Do I Need an Illinois Judge’s Permission Before I Move?

Relocations have long been a thorny issue in Chicago family law matters. One the one hand, judges like stable situations and generally abhor child disruptions. On the other hand, relocations are part of life. Most people move eleven times in their adult lifetimes. As most of these moves occur before age 40, most of them involve divorce/parenting time issues. In 2016, lawmakers significantly overhauled the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. As part of these changes, they replaced the[...]

Relocation and Parental Responsibilities in Chicago: Can I Move to a New Place With My Child?

Many divorced parents face difficult decisions about whether to take new jobs that will require moving to a new home, and sometimes to a new city and state. Prior to family law changes that took place in Illinois a couple of years ago, the process of relocation (or moving with a child) was discussed in terms of “removal.” Generally speaking, in order to move with a child before Illinois made significant changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage[...]

New Study Suggests Divorced Fathers in Illinois are Not Spending as Much Time With Their Kids

Anyone in the Chicago area who is thinking about filing for divorce and has children may know about a bill that is currently pending in the Illinois legislature concerning shared parenting. In brief, House Bill 4113 aims to amend the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) in order to have a presumption of equal parenting time, or 50/50 shared parenting time. Numerous father’s rights advocates have championed the bill while it has been met with many questions and[...]

Family Law Judges and Gender Bias

When a married couple decides to file for divorce and have children from the marriage, it can be difficult to come to an agreement about how they will share parental responsibilities. Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), when it comes to parental responsibilities and parenting time (previously known as child custody and visitation), parents can work together to develop a parenting plan that is in the best interests of the child. Creating such a parenting plan[...]

Three Routes to Establishing Paternity in Illinois

Paternity is a legal concept that refers to the identity of a child’s biological father, and there are different reasons why various individuals would want to make parentage official under Illinois law. The child’s mother may want to establish paternity to file for child support, as there must be an official record before a court can enter such an order; A man who contests that he is the biological father may want an official determination of parentage because he would[...]