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If your child has been removed from the United States and you are seeking his or her return, there are international legal instruments, recognized in the U.S. Courts, that you can resort to. If a child is from a country that has signed the Hague Convention and the country to which the child has been taken to is also a signatory, then we can resort to the Hague Convention for help. If the other country is not a signatory of the Hague, then we can rely on the UCCJEA (the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act). If you are faced with issues relating to international or inter-state custody cases, call us for a free consultation regarding your options and ways in which you could fight to get your children back to the U.S. or to the state of Illinois.
If you have minor children, you need a Last Will and Testament. One common misconception is that a Will is unnecessary if you don't have many assets. However, that is not the case. A Will serves many purposes other than setting forth your wishes for distributing your assets upon your death. When you are the parent of a minor child, a Will is your tool to designate a guardian for your minor child(ren) in the event of your untimely death. Your Will can further establish a Trust to ensure that your children are financially provided for and your assets are distributed to them periodically as needed for their medical needs, school needs and living expenses.
While no one wants to think about the unexpected, establishing your Last Will and Testament will ensure that your children are financially provided for and cared for by a family member or friend of your choosing. Contact J. Aldrich Law, P.C. today for a free consultation. We offer reasonable rates and can provide you with some much needed peace of mind.
Vehicular heatstroke causes far too many infant deaths, especially on hot summer days like today. This article contains one family's heartbreaking story, along with a few helpful tips to avoid unintentionally leaving your infant or toddler in your car on a busy day. Forgotten childcare drop-off is the number one known cause of vehicular heatstroke deaths in children.
Other helpful tips can be found at KidsAndCars.org.
Both parties have to fully and completely disclose all of their assets during a divorce proceeding. That includes, for example, disclosure of income (from all sources), bank accounts and retirement accounts. Unfortunately, sometimes one of the parties is less than forthcoming in making such disclosures. In order to force the other side to disclose his or her assets, we can file a Motion to Compel discovery responses and we can also issue subpoenas to your spouse's employer or banks and obtain his or her financial information directly from them. If your spouse is still not forthcoming in providing financial discovery, we can also file a Motion to Bar - which, if granted, would prevent your spouse from presenting any testimony. Our attorneys will assist you with the discovery process, which can be long and tiresome, but which is very important to any family law case.
Many people who are not fully financially independent and who are considering divorce, worry how they will survive the duration of the proceedings without the other spouse's financial help. The good news is that during the proceeding, the parties should maintain status quo with regards to their financial obligations. If a spouse stops paying for his or her share of the bills or tries to withdraw money from an account, a petition for temporary relief can be filed. The court can then order the other spouse to make payments during the divorce and to maintain said status quo.
If you hold a commercial drivers license* and receive a traffic ticket, it is important that you fully understand the impact of pleading guilty to the traffic offense for which you were cited. Even though your ticket might advise you that "no court appearance is required," mailing the ticket in along with payment of the fine is a plea of guilty and may result in a conviction on your record. Even a disposition of court supervision for an ordinary moving violation can have a serious impact on your commercial drivers license, your insurance rates, and ultimately, your employment.
Violations of more serious offenses will lead to disqualification of your CDL (even if you weren't operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the offense), such as:
Before you enter into a custody agreement, you should make sure that you have a full and complete understanding of the agreement. For example, it is important to understand that if you enter into a Joint Parenting Agreement (JPA), absent showing of "serious endangerment", you will not be able to modify custody for two full years after the entry of the agreement. Moreover, with joint parenting agreements, the Court will also not modify your agreement unless you and your ex attend mediation to first try to resolve whatever parenting issues you may have. Mediation does not, however, apply to financial modifications, such as the amount of child support you are either receiving or paying. Support is always modifiable if there is an increase or a decrease of income or if there are other appropriate circumstances. To learn more about custody agreements and their consequences call our office for a free consultation. Our office is located in DuPage County in Naperville. We also accept cases in Chicago, Cook County, Will County, Lake County, Kane County and Kendall.
The major change to the Illinois Eavesdropping Law is that individuals can now record public conversations without obtaining consent from all parties involved. This includes allowing individuals to record police officers during traffic stops and arrests without fear of being charged with the separate offense of eavesdropping. However, it is still illegal to record conversations with individuals who have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in that conversation. But what does that mean exactly and how do you know if the person you are communicating with expects the conversation to remain private?
As you can see, although the new law paves the way for police accountability, some of its language will likely be at the forefront of future litigation. (The meaning of the below bold terms will likely require court interpretation).
"(a) A person commits eavesdropping when he or she knowingly and intentionally:
- (1) Uses an eavesdropping device, in a surreptitious manner, for the purpose of overhearing, transmitting, or recording all or any part of any private conversation to which he or she is not a party unless he or she does so with the consent of all of the parties to the private conversation;
When you are charged with a criminal offense, whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony, you might feel like you have no choice but to plead guilty, especially if you are not represented by an attorney. Sometimes, pleading guilty is the best option for you given the strengths and/or weaknesses of your case and the offer extended by the prosecutor. Sometimes fighting the charges at trial or through pretrial motions is much more advantageous.
It is important to fully understand any offer extended to you and all of the consequences of pleading guilty to a particular offense before you plead guilty. For instance, pleading guilty to almost any offense will likely have some immigration consequences if you are not a citizen of the United States. For certain misdemeanor traffic offenses, such as DUI and Driving While License Suspended, a plea of guilty often leads to a suspension or revocation of your driving privileges.
Illinois Supreme Court rules require that all divorcing parents with minor children complete a parenting class before the Court will enter a final Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage. The class is intended to help parents understand the impact that their divorce will have on their minor children. In some counties, such as DuPage and Cook, the class can be completed on-line. In other counties, parents will have to attend the class in person. After completion, parents will receive a certificate, which will be placed in the Court's file. For more information regarding specific classes, you may visit the following websites by clicking on the county where your divorce is taking place: Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Kane County.
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