Posted on November 23, 2012 in Child Custody

Research recently published in the social work journal Family Relations indicates that when co-parents focus their relationship on the needs of their children, a more satisfying custody arrangement is experienced by all affected family members. Meaning that when parents who are divorced or otherwise not parenting under the same roof put their differences aside for the benefit of their children, these parents benefit from this effort as well.

It can be difficult to know exactly how to go about putting aside your differences and focusing on your children's needs. After all, in the immediate aftermath of divorce especially, the differences between co-parents can seem overwhelming and all consuming. In order to redirect focus away from tension and onto children, parents are advised to put time and thought into creating a parenting plan.

A parenting plan can outline whatever child-related issues would benefit from being communicated about in advance. For example, the parenting plan can discuss how parents will share time with their children during the holiday season and how disputes about extracurricular activities will be solved.

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 Posted on October 26, 2012 in Divorce

Many people have heard of prenuptial agreements but may be less familiar with the idea of postnuptial agreements. Both are used as tools to define the marital assets of each spouse in the event of a divorce. Postnuptial agreements, however, are drafted after a marriage instead of before like a prenuptial agreement. According to a recent survey, postnuptial agreements are becoming more popular.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) found that over half of family law attorneys have seen a rise in postnuptial agreements over the past three years. In particular wives seem to be requesting such agreements more frequently, with over a third of lawyers polled noting a rise in women seeking postnuptial agreements. The survey showed, however, that men still seem to be the party more likely to initiate a request for a postnuptial agreement.

"It is interesting to note the increase in wives requesting postnups, because often one of the most common motivators for these agreements is a dramatic change in the financial status of one or both partners during the marriage," explained the president of the AAML. He also explained that postnuptial agreements may help spouses deal with conflicts about assets which may threaten a marriage.

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 Posted on September 04, 2012 in Child Custody

It is the time of year when many students are experiencing those first-day-of-school jitters. Most parents want to do everything they can to ensure their children start the school year off successfully. For divorced parents, there are additional issues that need to be taken into account to ensure things go smoothly for the entire family.

Many of the issues below may be addressed in your Illinois parenting agreement. For those that are not, it may be helpful to communicate with your ex about these matters prior to the school year commencing.

Plan your children's schedules and routines: Discuss how the children will get to and from school and various activities. Review upcoming events on the school calendar and coordinate it with your parenting schedule to ensure children will be able to attend important school functions.

Discuss how expenses will be divided: Plan out who will handle shopping for back to school outfits and supplies, and how these expenses will be split. Also consider expenses for sports, lessons and field trips. Make sure you are both on the same page about how much money will be spent and who will be paying for what.

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 Posted on July 23, 2012 in Child Support

Today our society is more global than ever before. It is not uncommon for children to live in a different country than their parents due to a divorce or other circumstances. Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed legislation which would make it easier for state child support enforcement programs to collect payments from parents living outside of the country.

The measure given approval in the House is a move towards ratifying a 2007 international child support treaty. The purpose of the treaty is to facilitate cooperation and information sharing between countries for the purpose of securing financial support payments.

The measure's sponsor, Rep. Rick Berg (R- ND) explained the goal of the legislation, "This bill is about empowering states, which operate the child support enforcement program, to do more to help families, and most importantly, children."

Although the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance was signed by the European Union, the United States and other countries, only Norway has since ratified it. If approved by the U.S. Senate, this measure would provide the language required for implementing it.

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 Posted on July 19, 2012 in Child Support

Most new parents will tell you that raising a child is expensive, but rarely do you hear an actual dollar amount. The federal government, however, recently released its annual report laying out the specific costs of rearing a child.

The report is prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and used by states in calculating financial guidelines for child support and foster care. The report found that parents who welcomed a little bundle of joy into their families in 2011 can expect to spend almost $300,000 in the next 17 years.

Did you catch that the cost calculation stops after 17 years? That means the $300,000 doesn't even include the cost of college. That amount was also based on middle-income families earning $59,410-$102,870 before taxes. For higher earners the cost of a child was $490,830, and it was $212,370 for the lowest income households.

According to the report, it is the least expensive to raise a child in rural areas and the most expensive to rear a child in the urban northeast.

