DuPage County Family Law Blog

Sometimes the divorce process inspires an understandable need to vent. Venting can be both cathartic and healthy. But it is critical that should you need to vent about your former spouse that you choose to do so away from social media and the Internet in general. The subject of social media and divorce is becoming increasingly complex. But as more and more divorce attorneys seek to obtain damning evidence about others via the Internet, your best policy is to stay away from social media during your divorce, child custody battle or other family law dispute.

Ideally, it is best to temporarily shut down your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social media sites. Doing so may feel temporarily isolating, but by doing so you insulate yourself from potential liability based on activity on these accounts. Even something so harmless as "checking in" at a nice restaurant for your birthday might be perceived by opposing counsel and the court as evidence that you tend to spend money frivolously, which could impact the terms of your eventual divorce, child custody and child support agreements.

Research recently published in the social work journal Family Relations indicates that when co-parents focus their relationship on the needs of their children, a more satisfying custody arrangement is experienced by all affected family members. Meaning that when parents who are divorced or otherwise not parenting under the same roof put their differences aside for the benefit of their children, these parents benefit from this effort as well.

It can be difficult to know exactly how to go about putting aside your differences and focusing on your children's needs. After all, in the immediate aftermath of divorce especially, the differences between co-parents can seem overwhelming and all consuming. In order to redirect focus away from tension and onto children, parents are advised to put time and thought into creating a parenting plan.

The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is a very special one. Most grandparents would do just about anything for their grandchildren. For many grandparents this involves contributing financially to their grandchildren's upbringing. Even when grandparents support their grandchildren financially or in other ways, however, at times their rights to spend time with their grandchildren may be limited by the children's parents, leaving grandparents unsure where to turn.

Two different trends are currently going on. One is that more grandparents are now financially supporting their grandchildren than ever before. According to AARP, 25 percent of grandparents spend over $1,000 each year on their grandchildren. Over a third reported helping to cover their grandchildren's daily living expenses.

Today our society is more global than ever before. It is not uncommon for children to live in a different country than their parents due to a divorce or other circumstances. Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed legislation which would make it easier for state child support enforcement programs to collect payments from parents living outside of the country.

The measure given approval in the House is a move towards ratifying a 2007 international child support treaty. The purpose of the treaty is to facilitate cooperation and information sharing between countries for the purpose of securing financial support payments.