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Orders of Protection and Parenting Time Questions
Domestic violence is sadly an all too common occurrence in this day and age. It can destroy lives and families. Besides its obvious dangers, it can also cause significant, long-lasting harm to the children of families who go through it. Allegations of domestic violence are taken extremely seriously considering parental responsibility and parenting time questions. If you have been the victim of domestic violence, you may be able to show that your abusive spouse should have no further contact with your children, even in a situation where they would otherwise have co-parenting rights.
Illinois Definition
Illinois defines domestic violence as not only physically injuring a family member (whether they are related by blood, marriage, or adoption), but also “interfering with personal liberty,” in situations such as kidnapping or false imprisonment. When there are children involved, there is even more of a zero tolerance policy than there would be otherwise. The Illinois legislature actually holds, as a matter of policy, that cases of domestic violence involving children are generally to be handled with special consideration.
Challenging an Order of Protection Based on False Accusations
There is no doubt that domestic violence continues to be a scourge on families throughout Illinois and across the country. Those who claim otherwise are sadly misguided. While domestic abuse affects millions of individuals and families, it does not necessarily happen in every household. The nature of the problem, however, means that accusations of abuse are often taken very seriously while claims of innocence by the accused tend to fall on deaf ears. Sometimes, such accusations can be formalized in an order of protection, resulting in the restriction of certain rights and freedoms for the accused. If the accused has done nothing wrong, this is not only unfair but also completely unacceptable.
Sadly, it is relatively easy for a person who feels betrayed or angry—including a spouse going through a particularly nasty divorce—to exaggerate or make up stories of abuse at the hands of a former partner. The accuser may be trying to gain an advantage in proceedings for the allocation of parental responsibilities (child custody) or he or she may simply want to make life more difficult for the accused. If you find yourself in such a situation, it is important to know what to do to protect yourself.
Emergency Orders of Protection
Approximately one in three women and one in four men have been the victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse at the hands of their intimate partner. If you or your child have been victims of domestic violence, you may feel alone, frightened, or confused. You want things to be different but you may be unsure as to your next steps. In many cases of domestic violence, the first step is to place a legal barrier between yourself and your abuser. Petitioning the court for an emergency order of protection can help ensure the safety and security of you and your child.
How to Get an Emergency Order
Fortunately, requesting an emergency order of protection is rather simple. You can file your petition with the court of the county you live in or in the county where you are temporarily staying. Your petition can also be filed in the county where your abuser lives. You can file your petition with an available circuit court judge or associate judge if the court is closed for the weekend or a holiday. The process requires you to make a sworn statement regarding your abuse, usually in the form of an affidavit. Based your testimony, the judge can issue an emergency order of protection without the appearance of your abuser.
Shared Parenting Time Now Affects Child Support Obligations
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about the new child support law in Illinois. As you are now probably aware, the state legislature passed a measure last year that took effect July 1, 2017, and changed how child support obligations are calculated in the state. The most impactful change brought about by the new law is the shift from considering just one parent’s income when calculating child support to taking both parents’ income into account. With that change alone, the new law would be more equitable than the previous version, but there are other factors that could also affect the calculations. For example, according to the new child support model, shared parenting time may now be considered when determining a paying parent’s obligation.
Previous Concerns
Under the previous child support law, paying parent’s obligation was based on two main factors—his or her income and the number of children being supported. The payment amount was, in most cases, a percentage of the paying parent’s income, using a table provided in the law. He or she would pay 20 percent of his or her net income for one child, 26 percent for two, on up to 50 percent for six or more children. The support obligation, however, was not affected by the amount of parenting time the paying parent enjoyed. As a result, a parent with 45 percent of the parenting time with his or her child could still be obligated to pay the same as a parent with 5 or 10 percent of the parenting time, presuming the same number of children and similar incomes.
Calculating Child Support Under the New Law
Last month, a new law took effect in Illinois that dramatically changed the way that family courts are expected to calculate child support obligations. In the eyes of many throughout the state, the new law was long overdue, as the previous method only took into account the income of the paying parent. Today’s world is very different the one that existed 30 or 40 years ago, and few families rely on a single income—especially those who have gone through a divorce.
The Old Method
Under the previous guidelines, child support payments were typically set as a percentage of the paying parent’s income based on the number of children being supported. A parent supporting one child would pay 20 percent of his or her net income, 28 percent for two children, and so on up to 50 percent for six or more children. The amount could be adjusted by the court for circumstantial reasons, but the formula was the benchmark. Paying parents were granted virtually no consideration for shared parenting time nor the income of the recipient parent.
