In re Custody of T.W. is an interesting analysis of the superior rights doctrine, and how this doctrine, that substantiates the rights of biological parents, can be trumped by a best interests test. What do I mean by this? In this case, a child’s mother voluntarily surrendered custody of her…
Beautiful, wealthy and bright, but subject to the viscissitudes of life: Two months after television reports circulated about her husband Peter Cook’s alleged infidelity with an 18-year-old employee, Christie Brinkley has made it official: she’s seeking a divorce. Cook’s written apology to Brinkley ran in a newspaper column shortly after…
In Hartman v. Hartman, there was an action by the former husband to lower his child support payments from $1500 per month, to $500 per month, while providing $500 in maintenance. Mr. Hartman may have wished to do this to allow for some tax benefits for part of his monthly…
Hearsay is permitted in some contested custody cases. Guardians ad litem can consider hearsay in making recommendations to the court concerning the best interest of a child. In fact, in Illinois a guardian ad litem can even rely on inadmissible evidence that may have been wrongfully obtained, such as by…
When should a GAL or Child’s Rep be appointed? In all cases? When it is clear that the parents are looking after only their own interests and the interests of the child may be seriously neglected, it is recommended to the trial court that an attorney for the child or…
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 907 will set forth the minimum standards of practice for attorneys who represent children in contested custody cases. DuPage County and Kane County dissolution of marriage cases will be subject to the new Rule expected to be effective as of the new year 2007. The Rules,…
Illinois’ child support scheme is not unusual, but in practice it can be so simple as to be unfair. In order to simplify the statutory child support scheme, the legislature determined that in most cases, the so-called non-residential parent (typically the father) shall be ordered to pay a fixed amount…
Divorce creates enormous stresses on the divorcing parents, and the anxiety with divorcing parents can be most profound. Clients from throughout Illinois have asked me to develop strategies for protecting their parenting rights, and I have found that advocating and developing “out of the box” strategies for parenting plans are…
Illinois’ child support scheme raises many questions in the minds of many of my clients. Many residential custody mothers feel that the Illinois statutory guidlines do not provide enough financial support from the nonresidential fathers, and feel that as the father’s income rises, so should the level of support. Conversely,…
In DuPage and Kane County, Collaborative Divorce is becoming more prevalent. Clients want an alternative to stressful, expensive “court wars.” Many clients ask me about divorce mediation (I am a certified mediator for DuPage County). Some cases, however, might benefit from a new approach to mindful, non-litigated divorce…Collaborative Law. What…