Parents in Illinois who have gotten divorced and created a parenting plan may later realize that they never reached an agreement or even discussed what to do if one parent wanted to travel out of the country with their child. International travel can be a great experience to share with a child, but before taking a child abroad, it is very important to address any legal issues or concerns from the child’s other parent. International travel may involve certain risks, and if a parent fears that such travel will have negative consequences, they may try to put a stop to it. If you are planning on traveling abroad with your child and want to know how to prepare yourself, the following information may be helpful to you.

Obtaining a Passport for Underage Children 

Whether a child’s parents are divorced or still married, an underage child must have both parents’ consent to apply for a passport if they are under the age of 16 (children who are 16 and 17 can apply for passports themselves). Unless parental responsibilities have been assigned to just one parent, both parents must be present during the passport application. If only one parent is responsible for the child, that parent must provide evidence proving that the other parent does not need to be present or give their consent. 

Getting Permission to Travel Abroad 

Even if parents do not share parenting time or parental responsibilities, the parent wishing to travel may still need to get written permission from the other parent before they leave the country. The other parent may want to deny permission for many reasons, including: 

Child support is understandably one of the most contentious elements of divorce. Parents who receive child support often feel as though the funds are insufficient for the needs of the children, or fear they will struggle to provide if the paying parent fails to meet his or her obligations. For the parent who is responsible for making child support payments, he or she often worries that the children’s needs are being neglected while the receiving parent buys things for themself. 

Illinois law allows parents receiving child support wide leeway when deciding how to spend the money. Unfortunately, however, there are parents who neglect their children’s needs because of frivolous spending on themselves. In situations like this, legal remedies are available. 

Legitimate Child Support Expenditures

Child support is intended to ensure children have what they need to grow up healthy and whole, and the parent who receives child support is responsible for using that money to meet the child’s needs. Food, clothing, and medical expenses are absolute necessities and the failure to provide these can result in serious harm to a child’s wellbeing. 

Sometimes called “alimony” or “spousal maintenance,” spousal support is money paid from one spouse to the other during or following divorce. Spousal support is not always awarded, but it can be a crucial financial lifeline for people after divorce, especially homemakers who withdrew from the workforce to raise a family. 

Spousal support orders are set for an amount and duration that are appropriate to the circumstances. However, each party’s circumstances can change in a way that warrants modifying support payments. If you are making or receiving spousal maintenance payments, it is useful to know which circumstances require or allow a change in payments. 

Substantial Change in Circumstances

A change in spousal support requires a substantial change in circumstances and many different situations can qualify. To begin with, if the party receiving spousal support gets married again, moves in with a new partner, or dies, spousal support payments stop. In fact, an individual who is receiving payments can be faced with legal consequences if they fail to notify the paying party that they are cohabiting with, or married to, a new partner. 

Although spouses may get divorced with the hope that they will no longer have to deal with each other in the future, for many couples this is simply not true. Responsibilities towards children can require parents to interact together for many years, and spousal maintenance - formerly known as alimony - can do the same. Illinois law allows for several types of spousal maintenance, and how long spousal maintenance will last depends on the unique circumstances of a couple’s divorce. 

Types of Alimony in Illinois 

There are three primary kinds of spousal maintenance in Illinois: 

• Temporary or interim maintenance - Frequently awarded to homemakers who have no income of their own, temporary maintenance is ordered while a divorce is ongoing. Temporary maintenance can cover the cost of running a household and raising children, and can also include the cost of a spouse’s attorney. 

  ...

A primary obstacle for many people seeking divorce is the potential expense. This is especially true for those who work as a homemaker and do not have an income of their own. Being a homemaker entails endless work, but it does not come with formal pay, and the prospect of hiring a divorce attorney may therefore seem simply out of the question for homemakers in Illinois. 

Fortunately, there are things you can do as a homemaking spouse to pursue divorce, even without an income of your own. You do not have to stay trapped in an abusive or untenable relationship forever. Here are some tips for stay-at-home parents considering divorce in Illinois. 

Start Preparing Now

Although you may not be earning an income, you likely have access to your and your spouse’s shared finances. Even if you do not, the time before the divorce is a great time to begin understanding what you and your spouse have in terms of assets and debts. Many resources allow you to check your credit for free, and although taking out debt may not be optimal, credit cards or lines of credit can give you access to money if you need it.