Adopting Parents & Mental Health Service Support

 Posted on May 05, 2014 in Family Law

The adoption process in the United States is cumbersome and it is meticulously designed due to the great emphasis placed on maintaining the best interests of the children. Potential adopting parents must endure thorough investigations into their personal and professional lives in order to be considered viable candidates to adopt. Often, that process alone can be very stressful. And yet, once the adopting parents are finally approved to adopt a child and bring the child into their home, a whole new host of issues may arise.

How are Adopting Parents Coping?

Adopting parents face the same challenges that biological parents face when preparing to embrace a new member into their family. Parents must financially prepare for the new child by putting away money in savings or cutting back on previous expenses. They must also prepare, both physically and emotionally, for the new child by safety-proofing the home and creating a designated space or room for the child to inhabit. However, adopting parents also face some unique challenges that many biological parents never experience, especially if the adopted child is no longer an infant when adopted.

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Personal Injury Law in Illinois: An Overview

 Posted on May 05, 2014 in Personal Injury

An individual who is injured as the result of another person's negligence has important legal rights according to Illinois law. Whether the injury occurred as the result of a motor vehicle accident, or some other type of accident, the injured person may be able to recover significant damages for injuries they sustained due to the incident.

While it is best to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney directly regarding the facts of a specific case, the following represents a general overview of personal injury law in the state of Illinois.

Statute of Limitations

The term statute of limitations refers to the time limit a person has to file a lawsuit related to a specific cause of action. In Illinois, the statute of limitations on a personal injury case is two years. The time begins to run on the date of the accident. However, in some cases, the time may begin to run on the date the plaintiff discovered they were injured as opposed to the date of the accident.

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Could Responder Task Force Be in Illinois' Future?

 Posted on April 29, 2014 in Personal Injury

Motor vehicle accidents pose a risk to drivers and their passengers on the roadways of Illinois, but a significant danger is also associated with the emergency responders who are responsible for arriving to the scene of a crash. There have been numerous examples of news stories about emergency responders being injured, or even killed in the line of duty as the result of other drivers on the road being distracted or not following certain traffic laws aimed at protecting emergency workers at the scene of an accident. Now Illinois lawmakers are attempting to step in and put measures in place that further protect emergency responders at the scene of an accident.

Responder Task Force As the result of the tragic deaths of numerous firefighters and police officers across the state of Illinois, lawmakers are attempting to pass legislation, known as Senate Joint Resolution 62, that would create a task force focused on decreasing the number of emergency responders who are killed in the line of duty. The problem is an all too common one, with two notable stories of emergency workers being killed in 2013. One of those workers was a high school classmate of state Senator Chapin Rose, one of the individuals sponsoring the bill. Rose argued that such a measure is needed in light of the high number of first responders who are fatally injured as they respond to calls on Illinois roadways, and that their job presents unique dangers that must be considered in attempting to come up with ways to reduce the number of first responder deaths. The legislation would form the Emergency Responder Roadway Safety Task Force. The task force would examine ways to increase safety measures related to emergency responders and make recommendations for doing so. Also, the task force would be made up of individuals from numerous state agencies and offices, including IDOT and Illinois State Police, such as local fire, police, emergency medical services, and legislators. The Need for the Task Force

Representatives argue there is a clear need for such a task force in Illinois. The purpose of emergency responders is to provide assistance to those in need on Illinois roads, so it is important to keep the responders safe during the time they are providing that help on roadways in the state. Further, it is important for elected officials and emergency workers to both contribute to solutions that will work to reduce the risk for injury to responders.

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When Immigrants Are Injured

 Posted on April 26, 2014 in Immigration

Often in the aftermath of major accidents like the recent train crash at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, a number of lawsuits are filed. Workers who might have been injured on the job can file a claim under their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, and injured customers and bystanders may file premises liability or personal injury lawsuits.

Generally, under United States law, injured persons are allowed to be compensated for losses caused by responsible parties. Sometimes, as in the case of workers’ compensation, there are specific guidelines spelled out in a state statute; these steps must be followed before the injured can recover. Other instances of injury may require a civil action lawsuit where a plaintiff, or injured party, files an action in the local courthouse, showing that he or she suffered damages and that the defendant was responsible. If the judge or jury is convinced, then the court enters an order requiring the defendant to pay the plaintiff some amount of money that might compensate him for the loss.

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Gray Divorce: How Does it Affect Adult Children?

 Posted on April 25, 2014 in Family Law

Deciding to divorce is not usually an easy thing for a couple to do. Sometimes it is the result of years of conflict between spouses, while other times it may be a complete shock to one or both of the parties involved. Knowing what resources are available to the couple to help in the process is important, but the couple will also need emotional support through close friends and family.

In our society, the longer the couple is married, the more likely we assume they are going to beat the odds of divorce. However, recently, there has been a growing trend of couples who are deciding to divorce after many years of being together. This type of divorce is having a profound effect on the adult children of the divorcing parents that has not yet been heavily researched by scientists.

What is Gray Divorce?

Gray Divorce is a new term used to describe divorce among couples over the age of 50. According to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, about one fourth of divorces are by couples over 50 years old. In fact, in the last 25 years, despite the overall rate of divorce decreasing by 25 percent, the rate of gray divorce doubled between 1990 and 2010 alone.

