Considering a divorce can be a stressful experience, and it is natural to feel a little nervous before your first meeting with your divorce attorney. But, you are not alone, as every year, thousands of people in Illinois find themselves in the same situation. And, as with many things in life, preparation can make all the difference.

If you prepare well for your first meeting with a divorce attorney, you can walk confidently into their office and move forward with everything as smoothly and painlessly as possible. Proper preparation involves gathering paperwork together, and these are a few things to bring that may help you with your first meeting: a list of questions and concerns for the attorney, financial documents to help the attorney understand your assets, and a brief story of your marriage.

A List of Questions

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The state of Illinois has a new tool for collecting delinquent child support. A new law requires casinos and racetracks to withhold the winnings of gamblers found to owe child support in the state of Illinois. The law is part of a growing trend across the country, with multiple states, including Indiana and Colorado, already having such laws in place. The legislature passed the law in the hopes that it would bring down the nearly $3 billion in unpaid child support that Illinois currently has on the books. Legislators expect the law to generate up to $1 million in its first year alone.

The law puts in place a system by which certain wins at the casino or racetrack can be analyzed for collection purposes. If a person wins more than $1200 dollars at a casino, or more than $600 on a two dollar bet at a racetrack, then the winnings become eligible for collection. The legislature chose these amounts as the baseline, as they also act as the threshold for declaring gambling winnings on a tax form in order to collect them. If the gambler’s winnings qualify, then the casino will enter the winner’s information into a computer system, which will check it against the state’s delinquent child support rolls. If the computer notifies the casino or racetrack that the winner owes back child support payments, then the law requires the casino to seize the winnings.

Casinos and racetracks may seize the winnings in any form, including chips, cash, and vouchers, and they will take as much as is needed to pay off the debt, up to the full amount of the winnings. The law also allows the casino to take a 5 percent administrative fee for their diligence, but the law caps that fee at $250. Once the casino collects the money, they turn it over to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which then distributes the money to the family whom the winner owes.

The law also places requirements on casinos and racetracks to provide notice to all gamblers about the possibility of the establishment seizing their winnings. The law requires the casino to post signs at each entrance or exit, as well as at any credit location in the establishment.

If you are currently involved in a child support or child custody dispute, contact a Naperville family law attorney today. Their knowledge and experience can ensure that your rights are adequately protected in court.

While a parental divorce can be a struggle for most children, a study from the University of California at Berkeley identified that in our culture, daughters tend to suffer disproportionately. This happens because, according to the study, marriages with firstborn daughters tend to end in divorce more often than marriages with firstborn sons, all else holding equal.

The paper reports that the chances of a firstborn girl living without a father are 3.1 percent higher than a firstborn boy, which, they say, is a difference of approximately 5,000 girls a year. This increase in divorce among the parents of daughters can cause long term problems if both parents do not take steps to avoid them.

Why the Difference?

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People often look at the New Year as a chance for a fresh start. This viewpoint manifests itself in many ways, from new diets to renewed job hunts, and by even affecting divorce rates. While sources disagree over the exact numbers, January and February see the most divorce filings in the United States, as people start to put their plans in motion. Interestingly, no one is quite sure exactly what causes people to hold off until the start of the year to file for divorce, but, anecdotally, it may be a combination of several factors.

 One factor that people commonly mention is that New Year's often provokes self reflection. At the end of a year, people naturally look back on it to evaluate how it went and what they would improve. The same impetus that drives people to craft New Year's resolutions drives them to evaluate their relationships, and in the process many decide that divorce is the right answer.

The holidays also stand out as one of the greatest reasons for the flood of divorces at the start of the year. Some people say that they make the decision to divorce prior to the holidays, but choose to hold off in order to preserve the sense of normality through that time of year, a thought process that is especially common in families with children still at home. Alternatively, the holidays can also act as the final straw that causes a divorce. Many people experience an increase in stress during that time of year resulting from added financial pressure and other demands of the season. That extra stress can combine with the prolonged proximity to one's family to act as a catalyst for a divorce that may have been building for some time.

 Additionally, several practical factors converge at the start of a year to promote divorces. The period right after the holidays tends to come with a lull in activity that can allow people to focus on what must happen for a divorce. Furthermore, the end of the year acts as a convenient fiscal delineation, so that people can mark their salaries and bonuses for the year, as well as plan for the next year's taxes. If the New Year's start has caused you to start considering divorce, contact an experienced Wheaton divorce attorney today. They can help you work through the divorce process to ensure that it runs as smoothly as possible.

More and more divorcees find themselves moving across state lines. Often times they want to move to make a fresh start, and many need to find new jobs to support themselves, which can send to locations across the country. With children in the picture though, the situation becomes more complicated, with the relocation implicating issues of child custody and the other parent's visitation rights. Courts often hope for children to have a relationship with both of their parents, regardless of who has custody, so Illinois law requires a judge to approve moves across state lines.

 The Factors Involved Courts understand that sometimes parents need to move, and that those moves can be in the child's best interest. Consequently, courts devised a set of factors to which they look in order to decide whether to approve a relocation. The court will examine the child's needs, where the child's needs can best be met, whether the child's situation can be improved by the move, and whether there is an important reason motivating the move. While each person's situation is unique, some important reasons for which the court may approve a move include a danger to the child, a severe medical issue that requires relocation for treatment, or a new job for the custodial parent. The law also specifically mentions the concept of electronic communication, methods like Skype or other teleconference software that would allow face to face meetings at a distance. While Illinois does recognize the benefit of virtual visitation in general, and permits courts to use it to supplement in person visitation in some circumstances, the law specifically forbids courts from considering it as a factor in favor of allowing out of state relocations.  Moving within the State Unlike moving out of state, the law does not regulate moving within Illinois. But, there may still be restrictions on those moves as well. Some custody agreements limit the distance that a former spouse can move a child. That restriction is binding and courts will enforce it. Additionally, courts will review the other parent's visitation schedule prior to the move and they may adjust a it if they believe the move will seriously affect it. If you or your ex-spouse is planning on relocating with your children, contact a DuPage County child custody lawyer today. They can help advise you on what rights you have in your unique situation.