New Illinois Child Support Law Now in Effect
If you currently pay or receive child support in the state of Illinois, you are probably somewhat familiar with how your order was calculated. The payments were most likely determined based on the paying parent’s income and the number of children they were meant to support. Beginning last month, however, Illinois courts must now use a new method for calculating support payments—one that most agree is much more equitable than in the past.
An Outdated Model
For many years, Illinois clung to a child support model that traced its roots back several decades to a time when it was much more common for a household to rely on a single income. When the law was first enacted, a divorce typically left the primary wage-earner—usually the husband and father—responsible for assisting the wife and mother with household finances by way of alimony and child support payments. From that perspective, it is understandable, to an extent, that the calculations should be based on the income generated by the sole breadwinner.
Business Valuations in Divorce
In some cases, when a couple is seeking a divorce, a family business is one of the assets to be divided. Depending on the method chosen, it can be done very easily, with minimal interference to the company’s day-to-day operations. Before a business can be considered in property division proceedings, however, a business valuation is usually required so that the court can determine just how much the company may be worth.
Business Value and Asset Division
The main problem that many couples encounter when trying to achieve an equitable asset distribution when there is a business involved is that it is quite common for a business to be worth more than all other marital assets. If the company is well established and does brisk business, the bulk of the marital income may come from it. This can be resolved, in most cases, by one of two options. The business can be sold and the spouses will split the proceeds, or a structured property settlement can be established, wherein one spouse is paid the offset value of the business over a long period of time.
New Study Suggests That a Tension-Filled Family Can Cause Physical Illness
Many couples who are considering divorce fear for their children’s well-being. Divorce can be extremely tough on a child, as virtually everything about his or her life may change. A new study suggests that a hostile divorce can even affect a child’s physical health.
Physiological Effects of Divorce?
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh quarantined 201 healthy adults and exposed them to a strain of the common cold virus. They then checked for signs of respiratory distress or illness. Of the study’s participants, some grew up in a two-parent household while others came from divorced families. A portion of those from divorced families came from amiable situations with both parents continuing to have healthy levels of non-hostile communication. Other adults in the study had two parents who never spoke to each other after their divorce, and deep tension persisted in their families.
The results of the study showed that the adults raised amidst a tumultuous divorce were more likely to show symptoms of the virus. Individuals who grew up in two-parent households and those from divorced, yet cordial, households were the least likely to catch a cold from the virus. These findings suggest that it is not the divorce itself which can be harmful to children but the post-divorce relationship between the parents.
Casual Relationship Contracts
If you are planning to get married in the near future, you may have given some thought to a prenuptial agreement. For those with complicated finances or business interests, a prenuptial agreement can be used to help avoid problems down the road. But what about your relationship itself? Is there anything you can do to designate who will have what responsibilities during your marriage? As it turns out, there just might be a type of non-binding contract worth your consideration.
A New Type of Marriage Contract
The New York Times recently ran an article entitled “To Stay in Love, Sign on the Dotted Line” which has created a great deal of interest in various circles. The author explains that she and her boyfriend use a relationship contract to keep track of their mutual goals and aspirations as well as to spell out rules for their relationship. The two live together so the contract specifies everything from who will do what chores and when to a dog-walking schedule to financial guidelines. For example, the contract provides that when the couple goes out to dinner the bill will be split but leaves exceptions for special events or if one person wants to treat the other. The author admits that this idea may seem businesslike, but that is it deeply important to her and her partner. “Writing a relationship contract may sound calculating or unromantic,” she writes, “but every relationship is contractual; we’re just making the terms more explicit. It reminds us that love isn’t something that happens to us — it’s something we’re making together.”
How Stalkers Can Use Your Own Phone Against You
Cyberstalking is becoming an increasingly common component of domestic abuse. Most cell phones have GPS and location features which could be providing an abuser with a victim’s exact location, and it happens more than you might think.
To determine the extent of the problem, NPR interviewed 70 domestic violence shelters across the United States, and the results are staggering. Nearly 85 percent of shelters reported that they work with victims whose abusers used GPS to stalk and harass them. Even more disturbing, three-quarters of shelters have found hidden apps on victims’ mobile devices used to eavesdrop on conversations. Most domestic abuse shelters encourage victims to turn off the location services on their cell phones and to disconnect from social media apps like Facebook to help prevent this.
The Main Goal of Stalking Is to Gain Control
Cell phones are not the only risk related to being cyberstalked. A woman in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, discovered a GPS tracking device in her shoes, which was feeding location information to her abuser. Many abusers will use the information gathered from these types of malware to harass their victims and gain power over them. For example, an abuser may constantly question the victims’ whereabouts and forbid them from going to certain homes or locations.
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