Chicago Divorce Law Blog

It may surprise Illinois readers to learn that more children are victims of domestic and international parental kidnappings combined, than of the stereotypical stranger kidnappings. But when two parents are locked in a bitter feud regarding child custody and visitation rights, some of them become so desperate that they feel the only way for them to see their child, or to keep their child from seeing the other parent, is to abduct the child. Yet these situations always turn out for the worse. Not only is it devastating for a child to be torn from their home and loved ones, but it also could jeopardize an abducting parent's access to their child.

A Wisconsin woman is in prison after fleeing with her three-year-old child to Tennessee. The child's father had dropped the child off at his mother's apartment, but when he returned to pick up the child four days later, the mother and his child had vanished from the apparently evicted apartment. The woman turned herself in several months later, following a search conducted by the local police in conjunction with the U.S. Marshall's Service. The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children also assisted in the recovery by distributing posters with information about the missing child. The woman now faces charges of interfering with child custody and has been denied contact with her child and the child's father.

Our legal system is constantly evolving to work towards a better future, and the same can be said of the Illinois House and Senate. In fact, the Illinois House created a bipartisan task-force known as the Family Law Study Committee to re-evaluate the state's 35 year old divorce and child support and custody laws. The result has been a bill encompassing broad changes to the current system, changes that will hopefully better serve Illinois families in the years to come.

The bill, which has been introduced before the House, would eliminate the need to establish grounds for divorce. It would also provide for the quicker issuance of divorce judgments, ranging from between 60-90 days. The bill would affect child custody and support laws as well. Under the new bill, a child's may spend at least 35 percent of their time with both their custodial and non-custodial parents, a change that would better provide for long weekends and holidays the child may wish to spend with their non-custodial parent. In addition, the bill would have child support based on the income of each parent, although the amount of time the child spends with each parent will also contribute to the final child support award.

The end of a marriage comes with many challenges. One of the biggest hurdles a couple must overcome when they divorce is the issue of spousal support. These decisions may become more complicated if it is the wife has a higher income than her husband. Chicago readers may find the following blog especially interesting.

According to a recent study, more women come into a divorce with higher salaries than those of their partner. Although this was the case in only about 16 percent of marriages surveyed, it does demonstrate that instances of higher-earning women in dual-income marriages are becoming increasingly common. It is therefore important for both spouses to consider how they will handle both their marital and non-marital property in the event of a divorce, including creating a prenuptial agreement and keeping at least some of their assets in separate bank accounts.

There are times when parents cannot come to an agreement as to how to share custody of their children, or they may feel that an existing child custody order is not fair. Sometimes, when a parent is involved in a heated child custody dispute, they may take drastic actions, including absconding to another state with their child. However, doing so could have serious consequences.

A two-year-old child is safe after being abducted by her mother, who did not have custodial rights over the child. The mother fled to Illinois with child, since she had family in the state. The woman's relatives worked with police to encourage the woman to turn herself over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which she eventually agreed to do. The child will be placed in the care of the Alabama Department of Human Resources.