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 Posted on July 17, 2012 in Alimony/Spousal Support

Over the past few decades, women have been making significant strides in climbing the corporate ladder. Many women now have high paying executive positions, which used to be almost exclusively held by men. One indication of this trend is that increasing numbers of women are now paying spousal support and child support to their husbands after a divorce.

Nationwide over the past three years, 47 percent of family law attorneys reported an increase in the number of women paying spousal support, and 56 percent saw a rise in mothers paying child support, according to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The president-elect of the AAML explained, "It shows that women have really moved up financially and that in many instances they are the major bread winners in a lot of families."

The shift in women's careers can also be seen in the numbers of those seeking advanced degrees. According to information from the Digest of Education Statistics, the number of women graduating from law schools has almost doubled, and women are now the recipients of about half of all medical degrees. In 1980, only about one out of three medical degrees was awarded to a woman.

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 Posted on July 10, 2012 in Child Custody

Since the 1990s when the first electronic visitation cases began to appear, virtual visitation between children and their parents has continued to grow. In 2010, Illinois became the most recent state to legally recognize virtual visitation. Currently six other states have laws governing "electronic" or "virtual" child visitation, and 22 more have efforts underway to develop similar legislation.

Virtual visitation includes anything from instant messaging to social media to video chatting. Technology has made it easier for parents who live far from their children to stay connected and involved with their kids' daily lives. For instance, a child may show off a lost tooth over Skype, or a parent may play a game with a child through Facebook.

According to the National Center for State Courts, an estimated 35 million children have parents who are divorced, separated or never married, and 25 percent of these kids have a parent who lives in a different city. Almost 10 million kids don't have routine in-person contact with one of their two parents.

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 Posted on July 02, 2012 in Divorce

Americans are familiar with wedding expos where future brides can see the latest wedding dress designs, check out new floral arrangements and sample wedding cakes. Recently, however, divorce expos have been attracting a significant amount of attention. At such events expo-goers will find seminars and booths on financial planning, parenting after divorce and an array of other topics.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece discussing the phenomenon of divorce expos, highlighting an event that took place in New York last month titled "Start Over Smart: A Modern Divorce Expo." Examples of featured seminars included: "Moving on After Infidelity," "Parenting Through Divorce," and "Into the Fog-Becoming a Single Dad and a Single Dude Again." The event also included booths staffed by attorneys, financial planners and even dating coaches.

The organizers who planned the New York expo based it on an event in Paris, and similar expos have gone on across Europe. They feel it fills a need to provide resources for those going through a divorce. "Even after divorce, people need a network of continued support to help them transition into their new, post-divorce life," one of the organizers explained. The expo serves as a place for people to get legal and financial information, as well as network with those individuals facing similar challenges.

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 Posted on March 29, 2012 in Divorce

Most people wouldn't imagine that a retailer could tell if you were recently divorced by your shopping habits. However, a recent exposé by the New York Times discussed how Target has an initiative in place to determine when customers are experiencing life cycle events. Such life cycle events include marriage, child birth and yes, divorce.

The aim of the initiative is to tailor advertising to customers at these various stages of life. By focusing on major life events, retailers are more likely to impact brand loyalty and change consumer shopping patterns.

For instance, if a retailer thinks a customer is pregnant they could send ads for specific brands of diapers, baby clothes and toys. If customers act on those ads they may remain loyal to those brands throughout their child's life.

How do buying patterns shift after divorce? Interestingly, it increases the chance that individuals will select a different brand of beer. Perhaps more predictably, research also indicates that right after divorce consumers may suddenly purchase frozen food, linens, furniture and low fat foods.

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 Posted on January 09, 2012 in Divorce

When people think of January they often think of cold weather, snow and New Year's Day. Apparently, however, January also brings thoughts of divorce to many couples. According to several studies, January is the most popular month for couples to choose to divorce, earning it the nickname "Divorce Month".

There are several theories as to why couples select the month of January to split. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season may put many divorces on hold during November and December. Those couples with children in particular may choose to stick it out through the end of the year for the sake of family gatherings and celebrations.

As the coldest month of the year, January is also a time when couples may be spending more time in the home together. Tensions that may have grown during the stressful holiday season may finally reach a breaking point in January. Spouses may also reflect upon the past year and decide it is a time for a fresh start as the new year begins.

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