Palatine Family Law Blog

Socialite and reality television personality Kim Kardashian is seeking a private divorce from her newlywed husband Kris Humphries. A spokesman for Kardashian cited her desire to avoid a public trial in order to prevent any serious complications from arising during the divorce. Since California - like Illinois - is a state that allows for "no-fault" divorces, Kardashian is hoping to smoothly move on with her life after divorce by handling the proceedings through a private mediator. This choice could eliminate some of the issues that potentially prevent quick divorce finalization.

Important factors in Kardashian's favor are the fact that she does not have any children with her husband, and her claim that she and her husband have complete separation of assets. This means that many of the issues that commonly hinder divorce proceedings (such as asset division, determination of alimony, and visitation rights) will not come into play if she gets her way.

Residents of Illinois surely realize that formally adopting a child requires a lot of time and paperwork on the part of the prospective parents. And while real life, in the guise of raising other children and looking for employment, might get in the way of the time and effort required, the fact remains that it still must be done. A child custody case in Cook County, Illinois, about a 3-year-old boy is hinging on the issue of that lack of that paperwork and whether it can be overlooked.

The convoluted case is a byproduct of a couple's divorce. When the couple married, the woman had already adopted one child on her own and was in the process of adopting a second child. After they got married, the couple adopted a third child together.

The Illinois state government is considering what would be a big change in how child support is calculated. The current model dates back to the 1980s and is seen by many as outdated. By contrast, the new method is more transparent and likely to be seen by each side of a child support case as being fair.

Currently, 38 states use the formula that is under consideration, known as "income shares." In a nutshell, the proposed formula uses tables that show the average costs for child-rearing for nuclear families of various income levels. Then the formula takes each parent's income into account, and calculates what each parent's share would be based on their earnings.

According to a recent study, two out of every three couples who live together say they are afraid of divorce and the ramifications of a failed marriage, such as financial, legal or emotional distress. These fears are preventing people from getting married, to the tune of a record low number in the United States, not just in Illinois.

Why do so many people feel afraid of getting married? There are several possible reasons. A common one is if the parents of one or both partners were divorced when the person was a child. Watching a marriage deteriorate--and enduring the potentially painful custody battle--could easily sour someone on wanting to get married themselves. Additionally, if there was abuse or infidelity in the parents' marriage, that could further sour people on the idea.