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Teens Warned about Dangers of Texting and Driving

 Posted on April 25, 2014 in Personal Injury

Texting and driving is never a good idea, even for the most experienced driver. When new teen drivers are involved though, the dangers of distracted driving poses a special risk to both them and others who share the road.

Schools and communities have long put forth the effort to warn teens about roadway dangers that cause car accidents. Now, as recently reported in a published article, a simulator shows teens how likely it is for an accident to happen if they decide to text and drive.

Texting and Driving Simulator

Even teens who have yet to obtain their driver's license have experienced a texting and driving simulator that shows them the dangers of attempting to text while driving. The simulator gave students the opportunity to see the consequences of choosing to text and drive in a controlled environment.

In one case, after just a few moments of operating the simulator while trying to text, a rear-end collision occurred because the operator was following the virtual car ahead too closely. Another case did not result in a crash, but the student realized that even taking her eyes off of the road for a few seconds could result in her swerving into other lanes of traffic. As a whole, students who used the simulator seemed to be sobered by the experience and said they would abstain from texting while driving as a result.

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Woman Charged with Misdemeanors and Felonies after Accident

 Posted on April 22, 2014 in Personal Injury

Simply being responsible for a car accident in which another person is injured is likely cause for legal action. However, when the driver continues to participate in reckless and intentional conduct following such an incident, the situation often rises to the level of being criminal. In the recent case of one woman from Wilmette, Illinois, multiple accidents resulted in criminal charges being filed against her.

Driving Rampage

A 63-year-old woman is now facing a number of misdemeanor and felony charges after recent incidents that occurred during an "erratic driving rampage" over the weekend. After all was said and done, she ended up injuring a cyclist, striking three cars, and also hitting a scooter, leaving that driver with minor injuries as well.

Her charges include misdemeanor reckless driving, felony aggravated fleeing and eluding police, and five counts of reckless driving and criminal damage to property, also graded as a misdemeanor. She has also been charged with two counts of felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving an injury. In addition to the criminal charges, she was issued a total of 13 traffic citations for numerous violations including leaving the scene of an accident and failing to provide information in a traffic crash.

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Man Causes Fatal Crash when He Should Have Been in Jail

 Posted on April 19, 2014 in Personal Injury

Recently, a tragic series of events ended with the death of an 11-year-old boy in Chicago. A man on probation in Wisconsin was charged with numerous crimes in Illinois, but the Wisconsin Probation Department did not know it. If they had, the man would have likely been in jail in December of 2013, instead of fleeing police in a stolen vehicle before crashing into another car and killing a young boy.

Falling Through the Cracks

The probationer had been lying to agents in Wisconsin and Illinois, effectively falling through the cracks between authorities in the two states. He was not being monitored closely enough, and the agencies had failed to properly communicate with one another. Wisconsin was not aware of the man's arrests in Illinois, and Illinois did not know he was on probation in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, this case is not the first example of a defendant not being properly monitored while on probation in Cook County. Even still, this case highlights the difficulty in supervising defendants who travel out of state.

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Illinois Undocumented Immigrants Apply for Driver’s Licenses

 Posted on April 17, 2014 in Immigration

In 2013, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new measure into law that permits undocumented immigrants permission to apply for driver’s licenses. Illinois is the fourth and largest state to permit this, and while there are some concerns regarding identity fraud and related issues, Gov. Quinn and various others believe it is a necessary public safety measure. Facial recognition technology is a required step of the application process, which is what, they believe, will prevent any chance of identity fraud.

These new licenses are similar to those already issued to certain foreign-born, legal visitors in the state. All applicants must prove they have resided in Illinois for at least 12 months and must provide a valid passport or consular ID from their native country, as well as providing proof of their name, date of birth, and address. Applicants will be photographed, and their pictures will be entered into a state facial recognition database in order to verify their identity.

Currently, those undocumented immigrants wishing to apply for licenses may only do so at specific Secretary of State Offices.

These driver’s licenses are only temporary and will expire in three years. They will not be permitted to be used as identification for those uses such as voting or buying a gun.

Those in favor of the new law believe it will ultimately make Illinois roads safer for everyone because applicants are required to have insurance in order to be granted a license. Applicants must also pass a vision, written, and road driver’s test before receiving their license.

This is a huge step in immigrant rights movements in Illinois. If you or someone you know is currently an undocumented immigrant in Illinois has been denied the right to a driver’s license for reasons you believe unjust, do not be afraid to contact an experienced Illinois immigration attorney to assist you in fighting for your rights.

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Cohabitation + Spousal Support? Not in Illinois

 Posted on April 17, 2014 in Family Law

With nearly 50 percent of marriages ending in divorce, the concept of spousal support is commonplace in today’s society. This is equitable relief for those spouses who may not have contributed much financially, but certainly contributed by supporting the working spouse, whether that means raising children or keeping up with regular household duties.

While spousal support was created so that one spouse can maintain their same quality of life, allow for rehabilitation and educational expenses, or simply allow one spouse to get back on their feet after divorce, the reasons for spousal support are just and fair. Generally, these individuals find new relationships and move on, eventually getting re-married to new people, at which time spousal support, unless otherwise agreed to by the giving party, ceases under Illinois law.

 Issues with Spousal Support

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