Multi-State Divorce & Family Law Blog by Stange Law Firm, PC

Claims of Paternity May be Challenged On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Fathers’ Rights on Thursday, October 24, 2019. Establishing paternity is an important part of solidifying the relationship between an Illinois father and his child. As previously discussed on this blog, one-way paternity can be proven is through DNA testing that compares the genetic material of a man to that of his purported child. Paternity testing happens after a child is born to either give a father rights or to require a father to pay child support. However, not every claim of paternity that is made

Divorce May Cause Many Financial Surprises On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Friday, March 27, 2020. For Illinois residents and others throughout the country, a divorce is an emotional event. It can also have a significant impact on a person’s finances. This can be especially true for those who didn’t keep track of how much debt their households accrued during a marriage. It isn’t uncommon for both parties to a marriage to be responsible for paying off a portion of any debt that was accrued before the divorce. Some of this debt could include loans

Know the Proper Ways to Work Through Parenting Disagreements On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Friday, April 24, 2020. Co-parenting isn’t always fun and games. There are times in which you and your co-parent might not see eye-to-eye. In these cases, you’ll have to work out respective solutions. This may be a challenge, but taking the time to think about what’s best for the children can sometimes help to make things a bit easier. When there is an issue that arises, make sure that you speak directly to your ex about it. You don’t

Military Members Can Benefit From Virtual Visitation On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in military family law on Friday, April 10, 2020. Military members are often away from home. This can make it difficult for parents to keep in touch with their children. Unfortunately, this is just the nature of military service, but parents these days have more tools at their disposal that can help them stay in touch with their children. While they aren’t really an alternative to in-person visits with the children, virtual visits can help them remain in contact with the kids when they can’t

Effective Parenting Strategies After a Divorce On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Thursday, March 12, 2020. One of the biggest challenges in an Illinois family law case is dealing with child custody and visitation rights. For many couples, the lingering problems that led to the divorce can continue as they try to co-parent. Still, there are strategies to make the process easier. The best interests of the child are paramount. Taking certain steps can facilitate meeting the child’s needs. It is easy to say that the child should come first, but to put that

How Illinois Millennials Are Using Prenuptial Agreements On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Friday, February 28, 2020. Prenuptial agreements are becoming more common among millennials. However, some analysts say the phenomenon indicates that this age cohort takes marriage seriously. The divorce rate has also declined among millennials. Furthermore, while many people may think of prenups as being for wealthy people, for millennials they may be more about addressing the debt they are bringing into the marriage as well as what they will do about property. With a prenup, couples can be transparent about their debt.

Women File For Divorce at a Higher Rate Than Men On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Friday, February 14, 2020. Perhaps in part due to how the situation has been portrayed in books and on the screen, it has long been thought that many women in Illinois and around the country are far more keen on getting married than men. However, research has shown that once they have tied the knot, women are also the ones who are more likely to file for divorce. Several studies, including one that was conducted by the American Sociological

Divorce on the Decline Among Millennials On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Illinois millennials may be less likely to divorce than baby boomers. Among millennials, the divorce rate has dropped significantly, but as the oldest ones approach 40, it is unclear whether the trend will continue. The University of Maryland sociology professor who reported the lower divorce rates in his book “The Coming Divorce Decline” believes it will. He found that between 2008 and 2016, divorce rates went down 18%. For millennials who do get a divorce, the process seems to

“Anchorman” Actor David Koechner Files For Divorce On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Friday, January 17, 2020. Illinois movie fans might be interested to learn that “Anchorman” actor David Koechner is ending his nearly 22-year marriage to self-help podcaster Leigh Koechner. The couple, who have five children together, were married in 1998 after meeting on a plane. According to media reports, the 57-year-old actor filed a petition to dissolve a marriage involving minor children on Jan. 14 in California. The documents failed to disclose a reason for the divorce. The couple appeared happy in a

Does Illinois favor the mother or father in custody decisions? On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Fathers’ Rights on Friday, January 3, 2020. While there is no cut-and-dry answer to this question, one report in 2018 showed that our state’s fathers are typically awarded 32 percent less parenting time than mothers. Research, across the board, shows that states lack sufficient laws to support, or to entice court decisions for equal shared parenting time. There is no doubt that, when both parties are fit to be parents, a child will benefit from spending time and building bonds with

What to Know About Pursuing Alimony During a Divorce On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Divorce on Thursday, December 19, 2019. Securing alimony, also called spousal maintenance or support, can be an important part of getting through a divorce with one’s financial security intact. In order to understand how to pursue alimony, an Illinois resident should be aware of the many factors that courts may look at in order to decide if spousal support is appropriate. This post will discuss some of those factors but may not be comprehensive. Readers are always encouraged to talk to their