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Getting a divorce? If you have children, be careful what you say
It takes strength to leave an unhappy marriage. People sometimes think of divorce as a failure of sorts, but the reality is that it's much easier to stay in a dysfunctional relationship and maintain the status quo than it is to leave one and start again.
That being said, there are some mistakes that you don't want to make on your new-found path to freedom — especially if you have children, including:
1. Airing all their "dirty laundry" in public
It's one thing to tell your best friend, your therapist and your parents about your spouse's cheating and other marital failures — but it's quite another to blast all your private issues all over the neighborhood or on Facebook. Your spouse may not be your spouse much longer — but he or she is still going to be your children's other parent forever.
The short-term vindication you may get from vilifying your spouse (no matter how justified) isn't worth the damage you could do to his or her reputation — and your children's feelings. Imagine for example, how your children may feel if the whole neighborhood suddenly becomes aware that their mother is a gambler, or their father is a drunk and a womanizer? If you kept something private before your divorce for the sake of your family, think twice before you choose to reveal it now.
Genealogy tests usher in new era of criminal investigations
As another holiday season moves past, thousands of Americans will be anxiously awaiting the results of the genealogy tests they received as presents.
Law enforcement officers may also be waiting on the newest addition to what has become an increasingly useful tool when it comes to closing cold cases: DNA databanks.
As recently as November 2017, the 2001 murder of a 25-year-old woman was solved thanks to DNA that was left behind at a crime scene and modern-day genetic testing that identified the killer. It was the 24th time since April that suspects in crimes have been identified the same way. At least two of the cases that have been solved had plagued investigators for 30 or more years.
The majority of the cases have been cracked with the aid of genetic genealogists at Parabon NanoLabs. Genetic genealogy is an emerging discipline that allows researchers to track an unknown individual — in this case, a suspected killer — through the genetic data submitted to genealogy databases by their families. The data gleaned from all of those genetic tests that people take seeking to learn more about their ancestry can then be used to enhance things like the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which is used by the law enforcement.
When will the court let you relocate with a child after divorce?
Relocating after your divorce can be tricky if you have a child.
Even if you have primary physical custody of your child, that doesn't mean that the court will automatically allow you to relocate a significant distance away from the child's other parent. A long-distance move could significantly interfere with that parent's visitation rights — and might not be best for your child.
Before you approach a family court in California about relocating, it's important to understand the way that the court will evaluate such a request. In general, the court will always put the best interests of your child ahead of your personal or professional goals.
That being said, here are some possible reasons for relocating that the court might consider acceptable:
- You want to move back to an area where you have close relatives who can provide a strong support system for your children.
- You have a job opportunity in another area that could significantly improve your child's economic situation.
Considering cooperation and non-prosecution agreements
When facing a serious criminal situation, many Illinois residents may not fully understand their legal options. While you likely know that you have the ability to create and present a criminal defense against any charges you face, you may not know about certain deals or agreements that could potentially result in your facing lesser consequences for the alleged crime.
Plea bargains or plea deals are not an uncommon tool in criminal justice cases. Often, these deals result in individuals receiving lesser consequences or the dismissal of certain charges for pleading guilty to other allegations. However, you may not have heard of cooperation agreements or non-prosecution agreements.
Cooperation agreement
As the name suggests, a cooperation agreement may come into play if a person chooses to cooperate with authorities. This type of agreement may not be an option in your case. However, in the event that it is, here is some information about this type of agreement to consider:
Borrowing a gun for self defense: Legal trouble in the making
Are you thinking about borrowing a gun "just in case" something happens?
The world can be a scary place. Sometimes, it just feels better knowing that you have a gun around for protection. If you're going to be alone in a new apartment, going through trouble with a volatile ex, have to walk home late at night after work or have recently been threatened by someone, it's only natural to be concerned for your own safety.
However, borrowing a gun for self defense could open the door to a lot of trouble. You may have a weapon to defend yourself, but using it could land you in jail.
In Illinois, you have the legal right to defend yourself by any means necessary — as long as you reasonably believe that force is the only way to prevent yourself or another from suffering serious bodily injury. Illinois also gives you the right to use force to stop someone from breaking into your home if you fear that they may hurt you or otherwise commit a felony.
However, even if your act of self defense is legal, using a borrowed gun for which you have no permit and without a Firearms Owner's Identification (FOID) card means that you could end up facing serious criminal charges. FOID cards are required before you can legally have any firearm or ammunition in your possession. In addition, you could be in violation of the state's Concealed Carry License (CCL) regulations (if you were carrying the gun in a purse or inside your coat, for example).
