• Threats of kidnapping (they must be taken seriously)
• Mixed religion, mixed cultural marriages
• Parent has ties, connections or family out-of-state or abroad
• Parent lacks ties in the current place of residency, is unemployed, self-employed, and/or does not own real estate
• Parents are in the midst of a contested custody battle (orders of protection may be issued)
• History of domestic abuse, violence or mental illness

Upon filing a divorce petition, Illinois institutes an automatic stay that prevents either parent from taking the child across state lines without prior approval. However, if you believe your spouse may take your child, there are a few steps to try to prevent such an action:

• Tell your attorney. He or she can give you advice and bring up the matter before the judge, who should take the allegations seriously.
• If you have court-ordered child custody and visitation, follow the order exactly. Most parental kidnappings occur out of a parent’s extreme frustration and desperation from not seeing a child.
• Keep the child’s passport if you can, or if the other parent has it, the court can demand it be held at one of the attorney’s offices while the divorce is pending to prevent the child from leaving the country.
• Keep a copy of a custody or visitation order with you in the event you need police assistance when exchanging the child in a volatile situation.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie divorce attorneys

The settlement does not affect any loan held by either Fannie Mae or Freddy Mac, which is about two-thirds of mortgages on the market. The affected loans are owned by any one of the five banks that are part of the settlement: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC.)

Individuals who lost their homes to foreclosure between January 2008 and last year may be eligible to receive up to $2,000 cash if they can prove they were victims of shoddy mortgage practices by one of these five participating banks. Other potential beneficiaries of this settlement are current homeowners whose loans are held by these banks who are delinquent borrowers currently underwater on their mortgages. The settlement will allow them to restructure their loans with the banks. Finally, mortgage loan refinancing may also be available for current borrowers from these banks who pay above-market rates and cannot refinance due to negative equity.

Although this is a significant settlement, some are claiming it is not enough. The participating banks only hold about 8 percent of the loans they originate and sell the rest. Since the settlement only helps homeowners whose mortgages are currently held by these participating banks, it may be that despite the historic numbers, only a small group of individuals may actually find relief through the settlement.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie foreclosure attorneys

In order to reaffirm the debt, however, the debtor’s bankruptcy attorney must complete a reaffirmation form to file with the court. Depending on the situation, the bankruptcy attorney may be hesitant to recommend a debtor reaffirm the debt and will recommend so only when:

• The debtor is current on the debt
• The debtor’s budget can afford it
• The debtor will eventually be able to pay the debt in full
• It is not an undue hardship

Besides keeping a car or other collateral in bankruptcy, there may be other reasons a debtor wishes to reaffirm a debt. Some debtors may feel a moral obligation or wish to do so to honor personal or business debts. In general, the best interest of debtors is to take the Chapter 7 discharge of debts at the completion of the bankruptcy.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie bankruptcy attorneys

Grandparents, great-grandparents and siblings of a minor child at least one year old are able to file a petition in domestic relations for visitation in the following circumstances:

• If the child’s parent is deceased, missing or incarcerated for at least three months prior
• If a parent is incompetent as a matter of law
• If the parents are going through a divorce or are legally separated
• If the parents were never married and are not living together

For custody of a child in domestic relations court, a grandparent only has standing to file if the child is not in the physical custody of the parents. Note this does not mean the child has to be in the grandparents’ physical custody at the time. Grandparents also may file for custody if their child is deceased, and at the time of the person’s death the other parent was absent from the “marital abode,” was incarcerated, or had been convicted of a criminal sexual or domestic violence offense. It is important to realize that for both custody and visitation, if the parents are married, grandparents cannot sue for either visitation or custody. This means that married parents can cut grandparents out of their children’s lives if they see fit.

Another option for a grandparent is to petition for guardianship of a child under the Probate Code, or to seek an adoption of the child by terminating parental rights. Those topics will be the discussion of a future blog post.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie family attorneys

Debtors need only bring a state ID and proof of their Social Security number if they have already given all financial documentation to his or her bankruptcy attorney.  Bankruptcy attorneys must be provided tax returns, proof of income and financial statements, proof of creditor and medical bills, and if received, the attorney will have forwarded the information to the trustee already. The debtor should ask his or her bankruptcy attorney if it is necessary to bring anything else for the creditor meeting. During the meeting, the bankruptcy trustee will ask questions of the debtor on the record about assets, income and debt. Creditors are entitled to ask debtors questions as well, but few actually do.

