Posted on July 28, 2017 in Kane

The lazy days of summer are coming to an end, and many families are preparing for a new school year. Getting back into the swing of school after summer break can be especially chaotic for families who have experienced a major change like a divorce or separation. Who will buy the backpacks? Who will pick up the kids after school? How will parent-teacher communication work? Every situation is different but there are some steps parents can take to help ease the transition from summer to the school year.

1. Let your child's teacher know about the family circumstances. If you and your ex have recently separated, you may be unsure how to make sure both parents stay in the loop regarding homework, projects, and special events. Letting the teacher know that your child splits his time between two households helps the teacher accommodate the situation. Make sure the school has both parents' contact information. Also let the school know if any other adults like step-parents will be picking up the kids after school;

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 Posted on July 24, 2017 in Main

Under Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to discriminate against any employee on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, sex or nationality. This means that an employer cannot use a person's gender as an excuse to treat him or poorly. Sadly, sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be a common occurrence, as a recent high-profile example demonstrates.

In April, the controversial television host Bill O'Reilly was fired from the Fox News Channel after five women claimed that they were harassed by him. O'Reilly allegedly made inappropriate remarks about a woman's skin color, allegedly made lewd comments to other women, and allegedly even called women on the phone while he was masturbating. The women were allegedly told that if they complained that they would “pay so dearly that [they]'ll wish [they] had never been born.” Reports indicate that O'Reilly and the network have paid out more than $13 million in settlements related to the allegations.

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 Posted on July 13, 2017 in Main

A few weeks ago, a post on this blog discussed the problems that a prominent tech company faced following allegations of widespread sexual harassment and attitudes that permeated the culture of the organization. In the months since, a former Uber software engineer went public with her experiences, dozens of other women in tech startups have come forward with stories of their own. The entire tech industry, it seems, is a hotbed for inappropriate behavior toward women. Ironically, technology may be one of the keys to tracking down and eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace.

Work Emails and Text Messaging

A growing number of companies around the country exchange information by email and instant messaging using company-specific servers. It is often on these very servers that abusers send sexually-charged messages, comments, or propositions to their victims. Developing technology, however, allows network administrators to install a type of artificial intelligence (AI) on the server to analyze any data being exchanged. AI systems are already being used to help gauge employee morale, as such concerns are often expressed in inter-company emails and messages, and experts believe similar programs could be developed to screen messages for sexual content.

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 Posted on July 12, 2017 in Kane

Sometimes, a marriage is doomed from the beginning for one reason or another. Some couples may find a glaring incompatibility, while others discover that their marriage is void (or voidable) as a matter of law. While, in theory, any married couple can file for divorce, in some cases, it may be easier or more fulfilling to obtain a declaration of invalidity of marriage in Illinois—especially if there is a legal impediment to your marriage and not just personal differences.

Grounds to Claim Invalidity

In Illinois, there are four grounds on which a person can petition to have their marriage declared invalid:

1. The lack of capacity of either party to consent to the marriage due to a factor such as mental illness, fraud, or force;
2. The inability of one party to physically consummate the marriage;
3. One or both parties being underage and lacking the appropriate permission of their parent or guardian to marry; or

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 Posted on June 28, 2017 in Kane

Major revisions have been approved to the way that child support is calculated by courts in Illinois. The topic has been the center of debate for a number of years, and many believe the change is long overdue. Effecitve July 1, 2017, there is an entirely new method of determining how much a supporting parent is required to pay.

What Is New About the Law?

The law, which took effect on July 1, amends the existing “percentage of obligor's net income” methodology for child support calculations. Critics have long maintained that such a model is too static, one-sided, and outdated. Under the new law, Illinois will begin using the “income shares” model that is presently in use in many other states.

Under the former law, the way that courts calculated child support for either parent was primarily based on using a fixed percentage of the nonresidential parent's income and the number of children involved in the order. For example, if there was one child to support, the parent without primary residential responsibilities would be expected to pay at least 20 percent of his or her net income in child support. Because those calculations did not take into account the income of the other parent, they produced results, in many cases, that did not sufficiently address the best interests of the children involved.

