Columbia Divorce & Family Law Blog by Stange Law Firm, PC

Parents in Illinois dealing with child custody issues might encounter an inconvenient court hearing date and wish to change it. While it is not always possible to do so, there are options that might allow it or provide alternative ways for a parent to appear in court. The procedure for this varies from state to state, but there are general guidelines about what a parent can do.

In most cases, courts will not change a hearing date. There are exceptions to this, however. If a parent has moved to a different state and has difficulty physically getting around, a court might allow a date change. Another reason a court might consider changing a hearing date for child custody is if the date would negatively impact the parent's employment. Finally, a court might change the hearing date if a parent fears for their safety by attending the hearing. In those cases, the parent must show proof of the situation via a court order of protection or through other evidence. For the court to grant a change or postponement of a hearing date, the parent must provide documentation for the required change.

Parents in Illinois will generally share custody and visitation rights to their children. Therefore, they will generally need to decide ahead of time how they will make the transition from one parent to the other easier on themselves and their children. Ideally, parents will spend time creating a plan that includes details such as when and where transitions will occur. The children should also be notified in advance so that they know what to expect.

It can be a good idea to allow children to bring comfort items with them wherever they go. These items could include a blanket, stuffed animal or a favorite video game. Parents should allow children to choose which items to bring as it gives them a sense of control in an otherwise uncertain situation. Reducing a child's stress or anxiety level can also be helpful to the other parent.

When there is a divorce in Illinois and across the United States, couples with children should think about how child support will be handled. Caring and providing for children is a fundamental necessity even after a marriage has ended. The key is to ensure the best interests of the child are served. Unfortunately, there are cases where the supporting parent will fall behind in the payments or not make the payments at all. Some of these cases involve recognizable people.

The actor Charlie Sheen is being accused by his ex-wife, actress Denise Richards, of failing to pay child support. They divorced in 2006. According to Ms. Richards, Mr. Sheen owes $450,000. She says that he wasted the wealth he accrued from selling his stake in his television show, "Two and a Half Men" and failed to cover the support payments. He is also accused of shifting assets worth more than $600,000 to other family members and accumulating cash to use for himself.

Family law judges in Illinois and around the country are sometimes tasked with making very difficult decisions, particularly when the welfare of a young child is involved. It is not unknown for parents embroiled in bitter custody disputes to hurl incendiary allegations at one another, and the decisions that judges make are often based on which parent they believe. According to some experts, judges are often guided in these situations by popular but unproven theories, pseudo experts and their own biases.

It is not uncommon in child custody disputes for mothers to accuse fathers of physical or sexual abuse and for fathers to claim that mothers are guilty of parental alienation. Parental alienation occurs when one parent turns a child against the other. The concept is not endorsed by the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Association, but it is widely embraced by family law judges according to research conducted by a George Washington University Law School professor. After studying 2,000 child custody cases involving allegations of abuse and alienation, the professor found that fathers were awarded physical custody twice as often as mothers.