Divorcing couples often struggle to see eye-to-eye. However, some divorce cases are especially wrought with conflict. If this describes your situation, you may be worried about how you and your soon-to-be-ex will handle child custody issues. Some divorced parents are able to continue a close relationship and even attend holidays and vacations together, this is nearly impossible in a high-conflict divorce. One option some parents find useful is a method called “parallel parenting.” In a parallel parenting scenario, each parent handles parenting obligations with little input from the other parent. Communication between the parents is limited and each parent’s independence is prioritized over collaboration.

Parallel Parenting Minimizes Contact Between the Parents

Multiple studies show that parental conflict has a major impact on kids. This is true even if the parents are divorced and living separately. If you are in a high-conflict divorce or soon will be, parallel parenting may be the best way to minimize hostility between you and the other parent. In a parallel parenting situation, parents rarely communicate with each other. When they do communicate, they do so through text messages or email.

A Strong Parenting Plan is Key

Parallel parenting only works when both parents understand their rights and obligations. This means that you will need to have a comprehensive parenting plan involving a detailed parenting time schedule. Remember to include provisions describing how you will handle holidays, school vacations, birthdays, and other special occasions. Include exhaustive information about how and when you can change the parenting time schedule or allocation of parental responsibilities.   

Consider Using Temporary Relief Orders

The time between a couple deciding to divorce and the completion of the divorce can be months or years. High-conflict divorce cases are often especially lengthy. Consider petitioning the court for a temporary relief order that defines parenting time and parental responsibilities during the divorce. This will ensure that you and the other parent understand exactly what is expected of you. Furthermore, a temporary relief order protects your rights. You may also want a temporary order for child support. An experienced family law attorney can discuss your situation with you and help you determine which temporary relief orders may be appropriate for your situation.

Contact a Plainfield Family Law Attorney

If you are a parent planning to divorce, contact the skilled Joliet divorce lawyers at Law Offices of Tedone and Morton, P.C. for help. Our team understands the challenges involved with a high-conflict divorce involving parents. We can help you formulate a plan to minimize conflict and prioritize your children’s wellbeing. Call 815-666-1285 today for a free consultation.

Sources:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050k501.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/co-parenting-after-divorce/201309/parallel-parenting-after-divorce

The word “paternity” refers to a father’s legal relationship with his child. When a mother gives birth, she is automatically the child’s legal parent. However, the same is not always true for fathers. If a mother is married, her husband is presumed to be the child’s father. However, many mothers are not married at the time of their baby’s birth. Furthermore, relationships are complicated, and sometimes a woman’s husband is not the baby’s biological father. If you are involved in a complicated situation like this, you may wonder how Illinois uses DNA paternity testing to confirm parentage in a family law case.

Establishing Paternity in Illinois

There are three main ways that a parent can establish legal parentage or paternity. The simplest method is for the parents to sign a document called a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity and put the father’s name on the baby’s birth certificate. However, this option may not be feasible if paternity is unknown or contested. Paternity may also be established through an administrative paternity order or court order. In some cases, DNA testing is needed to confirm that a father is indeed a child’s biological parent.

How Does DNA Testing Work?

Children get half their DNA from their mother and half from their father. Laboratory technicians can analyze a baby’s DNA and compare it to the presumed father’s DNA to see if the man is actually the child’s father. During paternity testing, DNA may be obtained through the test subject’s cheek cells or blood. To get a cheek cell sample, a cotton swab is lightly scraped on the inside of the subject’s mouth. DNA is extracted from cells on the cotton swab and analyzed. In some cases, blood samples are taken from the test subjects instead of cheek cells. DNA paternity testing is extremely accurate.

What If My Child’s Parent Refuses to Cooperate?

Paternity is a crucial factor in gaining parental rights, establishing child support, and addressing other family law issues. However, establishing the paternity of a child can be particularly challenging if a parent does not cooperate. If you are a mother or a father and you have a paternity-related issue, contact an experienced family law attorney for help.

