in July, the amendments are among some of the most significant changes to civil and family law in nearly four decades. The full procedural impact of the updates remains to be seen, as attorneys and courts around the state have just gone back to work for the new year, but many of new provisions are fairly straightforward, especially those pertaining to new filings for divorce.

Irreconcilable Differences Only

One of the biggest changes to come down in the new law affect the available grounds for divorce in the state. For generations, a divorce could be granted on the basis of negative or destructive behavior of one spouse. These behaviors included those that one would normally associate with divorce, including adultery, bigamy, repeated mental or physical cruelty, abandonment, and habitual substance abuse. In the mid-1980s, however, the law was updated to include the no-fault grounds of irreconcilable differences, acknowledging that something terrible was not necessary to prove a marriage was not working.

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 Posted on December 29, 2015 in Child Support

In a recent post on this blog, we discussed how changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act will be affecting the state’s approach to child custody proceedings. Beginning in 2016, parents will no longer be awarded sole or joint custody; instead, the parents or the court must determine a reasonable allocation of parental responsibilities. With the elimination of titles like custodial and non-custodial parents, however, it may be a little less obvious than before which parent, if either, will be expected to make child support payments.

Majority of the Parenting Time

According to the new law, a parenting plan or court-entered order for allocating parental responsibilities must include a designation of one parent as having the majority of the parenting time. The determination is to be made based upon the best interests of the child, of course, but will help serve several purposes. First, the parent with majority of the parenting time will be able to establish a permanent address for the child, allowing him or her to be properly registered in school. The same parent will also be considered the child’s custodian for all other state and federal laws that require such a designation.

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