Posted on August 13, 2019 in Family Law

After a divorce is made final, and sometimes even before that, an Illinois family court will enter an order regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities. This order controls how parental responsibilities are shared between the divorcing couple. One of these responsibilities is time shared with a child.

Determining Parenting Time

If a divorcing couple has not agreed on a parenting schedule, the court will determine how and when visitation will take place in the best interest of the child. The court will do so relying on expert opinions and considering several factors, including the following:

• Each parent’s wishes;
• Wishes of the child;
• School and extracurricular needs of the child;
• Distance between the parents; and
• Work schedules for the parents.

Exchanging Children for Parenting Time

In situations where the divorce is amicable and the divorced parents get along well, handing over or picking up a child during parental time is done seamlessly with the parents agreeing how it will be done each time. If such is not the case and the parents have to follow a court ordered schedule, then the visitation exchange is often done curbside, meaning right outside the receiving parent’s residence. If the relationship between the parents is poor, a court may order drop-offs and pickups to take place at some other location, such as a school, shopping area, park, or gas station to minimize the likelihood of a problem.

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 Posted on August 13, 2019 in Immigration

There are a lot of terms when discussing the immigration process. Naturalization is the legal process by which a non-citizen in a country can become a citizen in that country. It is important to know there are two means of obtaining U.S. citizenship. Any person born in the United States or born in another country to parents who are U.S. citizens is automatically a U.S. citizen by birthright. That person can claim his or her citizenship at any point in time. The second way someone can obtain U.S. citizenship involves naturalization, which is a legal process of certain requirements that must be met to claim citizenship.

Qualifications for Applying

After going through the immigration naturalization process, a person will have many rights of a natural-born citizen. He or she can vote, travel using a U.S. passport, run as a candidate for a U.S. government office, and seek employment with the U.S. government. The naturalization process usually begins with “lawful permanent status,” which means an individual must first obtain his or her green card. This can be done by a family member or employer sponsoring a person, among other ways. Once someone has secured a green card, he or she must obey all the laws of the United States for a set period of time, typically 5 years. Unique exceptions to some of these rules are made for military members as well as other applicants.

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 Posted on August 07, 2019 in Personal Injury

Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere at any time. There are many reasons for slip and fall injuries, such as inadequate lighting, substances on the walkway, poor or damaged flooring, or obstacles on the floor that cause a tripping hazard. Thousands of Americans suffer from slip and fall injuries each year. According to the National Safety Council, approximately 9.2 million people were treated in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries in 2016. Although a lot of people might consider them minor, injuries from slips or falls can actually be quite severe. Common injuries from slips and falls include muscle strains, sprained ankles and wrists, bone breaks and fractures, joint dislocations, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and even death in certain scenarios. In many cases, these slips and falls are due to negligent property owners, but what does negligence mean, and how can it be proven?

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 Posted on August 06, 2019 in Immigration

Green cards are immigrant visas that confer permanent residence. Under the current immigration system, there are “per-country caps” put on the number of green cards issued. In certain categories, no country may receive more than 7 percent of the available green cards. Recently, the House of Representatives passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 bill. The Act eliminates the per-country limit for employment-based immigrant visas, and increases the per-country limit for family-sponsored immigrant visas. The bill hopes to remove the backlogs for highly skilled workers coming from larger countries, permitting them to work and obtain permanent resident in the United States, as well as their spouses and children.

The Pros

• Increases the level of H-1B visas and employment-based green cards
• Addresses the backlog and expedites the process for permanent residency quicker.

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 Posted on August 05, 2019 in Family Law

You went into marriage with every intention to have it last forever. However, as things have turned out, you now find yourself contemplating a divorce but you are not sure if that is the route you want to take. Couples who find themselves in this situation, namely, those who are not sure whether to divorce or not, usually start by at least physically moving out of the home.

Physical Separation Is Not Legal Separation.