Contact a Joliet Paternity Lawyer

Whether you are the mother or the father, establishing the paternity of your baby is an essential part of protecting your rights and your child’s rights. For help, contact an Illinois family law attorney at Law Offices of Tedone and Morton, P.C.. Call 815-666-1285 for a free, confidential case assessment today.

Source:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/10119-dna-paternity-test

Adopting a child is one of the most meaningful responsibilities a person can undertake. For many prospective parents, conceiving a child naturally is not possible due to age or medical conditions. For others, adoption represents a personal choice to give a child in need a loving home. Sadly, some unscrupulous individuals take advantage of hopeful parents. If you are thinking of adopting a child, it is crucial that you remain cautious of adoption scams.

Private Adoptions Can Leave Parents Vulnerable

There are many ways to adopt a child in Illinois. Many people choose to adopt a child through an adoption agency or the Department of Children and Family Services. Others opt for an independent adoption. In an independent adoption or private adoption, the adoptive parents work directly with an expectant mother. Unfortunately, independent adoptions are more susceptible to scams than other types of adoption.

The majority of the women who seek adoptive parents for their babies are kind, selfless mothers hoping to give their children a better life. However, some women who claim to be looking for adoptive parents are simply scam artists. They use deception to extort thousands of dollars from couples under the guise of medical expenses or other baby-related needs. Some scammers even go so far as to send parents fake ultrasound pictures or other fabricated evidence. Parents hoping to adopt a child can sometimes be blinded by excitement and optimism to recognize red flags of deception in a situation like this.

Protecting Yourself and Your Rights

If you want to adopt a child, the best way to ensure that you will not fall victim to an adoption scam is to work with a skilled adoption lawyer. Your attorney can help you evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various adoption avenues, guide you through the adoption process, and make sure your rights are protected. An experienced lawyer will also know to look for signs that a couple may be in the grips of an adoption scam. Finally, your adoption attorney can ensure that you do not inadvertently violate Illinois law while you pursue the adoption. Paying or receiving money in exchange for a child is a felony offense, however, paying for a mother’s cost of living expenses and giving her modest gifts is allowable.

Contact a Plainfield Adoption Lawyer for Help

Adoption is a significant legal undertaking. If you want to adopt a child, contact a skilled Illinois adoption lawyer from the Law Offices of Tedone and Morton, P.C., for help. Call our office at 815-666-1285 today for a free, confidential consultation.

Sources:

https://data.postandcourier.com/saga/stealinghope/page/1

https://adoptionnetwork.com/adoptive-parents/how-to-adopt/about-birth-parents/what-is-a-birth-mother-scam/

Most Americans in the 21st century spend a significant amount of their daily lives online. If you are used to regularly posting photos or sharing updates about your life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms, it may make sense to also discuss changes in your life, such as divorce. However, doing so can have a number of unexpected consequences. Before sharing information on social media, you will want to understand how this could potentially affect your divorce, and you may also want to take steps to protect your personal information and your privacy.

Social Media Posts That May Play a Role in Divorce Proceedings

It is important to understand that anything that is shared on social media may be public information that could be raised in divorce court. Even private messages or posts that are restricted to people you trust could eventually make their way to your spouse, so you will want to be careful about what you share. Some activities that you may want to avoid include:

• Complaining about your ex - Social media may seem like the perfect forum to vent about the anger, sadness, or other emotions you are feeling during your divorce. However, making inflammatory comments about your spouse could undermine your attempts to negotiate a settlement or reach agreements in divorce-related disputes. While your divorce is ongoing, it is often best to avoid blaming your ex for your divorce, complaining that they are being unreasonable, or stating that you are being treated unfairly during the divorce process.

