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The Basics of an Illinois Stepparent Adoption
Adoption is usually thought of as the process in which a single- or two-parent household brings a new child into their home, but not all adoptions happen this way. In fact, some adoptions involve a child that is already known and loved by the adopting parent.
One such example is the stepparent adoption.
In such cases, the stepparent is usually already a part of the family unit, and the biological parent in question may be out of the picture, no longer interested in being in the child’s life, or detrimental to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional development. Learn more about pursuing a stepparent adoption in Illinois, and discover how our seasoned family law attorneys can help to ease the process for your family.
What to Know Before Starting the Stepparent Adoption Process
While the stepparent adoption process in Illinois is fairly straightforward, there are some critical elements that must be present before the adoption can take place. First, Illinois state law usually requires that the stepparent is married to the child’s custodial parent (the parent with the most decision-making power and, usually, the most amount of parenting time). Second, the child cannot have three parents. As such, the biological parent must either voluntarily relinquish their parental rights, or they must be deemed as “unfit” by the courts and have their rights revoked. Statutory grounds that are necessary for deeming a biological parent unfit by the courts include:
Seeking Child Support When the Father Denies Paternity
Some child support cases are straightforward, such as those involving divorcing parents, where paternity is assumed. Unfortunately, when the law does not automatically establish paternity, obtaining child support can be far more difficult. Perhaps the most challenging of situations are those that involve a father who outright denies paternity.
Establishing Paternity in Illinois
If the parents of a child were not married at the time of the birth, paternity must be legally established through one of three methods:
- A Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) is signed by both the mother and father and filed with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DHFS);
- An Administrative Paternity Order is pursued by DHFS; or
- An Order of Paternity is established by the courts.
VAP forms are only considered as valid if both the mother and the father agree on paternity. Otherwise, paternity is established through another method. In cases where the father denies paternity altogether, the courts of DHFS may request a DNA test.
Starting the Illinois Adoption Process
Adoption is one of the most rewarding decisions that a person can make. Of course, that single decision soon becomes just one of many. Some of the decisions you have to make will be fun or simple: coming up with a theme for the nursery, figuring out where the child will go to school, etc. Others will be more complex, and some might even feel like taxing, multilayered decisions, such as knowing if you are comfortable with the child knowing his or her birth parents.
You must also decide when and how you would like to adopt, as there are several avenues that one can pursue on this journey. Some prospective parents choose to adopt through an agency, while others decide to go through the state. There are those who would prefer an international adoption and others that would rather adopt a child in foster care. Whatever your path, know that you do not have to travel it alone. The following information, along with the assistance of a seasoned family law attorney, can make all the difference in the weeks and months ahead.
What Female Entrepreneurs Should Know Before Filing for an Illinois Divorce
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 20 percent of all businesses in the United States are now owned by women. While the 2.8 percent increase from the previous year might be considered a win for gender equality, female business owners still face serious risks if their marriage ends in a divorce. Learn how to protect your enterprise during an Illinois divorce in the following sections, and discover how a seasoned divorce lawyer can assist you with the process.
Divorce Risks Often Higher for Female Business Owners
While any business-owning party can be at risk for extreme financial loss during a divorce, the overall risk for female entrepreneurs is significantly higher. Part of this could be because men are more likely to protect their companies, as they have been advised to do so for decades, but other factors play into this increased risk as well. For example, women are more likely to be the victims of domestic and financial abuse. They may also be less likely to envision their company as successful (until it actually is). Women are also less likely to initiate a prenuptial agreement, even when they have a substantial amount of wealth before their marriage.
Debt and Divorce - What Divorcing Couples Should Know Before Filing with Marital Debt
When divorcing couples think about the process ahead, they tend to focus on the division of their assets. However, it is important to understand that marital debt is usually factored into the divorce settlement as well. Learn more about divorcing with joint debt, and discover what a seasoned divorce attorney can do to improve the outcome of your case and future financial standing.
How Debt is Divided During an Illinois Divorce
Debt is handled a lot like assets in a divorce; parties report any debts that they have and they decide whom will be responsible for it. Some negotiate this matter, while others have their debts and assets divided by a judge. In either case, the balance of the debt is usually deducted from the settlement amount. The assumed “owner” of the debt is then responsible for paying it back. Unfortunately, if the spouse that is responsible for the debt defaults, creditors may start looking at the other party to collect any remaining balance.