Know what factors can drive up the cost of your divorce
How do you keep your divorce costs down to a minimum?
Well, just like a wedding, a divorce can vary in cost considerably — and a lot of that cost is up to you and your spouse. Most people just don't realize that there are numerous factors that can quickly drive the cost of a divorce way up. They include:
1. Do you need to litigate?
If you and your spouse can agree on all the terms of your divorce before you hit court, you'll likely save a ton of money. A contested divorce that goes into litigation can raise the expense of a divorce by thousands.
Even if you and your spouse don't totally agree on everything, a collaborative divorce or mediated divorce process may still help you avoid litigation and save.
2. What are you doing with the house?
Your home may be a bit of an albatross during your divorce. Keep it, and you face all sorts of expenses to maintain it — plus you have to buy out your spouse's share of the equity. Sell it, and the equity can be eaten away by realtor's fees, a soft home market and moving costs. Either way, it's a big decision and not something that you can take lightly.
Illinois passes jailhouse informant restrictions
Illinois has taken a major step to prevent wrongful convictions and protect innocent people from going to jail based on the word of jailhouse informants.
The Illinois statute, which is considered to be the strongest in the nation, takes aim at a system that rewarded good liars and did nothing to protect the average citizen. Here are some important facts you should know:
- Selling information to the prosecution can be lucrative. Two informants in California, for example, made more than $300,000 in just four years.
- In cases where DNA evidence has later exonerated convicted defendants, jailhouse informants were behind their convictions 16 percent of the time.
- The only other states that have adopted similar measures are California, Florida and Texas. However, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington are trying to pass legislation that would do the same.
Under the new statute, prosecutors in Illinois would have to disclose their intention to use a jailhouse informant's testimony a minimum of 30 days in advance of trial. This gives defense attorneys enough time to fairly investigate an informant's history and credibility. Prosecutors will also be required to explain exactly what the informant is getting out the deal — and how many times the informant has been used in the past.
Don't be in a rush to take the plea deal you're offered
If you've been charged with a crime in Illinois, the odds are high that your case will never go to trial. While it varies a little from state to state, 97 percent of federal convictions happen through plea deals. So do 94 percent of convictions for felonies at the state level.
Unfortunately, not all of those people who plead guilty are guilty. Since the system records them as guilty, there's no way to tell for sure how many innocent people take a plea bargain instead of taking their chances at trial. However, it's believed to be a considerable number. Seventy percent of the people in your local jail are there because they can't afford bail. They can't even afford what it would cost to get a bail bondsman to put up the rest of their bail for them.
A plea bargain, for many people, is simply a bargain with "the devil they know" in order to get home to their families and their lives faster. Once they do the math, many people realize that they'll spend more time in jail waiting on their trial than they would if they take a plea. They decide to plead guilty for practical reasons.
Protect your relationship with your child through paternity
Are you the father of a child born outside of marriage?
In years past, mothers generally retained exclusive control over the children born from unmarried relationships. Fathers could do very little to retain contact with their children if the mothers objected.
Times have changed. A paternity action can give you the right to establish a relationship with your child — even over the mother's objections.
Choosing to establish paternity over your child is about a lot more than just signing your name on a birth certificate and providing financial support for your child. Consider this:
- Every child has the right to know his or her father. You are giving your child the precious gift a lasting connection with you that can't be easily broken.
- By establishing paternity, you ensure your child's right to an inheritance from you when you pass away.
- Your child also gains the right to collect important benefits if you become disabled, such as Social Security.
Should you be honest with your defense attorney?
If you are charged with a crime in Illinois, the best thing you can do for yourself is defend your rights. You don't want to end up with a bias against you in court, and you shouldn't have to worry about unfair treatment.
Whenever you're charged with a crime, you have a right to speak with your attorney. Your attorney's job is to protect and educate you. Your attorney can help guide you through the steps of a criminal case and will do all they can to make sure you don't face unfair charges or penalties.
If you are charged with a serious offense, such as assault and battery, then you need to shore up your defenses quickly. Here's a bit on what you can do to build a strong defense.
1. Be honest with your attorney
To start with, be honest with your attorney. Don't hide anything about your case, because it's likely that those facts will come out one way or another. Your attorney won't be surprised by anything you tell them, so be honest.
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