Even when a parenting plan has worked well for years, children get older, parents’ living and work arrangements change, and everyone may find that an existing parenting plan no longer works. If you are interested in changing your parenting plan - especially if you believe your child’s other parent may not agree to the changes - it is important to understand when parenting plans can be modified and what your options may be. Read on to learn more about this important topic, and then contact an Illinois family lawyer for help. 

Understand What You Need to Change

Parenting plans in Illinois are made of two separate but important components: The allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. Parental responsibilities is the term for describing which parent has the authority to make important decisions on behalf of the child regarding healthcare, religious upbringing, education, and extracurricular activities. You and your ex may share parental responsibilities, or you may each make decisions in a particular area. Parenting time is simply the schedule that describes the time each child spends with each parent, including weekend and holiday schedules. Your circumstances may necessitate a change in parental responsibilities, parenting time, or both. 

Substantial Change in Circumstances

Generally speaking, courts want children to experience as much stability and predictability as possible. If your parenting plan was originally ordered or changed in the last two years and you and the other parent disagree about the proposed modification, you usually cannot ask for a change in parental responsibilities unless a child is in danger. 

Despite increased cultural awareness of the potential power imbalance inherent in certain workplace relationships, people continue to meet, date, and eventually marry romantic partners at work. The constant close proximity with colleagues, in addition to the challenges people often tackle at work together, create an easy opportunity for close personal relationships to develop. 

Although these relationships may start consensually and may not violate any workplace agreements or codes of conduct, when they end, the awkwardness and unpleasantness of a personal breakup often carry over into the workplace. Unfortunately, one former partner may continue to act in a sexually aggressive way or make unwanted advances at work. If you are the target of this type of sexual harassment, it is important to know that you are still a victim of unethical behavior that may rise to the level of illegality. Your employer may be responsible for taking action. 

Can Sexual Harassment Happen at Work After a Breakup? 

Victims of sexual harassment from a former romantic partner may be hesitant to come forward because of the fear of exposing their relationship, facing ridicule, or not being taken seriously. This can be especially true when one or both former partners are either married or in a relationship with someone else and a workplace sexual harassment claim risks exposing a secret relationship that could jeopardize someone’s marriage. 

Couples (or one individual partner) often consider divorce long before they actually discuss it or begin the process of finding attorneys and filing for divorce. Being unprepared for a divorce can cause major disruptions in a family’s life, and there are many things to consider carefully before officially getting started. 

One obstacle that often results in a delay between wanting to get a divorce and actually filing for one is when couples cannot afford to live independently of each other. With home prices and rents rising astronomically over the last year, a couple may feel trapped in their current living situation but also feel as though there are no other options. If this situation sounds familiar to you, you may be surprised to learn that you can actually get divorced even if you are still living in the same house throughout your divorce process and even after the divorce is finalized. 

Living Separate and Apart

While Illinois couples need not (and cannot) accuse each other of fault in divorce, such as infidelity or abandonment, they do still have to show that their relationship has ended because of irreconcilable differences. One way this is done is through living separate and apart. 

In an effort to address widespread complaints about significant rates of sexual harassment in Illinois restaurants, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law in 2019 requiring restaurants to provide sexual harassment prevention training to employees. However, even though most restaurants are meeting their legal training requirements, sexual harassment continues unabated at many institutions. 

Restaurants can be particularly difficult workplaces to manage cases of sexual harassment because the atmosphere is often hectic, casual, and friendly. Coworkers frequently date each other and outgoing, flirtatious personalities tend to be drawn to customer-facing roles where tips can be significant. Nevertheless, unwanted sexual attention is something no one should have to deal with at work, and it is possible to draw clear lines between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. If you work at an Illinois restaurant and need help dealing with sexual harassment at work, contact an experienced sexual harassment attorney. 

What Behavior is Considered Sexual Harassment in a Restaurant? 

While restaurant environments are generally more casual than office workplaces, the same kind of behavior that constitutes sexual harassment of a secretary or banker is considered sexual harassment of a waitress or bartender. Studies suggest that, like in other industries, restaurant workers are often sexually harassed by managers and coworkers, but restaurants present a unique opportunity for employees to be sexually harassed by customers - especially those under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This often leads to customers who: 

Parents of minor children who are getting divorced in Illinois have so many things they need to take care of before the final divorce verdict is handed down. In addition to issues of property division, spousal support, and child support, they must create a workable parenting plan and make significant adjustments in their living arrangements. It is no wonder that in the chaos and difficulty of making sure the children are well cared for and adjusted that sometimes little details slip by unnoticed. 

One area that many divorced parents might leave unaddressed is whether one specific parent has the right to claim their children as a tax dependent on their tax returns in the future. While this may seem like a minor detail, it can have significant financial implications and, if done incorrectly, may have legal implications as well. Read on to learn about how you can resolve this important issue. 

Child Tax Exemptions and Divorce

The right to claim a child as a dependent can have a significant impact on the amount of taxes a parent pays in the future. Each child can only be claimed once, so it is important for parents to negotiate this issue as part of the broader divorce decree. Both parents claiming a child can result in tax delays, audits, and even penalties for breaking tax law.