Wealth, the Risk of Divorce, and How to Protect Your Assets
Money is one of the leading stressors in a marriage, which also makes it one of the leading causes of divorce in the United States. It is not necessarily a lack of money that leads to a divorce, however. In fact, statistics show that divorce rates actually rise during periods of economic growth instead of declining, which suggests that a couple’s relationship with money (and how it ultimately affects their relationship with each other), is more of an influential factor in their risk of divorce than the balance of their bank account.
How Wealth Can Increase One’s Risk of a Divorce
Wealth is often seen as the answer to all money problems, but the upper-middle-class and barely wealthy can prove this simply is not the case. They can experience the same issues that lead to financial strain for lower-income families - the ever-increasing cost of living, child tuition costs, student loan debts, expected lifestyle, social pressures, etc. - and they can just as easily over-expend. If the financial strain becomes bad enough, the marriage may start to crumble. Fears over losing one’s status, feelings of guilt or remorse for the poor choices that one made during the couple’s downfall, and casting blame at the other party can further exacerbate matters. If left to fester, or if financial strain worsens, a divorce may ultimately ensue.
Congress Rejects Anti-LGBTQ Adoption Amendment
The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community has experienced some major victories in the past few years, including the requirement that all states allow and recognize same-sex marriages. Their most recent win came when Congress rejected a discriminatory amendment that would have negatively impacted their ability to adopt a child. Sadly, the very presence of that amendment proves that the battle for equality is still far from over. Learn how you can protect your rights as an adopting LGBTQ parent, and discover how our seasoned family law attorneys can assist you with the process.
Addition and Rejection of Discriminatory Amendment - What it All Means
Discrimination is far from a new experience for members of the LGBTQ community, but when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could no longer ban same-sex marriages, many hoped the worst would be over. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In fact, an alarming number of LGBTQ couples have been denied the right to end their marriage in divorce. Even when successful in obtaining a divorce, parties may be at risk of losing their parental rights to a child if they did not establish legal guardianship during their marriage. A total of 10 states also have laws with language that is similar to the recently rejected amendment.
Modifying a Child Support Order - What Every Paying Parent Should Know
Illinois law states that children have the right to emotional and financial support from both of its biological parents, and it protects those rights through different measures. Child support is one of the more commonly known and discussed, yet obligors are often confused about where their responsibility ends and begins. Moreover, they are not always informed of their rights, such as the right to request a modification if a significant change in circumstances occurs.
When Can an Obligor Request a Modification to Child Support?
When child support orders are established, the income of each biological parent is used in the calculations, as are the specific needs of the child (i.e. children with special needs, etc.). The time that each parent spends with the child may have been used as well, but such considerations have only recently become commonplace. If a substantial change has occurred in any of these areas - the income of the biological parents, the child’s needs, or the amount of time that each parent spends with the child - then either parent may request a modification to their order of support.
Easing the Pain and Stress of an Illinois Divorce
Divorce is not something that couples typically think about on the day of their marriage. Yet, each year, thousands of couples decide to end their relationship. Many consider this process to be a painful one, full of grief and loss, but it is also the end of a legally binding contract. As such, the decisions that are made over the duration of a divorce can have a lasting impact on the lives of all involved parties, including any children they share.
Thankfully, when divorcing parties choose to deal with the pain and stress of divorce in a healthy way, they tend to make more well-informed and carefully thought-out decisions. As a result, the long-term impact that divorce has on their lives, and the lives of their children is minimized. Learn how you can do this during your Illinois divorce, and discover the role that a seasoned divorce attorney plays in that process.
Changing Your Perspective on the Process of Divorce
How the Millennial Generation is Changing Marriage and Divorce
Divorce rates for the American population have been on the decline for several years now, but until recently, no one really understood why. After an analysis from the University of Maryland, experts believe the decline can be directly attributed to the millennial generation. However, it is not just the divorce rate that this demographic is influencing; they are also doing marriage very differently than their predecessors. Learn more in the following sections, including how a seasoned family law attorney can help you protect your marriage, should a divorce ever occur, or assist you in pursuing a favorable outcome in a pending Illinois divorce case.
Millennials and Marriage
The institution of marriage was once a way of life, what was expected of younger people when they left home. Sadly, those marriages often ended in divorce, either because the parties faced irreconcilable differences or simply decided that they were no longer happy or compatible. Some of those divorcees eventually remarried again; a fair percentage of those marriages also ended in divorce. Millennials are doing things a little differently. Many are waiting until they have an education and career in place before tying the knot - if they decide to do it at all. As a result, they are inherently less likely to divorce. Millennial couples are also signing prenuptial agreements at an almost unprecedented rate, which is helping to protect parties if a divorce does later occur.
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