If you are getting married, a great deal of change will occur in your life. A majority of this change will likely be beneficial for you and your new spouse. However, if you had children in a previous marriage before getting divorced, your new marriage may impact child support and visitation.

Child Support

Historically, remarrying did not impact child support as courts did not examine the amount of a new spouse's earnings. This changed slightly when, in an Illinois Appellate Court decision, it was held that the “trial court may equitably consider the income of a parent's current spouse in determining an appropriate award of support.” As a result, courts are not prohibited from considering a new spouses income when addressing certain modifications of child support.

Advances in science have given couples great opportunities to overcome fertility issues, and in other cases, opportunities to preserve their chances of having children by freezing embryos. However, when a couple decides to have a child, either through surrogacy or by preserving embryos for future use, they need to consider the consequences of those decisions in the event of a divorce or separation.

Frozen Embryos

There is not a specific Illinois law or court case that outlines what happens to embryos when parents divorce or separate. In fact, this is a question that an Illinois Appellate Court will soon rule; a prospective father wants to stop a prospective mother from using embryos without his consent.

Recently, the Illinois law governing child custody and visitation was changed to provide parents in a joint custody arrangement with an opportunity to spend more time with their child. Prior to the amendment, unless otherwise agreed, a parent who had to arrange for childcare during his or her custodial parenting time had no obligation to notify the other parent of the opportunity to care for the child. However, this change to the law now requires a parent, who needs childcare for a significant period of time during his or her arranged parenting time, to first contact the other parent to see if he or she is able to take the child at that time.

Right of First Refusal

The right of first refusal, as the new provision is called, may be granted to one or both parents in a joint custody arrangement by a judge in his or her discretion. As with most other issues surrounding child custody and visitation, a judge arrives at the decision to grant or deny the right of first refusal by considering the best interests of the child. The law recognizes that it is in the best interest of the child to spend as much time as possible with a parent, instead of a child care provider. The only exception to this right being triggered is in cases of emergency. However, when one parent has advanced notice of needing childcare, he or she has to inform the other parent first.

Having children is one of life's major decisions. Whether a couple decides to have a child before or after marriage, there are issues that can arise if the couple decides to later separate. These issues usually revolve around visitation, child custody and child support. Generally, these issues are handled the same as a couple going through divorce. However, there may be some complications in resolving these issues when it comes to unwed parents, depending on the couple's relationship.

The first step to dealing with custody and visitation of children born to an unwed couple is to determine paternity of the child. There are three ways in which paternity can be established in Illinois. Some of these ways may include a DNA test. Paternity can be established by:

During a divorce in which children are involved, one of the main issues may be determining visitation. Whether the parents have joint custody or one parent has sole custody, visitation may still be an issue. Visitation in Illinois is considered more for the benefit of the child, and a parent who is not awarded primary custody is entitled to reasonable visitation, unless a court determines that visitation is not in the best interest of the child. However, Illinois law requires that before a judge may restrict or limit visitation, a hearing must be held to determine whether awarding a parent visitation would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional health.

How to Set a Visitation Schedule