The Law Offices of Curtis Bennett Ross Blog

Blog Authors

Latest from The Law Offices of Curtis Bennett Ross Blog

Many divorces in Illinois and all across the United States are contested divorces, but there are also cases in which spouses agree on the issues surrounding their separation, making an uncontested divorce possible. While nobody is ever required to retain legal counsel for a divorce case in Illinois, people should be extremely hesitant to handle a divorce case on their own because the average person could make several mistakes that end up being very costly to correct later.
Even if you and your spouse plan to reach an out-of-court agreement, from having an attorney review any proposed agreement will ensure
Continue Reading Why You Should Consider Hiring a Lawyer for an Uncontested Divorce

Illinois state law defines paternity as being a legal relationship between a father and their child. After paternity is established, the father can put his name on the child’s birth certificate and will also be granted certain legal rights. 
Whereas paternity is typically straightforward for married couples, unmarried couples can face additional issues that may be more complicated. The husband is generally presumed to be the father when a married couple has a child, but unmarried fathers often need to sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (VAP) or establish paternity through other means. 
Paternity Actions in Cook County 
Common kinds
Continue Reading Common Paternity Issues in Illinois

When growing your family through adoption, there are many different avenues to choose from. Many people choose to adopt through a private adoption agency or the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Others pursue a private adoption or independent adoption. There are potential advantages and disadvantages to each of these options. However, individuals pursuing an independent adoption are often especially vulnerable to adoption scams. If you are thinking about adopting a child, make sure you understand the common adoption scams and how to avoid them.
Scammers May Target Prospective Parents Hoping to Adopt
Although it is hard
Continue Reading The Sad Reality of Adoption Scams

When parents get divorced, there is much more on the line than bank accounts and real estate. Their children’s future is on the line. Child custody issues are frequently the source of significant hostility and disagreement during a divorce involving parents. In some cases, a parent may even accuse the other parent of child abuse.
In Illinois, child abuse allegations are handled by the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The DCFS investigation begins with an assessment, which will determine whether or not the allegations merit further investigation. If the DCFS determines that abuse or neglect has taken
Continue Reading How to Handle a DCFS Child Abuse Investigation During Divorce?

In a recent post on this blog, we discussed what people need to know regarding uncontested divorce in Illinois. This time, we will talk about things that are essential to know about contested divorce. Firstly, a contested divorce occurs when the divorcing parties cannot cooperate effectively, to the point where litigation may be required. Contested divorces can begin from many places. For instance, divorce proceedings may begin amicably and become contested, whereas in other cases, the divorce may have been rife with conflict from the very beginning. 
Whatever the case, contested divorces are often quite time-consuming and expensive.
Continue Reading What to Know About a Contested Divorce in Illinois

While getting a divorce is never easy, it is often even more complicated if the divorcing couple has children. When a couple decides to get divorced, it is not entirely uncommon for one of the spouses to move away from where they lived during their marriage. This is often seen as a necessary first step in starting a new beginning and clearing their mind of the heartache they went through during the divorce. While it is true that moving can positively impact someone’s mental health post-divorce, you must tread carefully if you are considering taking your child with you.
In
Continue Reading Essential Things to Consider Before You Relocate with Your Children

It is not uncommon for spouses to get into arguments or disagree over many different issues. In some cases, a spouse may even threaten to pursue a divorce against you. The word divorce can be highly triggering to people simply because of everything that divorce represents. For most people, divorce is a significant life event, similar to a baby being born or someone passing away. Divorce is a big deal, which is why it may be shocking and upsetting to hear your spouse hang the idea of divorce over your head. 
At the outset, it must be stated that threats
Continue Reading What You Should Do If Your Spouse Threatens to Divorce You

Getting a divorce is never easy and can be especially difficult once the holidays come around. If you are coming up on your first Christmas since splitting up from your spouse, you may likely feel heartbroken and at a loss for what to do. These feelings can be amplified if you have children, have recently moved out of the marital home, or if your spouse has moved out of the marital home. In any event, if you have reason to believe divorce may be on the horizon for you and your family, this blog will delve deeper into how you
Continue Reading Navigating Your First Christmas After a Separation

