Posted on December 28, 2017 in Main

Sexual harassment has recently been in the news more frequently than ever before. Ever since more than 80 women made allegations that film producer Harvey Weinstein had sexual harassed, assaulted, or even raped them, alleged victims of sexual harassment have been reporting incidents all over the country. The latest industry to be scrutinized for its allegedly lax sexual harassment and sexual assault policies is airlines.

A recent report on the incidence of sexual assault on airplanes shows a troubling 66 percent increase from 2014 to 2017. On average, one in five flight attendants have received a report of a passenger-on-passenger sexual assault. Alarmingly, the police were contacted in less than half of these incidents. The push is now for airlines and other industries to establish and enforce clear policies against sexual harassment in order to help prevent further inappropriate and harmful behavior.

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 Posted on December 22, 2017 in Kane

Every day, people make the decision to divorce their spouse. Sometimes, the split is related to adultery or abuse, and other times the spouses simply no longer wish to be married. For many of these couples, divorce is something they never saw in their future. Most couples get married with the hope of spending the rest of their lives together. They share not only their lives but also all of their possessions. This can make the issue of property division especially tricky during divorce.

Couples who are considering divorce may worry about how their savings account, retirement accounts, family home, vehicles, furniture, and other assets will be divided. In Illinois, property is divided based on what is “equitable.” This means that the property may not be split exactly evenly. Instead, it will be divided in accordance with what the court deems to be fair and just. Each case is different, but generally, a judge will consider factors such as:

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 Posted on December 20, 2017 in Main

There are nearly 4 million divorced parents in the United States today. For many of these parents, the holidays can be especially difficult to navigate because they have family visiting from out of town who want to see the children or who brought presents for them. How is a divorced parent supposed to please everyone during the holidays and still stay sane? The short answer is that it is impossible to please everyone when you are sharing parenting responsibilities with an ex-spouse. But with some planning and flexibility, it is possible to have a happy holiday season as a divorced parent.

Be Proactive

As the old saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” This is especially true when it comes to issues of parental responsibilities and parenting time. If you already have a parenting agreement in place, sit down with a calendar and note how your regular parenting schedule aligns with the holidays. In some formal Parental Responsibility Agreements, holidays are treated like regular days and sometimes, they have their own schedule and rules. Once you know who will have the children and when, you can start to figure out how to arrange the holiday activities or family visits. Do not wait until the last minute to make plans.

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 Posted on December 13, 2017 in Main

The issue of sexual harassment has never before been talked about with the candor and seriousness that it has been of recently. Allegations of sexual harassment that were made against many high-powered individuals such as President Donald Trump, Senator Al Franken, and film producer Harvey Weinstein, have started a fury of backlash against perpetrators of sexual abuse, both famous and unknown. In fact, Time Magazine recently announced that its prestigious “Person of the Year” designation goes to the “silence breakers”: Those brave individuals who came forward with their stories of sexual harassment and started a movement. Women and men of all ages, ethnicities, and income levels are reporting past instances of sexual harassment, assault, and other sexual misconduct.

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Sometimes the terms sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, inappropriate behavior, and abuse are used incorrectly or interchangeably. It can be confusing to know exactly what the law is. Sexual harassment is technically a form of sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment." Sexual harassment can include behaviors such as:

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 Posted on December 08, 2017 in Kane

The purpose of child support is to help the primary residential parent of a child or children to be able to afford basic necessities such as rent or mortgage payments, the child's clothing, school supplies, and their meals. Those who receive child support often depend on that extra income in order to pay their bills and maintain a good quality of life for their children. For some parents, a missed payment here and there will not cause a major financial crisis. For others living on a tight budget, a missed child support payment can be devastating. During the holidays, many parents rush to the stores to buy their children Christmas gifts. However, it is important to note that the money spent on children's Christmas gifts cannot count toward child support payments.

Changes to Child Support in Illinois

Recently, several major changes were made to the way Illinois courts calculate child support. The amount of child support that is awarded to a parent is now based on an “income shares” or “shared parenting” model. The incomes of both parents are now taken into account, rather than solely that of the paying parent. The new model also takes into consideration how much time the parents each spend with their children on an overnight basis. This is intended to help alleviate the child support costs for those parents who also spend money on their children during their parenting time. The new model is based on three main factors: the estimated total amount of money needed to raise the child, extra costs that a parent may encounter such as expenses for health care, education, and after-school activities, and the amount of overnights the child spends with each parent.