• Sharing financial information - Since financial issues will be a major concern during your divorce, you will want to avoid making posts that could indicate that you have been untruthful about your income or assets. Even something that may seem harmless, such as a picture in which you are wearing new shoes or a recently-purchased watch, could be used to claim that you have unreported assets or income that should be put toward child support or spousal maintenance. If you make posts that indicate that you have made major expenditures, such as photos of a recent vacation, you may be accused of dissipating marital assets, and this may affect the decisions made during the division of marital property.

• Posts that may call your parental fitness into question - If you are involved in a dispute over the custody of your children, your spouse and their attorney may look for any information that could be used to show that you are unable to provide the care your children need. For example, pictures of you drinking alcohol or using drugs at a party could be used against you, even if they were posted by someone else.

In many cases, it is best to avoid using social media during your divorce or sharing any details of your life while your case is ongoing. If you had shared any computers or devices with your spouse, it may be a good idea to change the passwords on your social media accounts to make sure your ex cannot access your personal information or make posts in your name.

Contact Our Joliet Divorce Lawyers

At the Law Offices of Tedone & Morton, P.C., we can advise you on the best approach to take during your divorce, and we can help you address any issues related to social media, including information that your spouse is attempting to use against you or inflammatory comments or accusations your ex has posted online. To get skilled and experienced legal help, contact our Plainfield divorce attorneys at 815-666-1285 and schedule a free consultation today.

Sources:

https://socialmediaexplorer.com/conversation-report/how-to-behave-on-social-media-during-a-divorce/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefflanders/2013/08/20/how-social-media-can-affect-your-divorce/?sh=50642d4735a3

Parents are expected to financially support their children and provide for their needs. When parents are married or living together, they will usually combine their finances to cover all of their household expenses and any other costs involved in raising their children. However, the issue of financial support becomes more complicated when parents get divorced or split up. In these cases, child support orders will need to be established to ensure that both parents will contribute toward their children’s needs. Parents will want to understand what expenses are covered by child support and whether they will need to address any other costs related to raising their children.

Basic Child Support Obligations and Additional Expenses

In family law cases involving the custody of children, child support obligations will be calculated based on the total income earned by both parents. This is known as a “basic child support obligation,” and it is meant to represent the amount that a couple would have spent to cover their children’s needs if they were still married or living together. The total amount of this obligation will be allocated between the parents based on their individual income levels. In cases where parents divide parenting time equally or when children spend near-equal amounts of time in each parent’s home, additional calculations may be performed to ensure that the parents’ financial obligations address the percentage of time children live with each parent.

As the name implies, the basic child support obligation is meant to address children’s daily needs and cover expenses such as groceries, housing, utilities, and clothing. However, there are several other types of expenses that parents will usually need to address, and these expenses may be added to the parents’ child support obligations. These may include:

• Child care - Children may attend daycare while parents are working, or other forms of child care may be used, such as a nanny or babysitter. Any child care costs that are necessary due to a parent’s employment may be divided between the parents.

• Healthcare - Parents will generally be required to ensure that children are covered by health, dental, and vision insurance, and they will usually divide the costs of monthly health insurance premiums needed to maintain this coverage. Parents may also need to divide other medical expenses, including co-pays, medications, orthodontic care, therapy or psychological treatment, and any extraordinary needs for children with physical or mental disabilities.

• Educational expenses - Parents will usually be required to share the costs of school fees, private school tuition, tutoring, and any other expenses related to children’s education.

• Other expenses - Children may participate in activities such as sports, music lessons, dance classes, gymnastics, or scouting, and parents may divide the fees for these activities and the costs of equipment or transportation. Any regular expenses that do not fall into the categories described above may also need to be addressed, and parents may agree on how to share these costs.

Contact Our Will County Child Support Lawyers

During your divorce or child custody case, the Law Offices of Tedone & Morton, P.C. can help you make sure child support will be addressed correctly. We will advise you on what expenses you will need to consider, and we will help you make sure your child support order will fully address your children’s needs. To set up a free consultation, contact our Joliet child support attorneys at 815-666-1285.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050k505.htm