Raising children can be among the most rewarding and fulfilling things anyone ever does in their entire life. Few acts are more loving and sincere than deciding to pursue adoption to start or grow your family. If you are fortunate enough to be considering adoption as your avenue toward growing your family, you are likely filled with excitement and questions about how the process works. If you are considering adoption as an option you are interested in, consider consulting with an experienced adoption attorney who understands the process and will work to ensure your process is as smooth as possible. 
Continue Reading What to Know About Adopting a Child in Illinois

Getting a divorce can be one of the saddest, most contentious, and bitter processes that a person can ever experience. At least, that is the usual assumption when it comes to getting divorced. It is undoubtedly true that many divorces involve lots of anger and unpleasantness, particularly when children are involved. However, what if there was a way to get divorced that was not quite so terrible? 
There is a divorce process that can end things in an amicable way that will leave both you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse feeling heard and respected once the divorce is finalized. This process
Continue Reading What is an Uncontested Divorce in Illinois?

For many spouses, divorce mediation or other methods of cooperative divorce may be preferable to a prolonged courtroom battle. Divorcing spouses who use mediation may be able to save substantial time, money, and stress. However, alternative dispute resolution tactics may not be effective – or even worth trying – for every set of spouses. The process requires cooperation and a certain level of emotional maturity to succeed. Both spouses must be willing to make compromises with one another. Both spouses must be able to commit to participating in mediation or negotiation efforts.
While you and your spouse need not be
Continue Reading When Divorce Mediation May Not Work

For most parents, their greatest concern in a divorce is not who keeps the living room furniture, but rather, how much time they will get to continue spending with their children. Seeing the other parent obtain sole child custody is often a parent’s worst fear. If your spouse is threatening to pursue sole custody, or to keep the children from seeing you, you should know that this result is highly unlikely unless there is genuine evidence that you are harmful to the children. If no such evidence exists, courts in Illinois immensely favor a parenting time arrangement that allows both
Continue Reading What to Do When Your Spouse Threatens to Seek Sole Custody

Many recently divorced parents find it helpful to leave the area where they resided during the marriage to seek a new beginning elsewhere. Relocating can have a wonderful effect on the mental health of a newly divorced parent, particularly if the divorce was very challenging or the marriage itself was harmful. However, in Illinois, a parent cannot simply pack their children’s belongings and relocate to a faraway area without first obtaining permission from the court. Parental relocations are not automatically granted if the other parent objects. If your former spouse resists the relocation and has been allocated any parenting time,
Continue Reading Important Considerations Before Planning to Relocate With Children

In Illinois, spouses have the option of legally separating rather than divorcing. Legal separations is an option for spouses who feel that they no longer want to live together as a married couple and would like legal recognition of their separation, but also do not want to divorce. Divorce and legal separation have some commonalities, but a few major differences. After a legal separation, you remain legally married, but may largely live as if you are divorced. As in divorce, you and your spouse will be able to formally divide marital property and create a parenting plan if you
Continue Reading Divorce or Legal Separation – Which is Right For You?

Most people are familiar with the term “mediation” but may not know exactly what working with a mediator looks like. In an Illinois divorce case, understanding the mediation process is essential for setting realistic expectations and pursuing successful negotiations over your divorce settlement. If you are considering divorce and want to know more about whether a mediator could help you, read on to learn more about what working with a mediator is like. 
What Does a Divorce Mediator Do? 
Before a divorce can be finalized, spouses must reach an agreement about property and debt division, spousal support
Continue Reading What Does the Divorce Mediation Process Look Like? 

Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that spouses cannot give specific reasons for getting divorced other than “irreconcilable differences.” Even ugly or distasteful behaviors such as infidelity and domestic violence will not give one spouse preferential treatment during divorce proceedings. That being said, judges are very sensitive to the physical and emotional danger that domestic violence can cause to spouses and children, and there are protections available to victims of domestic violence. If you are thinking about getting divorced from an abusive spouse, here are some ways you might expect your divorce to be different. 
Getting an Order of
Continue Reading What Can I Expect From a Divorce if My Spouse is Physically Abusive?