Research shows that divorce is consistently ranked as one of the most traumatizing experiences a person can go through. While not all divorces are this challenging, for some people, divorce signals an end to a major part of their life. Even when divorce is absolutely the right decision, it can come with feelings of loss, guilt, and grief that can be hard to shake, even after a long time has passed since a divorce is finalized. 

Divorce is often a highly contentious affair, leaving both spouses with feelings of bitterness and resentment. While spouses usually share a last name during their marriage, they also usually change their name back to their premarital name after divorce. When spouses have hyphenated their names, or when a mother gets majority parenting time and the child has the father’s last name, there may be good reason for wanting to change the child’s last name as well. But changing a child’s last name after divorce is not an easy process. If you are divorced and interested in changing your child…

Any divorce attorney worth their salt will emphasize the importance of strategically planning for your Illinois divorce. Perhaps the most important phase of the entire divorce process, the planning stage begins with collecting accurate information and setting realistic expectations so you and your Illinois divorce attorney can work together as a team. 

While same-sex marriage is now legal around the United States, the unfortunate reality is that LGBTQ couples can still face challenges during their divorce that straight couples do not. Because establishing parentage of a child of heterosexual parents is usually a matter of straightforward biology for both father and mother, establishing custody of a child is an easier process than it can be when a parent in an LGBTQ couple is not the biological parent of a child. 

Illinois law has created statutory guidelines to determine what, if any, child support amount is appropriate in a given case, and every few years the guidelines are amended for inflation and political and social realities. While the majority of child support cases are decided using the guidelines, some cases require a more customized approach. If you are involved in a child support dispute, negotiation, or mediation, the help of an experienced Illinois family law attorney may be useful to you.