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 Posted on June 14, 2017 in Kane

While parents all want to do what is best for their children, including allowing their voices to be heard, sometimes their wishes are not what is in their best interest. Depending on the circumstances, this may also prove to be the case in divorce and parental responsibility proceedings. In many instances, a judge will consider a child's wishes regarding which parent they live with, but a child's wishes are not the deciding factor.

What Does the Law Say?

Illinois law holds that a child's wishes regarding residential living arrangements can be taken into account as long as the child's “maturity and ability to express reasoned and independent preference” is appropriately considered. In other words, the wishes of a child who is better able to express themselves in a manner consistent with them forming an independent opinion will be given more weight than that of a child who simply parrots their parent or older sibling. Generally, this means that older children's opinions will have more impact, but this is not always the case. An extremely articulate younger child might very well have a firm grasp on the situation and could, therefore, be taken more seriously.

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 Posted on June 07, 2017 in Main

The transition from being married to being divorced is not an easy one. You are still technically married but may be living apart from your spouse, and household items are beginning to be divided. Children may begin spending time with both parents separately. There is no perfect way to execute a separation but experts agree that creating healthy boundaries and rules at the beginning of the process can prevent conflict later in the divorce proceedings.

Be Proactive Instead of Reactive

The best way to avoid conflict with your soon-to-be-ex is to establish rules and boundaries from the very beginning. Sit down with your spouse in a quiet, neutral location and discuss your situation, writing down notes as you go. Consider issues such as:

• Under what circumstances does a spouse have permission to enter the other spouse's residence? It is always better to double check before stopping by at your spouse's residence, even if many of your personal belongings are still there. Tension is high, and surprise visits may create unneeded stress;

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 Posted on May 31, 2017 in Kane

Divorce can affect couples from all walks of life, even the financially flush. However, when wealthy people decide to end their marriage, the proceedings can differ somewhat from those who have relatively few assets to divide. For a wealthier couple, there will understandably be a more prolonged discovery period, as well as a focus on ensuring that all assets are properly identified and evaluated.

What Is Equitable Distribution?

The primary issue in high-value divorces is that because so much is at stake, each party is more likely to dig in and fight for what they see as their rightful share. In some cases, however, it is not the spouses but the court that decides what is an appropriate distribution. Illinois is an equitable distribution state, meaning that property is not divided 50/50 as it would be in a community property state. Rather, experts help evaluate each asset so that each party may receive a share that is equitable and fair based on the circumstances of the situation.

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 Posted on May 24, 2017 in Main

Sometimes, cases do not work out exactly the way we think they will. You may not receive the full amount of maintenance or child support that you were seeking, or you might not receive the parenting time you desired. While some decisions cannot be challenged, many if not most can be appealed or petitions may be filed to request reconsideration. In short, in most cases, all is not lost if you receive a denial or other unsatisfactory result.

Appeals and Motions

There are two primary methods through which a request to reconsider may be filed in Illinois. Which one you should use depends on the nature of the perceived problem with your case. If you believe that the judge made an error of law, and your attorney raised the proper objection at the proper time, it is appropriate to file an appeal. The Illinois Supreme Court Rules govern the relevant procedure, and the requirements are strict. You must file your appeal within 30 days of the final judgment's entry (or the entry of the relevant order, in some situations), and the record is restricted to questions of law. You may not simply re-litigate your case in a new courtroom.

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 Posted on May 17, 2017 in Kane

Divorce is a difficult decision to make. Sometimes, a couple may hesitate on pulling the proverbial trigger even though they are well aware that their marriage is in trouble. If you are in this situation, a legal separation may be an idea, as you receive many of the benefits of divorce without giving up all of the benefits of being married just yet. Be advised, however, that most people “separate” colloquially, meaning that they take no steps to protect their assets like bank accounts or titles to vehicles. Legal separation, by comparison, has specific procedures that must be followed.

Changes to the Law

Before changes were enacted in 2016, legal separation was used by many couples who did not have sufficient grounds to divorce, or by couples whose religion either prohibited or frowned upon divorce. With the abolition of fault grounds, fewer people use the procedure because obtaining a divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences is much easier than it was in the past. However, it is still the choice for many who simply cannot make the decision to divorce for whatever reason.

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