McKinnon Blalock Family Law

Child Support

Child support is money paid from one parent to the other for a child’s basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and lodging. Child support can be ordered in a divorce or paternity proceeding. On January 1, 2019, Illinois law was changed to follow an “income shares” model, which means that the income of both parents is factored in the child support formula. Other factors also affect the amount of child support, such as each party’s other children, if a party is paying or receiving maintenance, and the needs of the child. In addition to child support, the court can also order each parent to contribute to the child’s educational, extracurricular, and medical expenses.

Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

In recent years, the term “custody” was eliminated and replaced with allocation of parental responsibilities. It is more specific and less confusing than the previous term “custody,” which was often confused as referring to the parent who had the majority of parenting time. When determining the allocation of parental responsibilities and decision-making, the Court will consider the child’s best interest, including the ability of the parents to cooperate, the level of each parent’s past participation in decision-making, the wishes of the child, and the child’s needs. The areas of decision-making include education, health, religion and extracurricular activities.  

Parenting Time

Parenting time is determined consistent with the child’s best interest, considering the wishes of the child and parents, the history of caretaking, the distance between parents' houses and any other relevant factors. The court will try to maximize the amount of quality time with each parent. Parenting time includes regular time with a child, and special occasions, including vacation and holiday time. If parents cannot negotiate a parenting time schedule on their own, the court will make a determination of what that schedule should be based on what it believes to be best for the child. The general goal of the court is to ensure the child will spend as much time as possible with both parents, and that the parenting time schedule is consistent. 

Relocation

Relocation disputes arise when a parent seeks to move more than 25 miles away from their current residence and wants to take the child.  Whether across state lines, or across the country, these cases are among the most difficult issues in family law, as they are both contentious and difficult to settle. There is no unified guidelines in relocation matters, and they are decided on a case-by-case basis.  If parents cannot come to an agreement, a court will make the decision of whether to allow a parent to move with a child following litigation.  The court will make a decision based on the best interests of the child and will reach that decision by weighing complex factors, often with the aid of a child’s representative or GAL. 

Orders of Protection/Domestic Violence

Orders of Protection are designed to protect a victim and his or her loved ones from physical, mental, and emotional abuse by restricting what the abuser can do.  They can remove an abuser from a shared residence, prohibit them from contacting a party, and limit contact with a child.  Orders can be issued to protect a person’s personal property or force an abuser to surrender weapons, attend counseling, or refrain from drinking.

Maintenance

If one party is seeking spousal support from the other, the court will first determine whether maintenance is appropriate. In doing so, the court will consider the relevant factors, including the length of the marriage, the income, assets and earning capacity of each party, the age and health of the parties, and the standard of living established during the marriage. Courts can order maintenance to be paid on a temporary, short-term, or indefinite basis. 

Prenuptial and Post-Marital Agreements

The purpose of prenuptial and post-marital agreements is to avoid an acrimonious divorce by resolving as many or as few issues which might arise prior to a marriage. These issues include the division of property, the treatment of the party’s non-marital assets, and the rights of the parties to seek maintenance.  While discussions of pre and postnuptial agreements can be difficult, it is important for clients to feel secure in the protection of their wealth and estate.

Adoption

In an adoption, the parents assume all the rights and privileges over a child as they would have over a child born to them. In other words, they become the legal parents. Likewise, the adopted child has all the same rights and privileges in the adoptive family that a biological child does.

There are many different circumstances under which adoptions can occur. Most adoptions proceed as uncontested adoptions, but some adoptions are contested or include contested issues. In all adoptions, the rights of the biological mother and father, the adoptive mother and adoptive father, and the child/children being adopted, all need to be addressed.  

Divorce

Illinois is a “no-fault” divorce state, which means the only basis for a divorce is irreconcilable differences. Neither party is blamed for the end of the marriage. The only requirements to file for divorce in Illinois are: 1) One party must have resided in Illinois for at least 90 days, and 2) the parties must have been living separate and apart for at least 6 months. “Separate and apart” means that the parties are no longer living as though they are in a relationship and does not mean physically residing in two different places. You can file for divorce while still residing with your spouse.

Grandparent Visitation

Illinois, like many other states, do not offer much protection to grandparents regarding allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. However, there are some situations where grandparents have a right to parenting time and may even be awarded an allocation of parental responsibilities. A grandparent’s right to parenting time exists through the relationship with the child’s parent who controls whether the grandparent has access to the minor child.

Illinois law assumes the parent will manage the relationship between the grandchild and grandparent in an appropriate way. But, if the parent is deceased or cannot appropriately manage the relationship due to disability or incarceration, then the Court has the ability to allow the grandparent to have parenting time at a level that is equal to that of the parent who is unable to exercise the time.

LGBTQ Family Law

All families deserve equal rights and representation. We are committed to ensuring your rights are protected. Over the past decade, laws impacting the LGBTQ community have rapidly changed and continue to emerge. Many family law matters have unique considerations, and it is important to have an attorney that is well versed in LGBTQ issues.

Mediation

Mediation for family law issues is one of several alternative dispute resolution options available to people. Mediation is an excellent option to save time, money, and stress when going through a divorce or parentage case. Both financial issues, like child support or maintenance, and child-related matters, like parental responsibilities or parenting time, can be mediated. Mediation can be initiated by the parties at any stage of their case, even before filing.  A judge may require the parties to attend mediation on child-related issues to ensure an agreement cannot be reached before allowing a case to move forward in court.