The person an apprehensive debtor should turn to about the 341 meeting is his or her bankruptcy attorney. It is the job of the bankruptcy attorney to explain the process in full, and the attorney will likely ease any remaining fears a debtor may have.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie bankruptcy attorneys

Section 525(b) of the bankruptcy code states as follows, “No private employer may terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against, an individual who is or has been a debtor under this title…” Usually, employers will not even find out about a bankruptcy filing unless they are informed by the debtor. In Chapter 13, a debtor may choose to take a wage garnishment out of monthly income for the payment plan each month (although in some situations, this may not be a choice.) When a wage garnishment attaches, it is actually beneficial to the debtor as it ensures the payments are made on time and in full, increasing an individuals’s chances at having a successful completion of Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, some appeals courts have allowed potential employers to refuse to hire applicants based on a bankruptcy filing, noting that the exact language of Section 525(b) only forbids termination or discrimination in current employment. This should not sway the unemployed from filing bankruptcy, however, as an employer can also refuse to hire a person based on a poor credit score. Filing for bankruptcy will likely improve the debtor’s credit score in time.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie bankruptcy attorneys

Case law that occurred before the Civil Union Act demonstrates how Illinois does not consider sexual orientation relevant when deciding issues of adoption. In Re Petition of K.M., 653 N.E. 2d 888 (1995), the appeals court noted, “sexual orientation is simply not an issue in these cases….” In Re Marriage of R.S., 677 N.E.2d 1297(1997), the Court noted Illinois holds a neutral approach to sexual orientation affecting child custody determinations.

Illinois also made national news when it ended a $30 million dollar contract with Catholic Charities due to the religious group’s refusal to place children in homes with same-sex couples. Catholic Charities filed a lawsuit last summer seeking to force a law to exempt religious organizations from placing children in gay or lesbian homes. Illinois did not give in to the threats, and Catholic Charities eventually dropped the lawsuit and is no longer placing children in Illinois.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie family attorneys

The bankruptcy code allows for debtors to claim certain property as exempt from the reach of the trustee and creditors, so debtors should not use drain their property prior to filing for bankruptcy as then they will have little to no property available to live. Many retirement and pension accounts are completely exempt from the bankruptcy estate, so using those funds prior to filing for bankruptcy may be the worst thing a debtor could possibly do. Draining one’s retirement funds to pay bills will not only use up the money, but early withdrawals will result in penalties and tax consequences by the IRS.

Additionally, if a debtor knows he or she is soon going to be behind on a mortgage, the earlier the homeowner can visit a foreclosure attorney, the better. Banks and other mortgage lenders tend to be more open to negotiation of loans when a debtor has only recently defaulted can actually help the debtor right as he or she falls behind on the house payments.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie bankruptcy attorneys

Advocates for same-sex marriage have a powerful ally here in Chicago, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently voiced his support for a new state-wide law, telling Politico he admired New York state’s recent adoption of gay marriage, “I would hope that the state would move in that direction. Tremendous progress has been made across the country on a value statement. And I think that’s very important.”

Currently, Illinois is one of two states with an unusual civil union law as it allows both homosexual couples as well as heterosexual couples to enter into a civil union. (Hawaii’s recently-passed civil union law is similar.) What is interesting is that although Illinois currently does not allow same-sex marriage, it now allows divorce for same-sex married couples who wed in other states. This allows couples access to the court’s powers of equitable distribution of joint and marital property, application for spousal support and determination of child custody.

Stay posted for Thursday’s post where this blog will look at custody determinations for same-sex couples during divorce or adoption.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie family attorneys

The first myth, that running up credit cards is a sure way to gain access to Chapter 7, is based on people’s misunderstanding of the bankruptcy means test. To qualify to file for bankruptcy in a Chapter 7 proceeding, a person’s income must be below the median income for the state of residence. If the individual’s income is higher than the median, then they must not have enough disposable income after expenses to be able to afford to pay unsecured creditors such as credit cards. There is a set calculation to determine whether a debtor is able to do so.

The myth that running up credit cards to ensure a person is unable to repay creditors is misguided. It is true that having more unsecured debt may increase the likelihood that a person qualifies for Chapter 7, but purposely making credit purchases is the wrong way to go about this and may be fraudulent. The bankruptcy trustee will look at credit card purchases made in the six months prior to filing bankruptcy, and if it appears debts were purposely made with bankruptcy in mind, the debtor’s case could be dismissed for bad faith or the court may not allow a discharge of the debt.

Stay posted for more bankruptcy myths for 2012 exposed later this week.

Windy City Law Group– Skokie bankruptcy attorneys