Legal separation has a special meaning besides being physically separated. In order to be considered legally separated, you must have a court issue an order in a legal proceeding similar to divorce in which many of the same issues that come up in divorce can be addressed. These include:

• Alimony or maintenance;
• Child support;
• Child custody; and
• Parental visitation.

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 Posted on July 31, 2019 in Immigration

The issue of immigration and deportation has been in the news a lot lately, most recently with President Trump’s tweet about ICE raids. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. ICE was created by the U.S. government in 2003, partly in response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001. It is important to distinguish that ICE is separate from Customs and Border Protection, which is responsible for securing the United States’ borders with Canada and Mexico. The most recognized division of ICE is called the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). This department of the agency arrests, detains, and deports illegal immigrants who are already in the United States.

Duties of an ICE Agent

All ICE agents and deportation officers with ERO are expected to uphold U.S. immigration law at all times within, at, and beyond U.S. borders. The primary duties of ICE agents are to:

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 Posted on July 31, 2019 in Family Law

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that, as of 2011, 11.4 million married-couple households, or 21 percent of all married-couple households in America had at least one spouse born in another country. About 13 percent (7.3 million) of households had two foreign-born spouses, and 7 percent (4.1 million) had one native-born and one foreign-born spouse. With those numbers likely going up, along with it comes serious implications involving children, especially those involved in legal separation or divorce.

Taking Children Out of the Country

Generally, taking a minor child outside the country is not an issue if you have proper documentation to show the child is yours. In these ordinary cases, either parent may temporarily remove a minor child or children from the state and even travel with them outside the country for a vacation, family visit or other reasons. All that is necessary is for the parent to provide the other parent information as to where he or she is taking the child or children, how long they will be gone, and contact information.

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 Posted on July 30, 2019 in Personal Injury

Even after years of aggressive marketing campaigns and education, drunk driving still remains one of the biggest threats to American drivers and passengers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 10,800 deaths from alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States in 2017. More than 300 of those people were killed in Illinois, representing 30 percent of all of Illinois’ traffic deaths in 2017. Even more people have been injured because of alcohol-related traffic accidents. Many of these accidents are serious and tragic, especially since they can almost always be prevented. Families of injured or deceased victims often look to place blame somewhere. In the state of Illinois, one of the entities that can possibly be held responsible for drunk drivers is the establishment where the drivers drank the alcohol, often a bar or restaurant.

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 Posted on July 30, 2019 in Family Law

Illinois is an “equitable division” state, which means the judge presiding over your case will determine what is fair when dividing marital property between you and your spouse during a divorce. However, the judge does not arbitrarily decide what is fair and equitable. Rather, the judge must follow factors provided under Illinois law which are listed below.

What Constitutes Marital Property?

Marital property under Illinois law means all property, including assets and debts, acquired by either spouse subsequent to marriage with very few exceptions. By this definition, property acquired prior to marriage is not included, except in certain special circumstances.

What Factors Will the Court Consider in Dividing Marital Property?

In equitably dividing marital property, Illinois property division courts are guided by several considerations established under the law, which include the following:

• Each party’s contribution to the acquisition of marital property;

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 Posted on July 25, 2019 in Personal Injury

Traffic accidents can be dangerous, no matter what type of vehicles are involved. Truck accidents can cause serious injuries, and sometimes even fatalities, due to their immense size and weight. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were more than 4,600 large trucks involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2017, and approximately 107,000 trucks involved in traffic crashes that resulted in injuries. When trucks are involved in accidents, the resulting damage to vehicles and passengers can be severe.

What Are “Hours of Service” Rules?

Truck drivers do exactly that for a living--they drive trucks. This means they are typically on the road for hours at a time, which can make them very tired. This is why the FMCSA has implemented many rules to keep truck drivers and others on the road safe. “Hours of service” rules are regulations that were put in place to limit the amount of time a truck driver spends behind the wheel. It is not uncommon for truck drivers to violate these rules, but when they do, they can lead to serious accidents.

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