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 Posted on December 03, 2017 in Main

Marriages end in many different ways. Sometimes both spouses know that they no longer wish to be married and make the joint decision to get a divorce. Other times, one spouse announces that they want a divorce to the complete shock and dismay of the other spouse. Perhaps most commonly, a couple knows that their marriage is not doing well for months or even years before taking legal action. Both spouses hesitate to make the first move legally because they are unsure of how to even begin. They may try to hold on as long as possible before making the move to file for divorce. If you are considering divorce, you may wonder if it matters who actually files for divorce first. The answer is not simple, and there are a few factors to consider.

The Advantages of Filing First

It is important to understand that there are no real legal benefits to filing for divorce before your spouse does. During the proceedings, both you and your spouse will be subject to the same standards and have equal opportunities to make your cases to the court.

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 Posted on November 24, 2017 in Kane

Divorce is an intensely personal process that is often fraught with many challenges and difficulties. Many relationship experts suggest that divorce is the second most stressful event a person is likely to experience—only the death of a spouse is usually considered to be more stressful. Ending a marriage, however, does not always need to be turbulent and filled with acrimony. There are some practical things that you can do in advance that can make your divorce a little easier.

Know What You Have

It is not unusual for people to take their assets and property for granted. For example, you may realize that you and your spouse own your home and your vehicles, but you may also have investments that you have not thought about in years. Alternatively, many people do not realize the full value of things they own. Your collection of baseball cards or porcelain dolls may be important to you for sentimental reasons, but they may also be worth a substantial amount of money if you were to sell them.

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 Posted on November 20, 2017 in Main

If you are a divorced parent, you may find it very tough to pursue your own personal interests and hobbies. Between work and providing for your children, it might be nearly impossible to find time to travel, meet with friends, or participate in fun activities. It is important to develop an identity apart from being a parent as doing so is crucial to your psychological and emotional health. One of the biggest challenges that you are likely to face as a divorced parent is finding a sitter to care for your child when you need it. Depending on your situation, however, your parenting plan may require you to call your child's other parent first.

What is the Right of First Refusal?

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, a divorced or unmarried couple's parenting plan may grant what is known as the “right of first refusal” to one or both parents. The right of first refusal essentially gives a parent “first dibs” on the opportunity to care for the child if the other parent needs alternative childcare during his or her normal parenting time. This may seem rather complicated, but it is actually quite simple in practice.

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 Posted on November 13, 2017 in Main

Sexual harassment and sexual violence have been present for long as humans have had societies, though the issues have not always been discussed publicly. Many people point to the allegations made by Anita Hill against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991 as the beginning of the public battle against sexual harassment. In recent months, the war has been reignited with great fervor as countless high-profile individuals have been accused of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other forms of sexual misbehavior.

Perhaps the most common response to each new allegation that comes out is a question: why did the victim wait so long to come forward? If the abuser's actions were brought to light sooner, they could have been dealt with sooner. Coming forward with allegations of harassment, however, is often the most difficult thing a victim will ever have to do—especially for women who have been the victims of male abusers.

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 Posted on November 08, 2017 in Main

According to a recent study by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, up to 95 percent of workplace sexual harassment victims never file a formal complaint. Considering that thousands of formal complaints are filed every year, this means countless other victims suffer silently. If that number sounds outrageously high, take a look at the posts that have been flooding Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets in recent weeks. Chances are good that you will find countless examples of sexual harassment and assault that have gone unreported before now—many of them from family members and others in your social circles.

Such posts were prompted, in large part, by a single tweet from actress Alyssa Milano who expressed her feelings in the wake of accusations against famed film producer Harvey Weinstein. In her Twitter post, Milano encouraged women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to reply, “Me too.” Within hours, the responses began to flood social media, and Milano herself replied to her own post with a “Me too.” Women from all walks of life—including numerous other high-profile actresses and entertainers—started sharing their stories of sexual harassment, most of them marked with the trend-tracking hashtag #MeToo.

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