Most divorce cases involve a variety of complex issues, but there are some situations that may leave spouses wondering about their rights and how they can protect themselves going forward. One concern that some divorcing couples may face is determining how to proceed when they are expecting a child. Emotional and psychological issues notwithstanding, there are many challenges that may arise when getting a divorce while a spouse is pregnant.

Legal Issues Involved When Divorcing While Pregnant

A spouse’s pregnancy can greatly complicate the divorce process. Some of the issues that may need to be addressed in these cases include:

• No Simplified Divorce—Although some married couples can get a simplified divorce, this option is not available if the spouses have children together or are expecting a child. This means the divorce proceedings will be more involved, and they may take longer to resolve.

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One common question that married couples often need to face is whether they should stay together for their kids. In many cases, there may be equally convincing arguments for getting a divorce or staying together. The decision will ultimately depend on your situation and whether you think you and your spouse will be able to meet your children’s needs after your divorce. Before you decide on how to proceed, you may want to consider how your divorce will affect your children and whether other factors will play a role in your case.

The Effects of Divorce on Children

Studies suggest that divorce can have substantial short-term effects on children. These may include:

• Emotional disturbances, such as anxiety, anger, and stress

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If you are going through the divorce process and working with your spouse, your respective lawyers, and/or the judge to determine how to allocate parental responsibilities, you will want to give serious thought to the development of an effective parenting plan that protects your children’s best interests while maintaining your rights as a parent. Here are some things to consider when devising such a plan:

How Do You Create the Right Parenting Plan?

The right parenting plan can make things a whole lot easier for everyone, including both parents and children. However, developing a fair parenting plan that is beneficial for everyone involved can be challenging. In fact, parents often cannot agree on the terms of the parenting plan, and the court may need to intervene and make decisions about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, which might not be nearly as beneficial to those involved. In most cases, it is recommended to work with your lawyer and the other parent to create an effective and agreeable parenting plan. When creating your parenting plan, you will want to keep the following issues in mind:

1. Always Consider Your Children’s Best Interests—You must put yourself in your children’s shoes. With every term you put in the plan, consider how it will affect your children. If you think a certain stipulation will stress your child out or cause undue emotional turmoil, then you will want to rethink its objectives. There could be better ways to achieve the same goals that will not be as traumatic to the children. Also, if your child is particularly mature, you may even want to ask them their opinion. You would be surprised at how good they are at knowing what is in their best interests.

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If you have children and are getting a divorce, you will need to work together with the other parent on the allocation of parental responsibilities. Overall, this allocation requires deliberation upon four main facets of a child’s life and all of the parental duties associated with each area. While there could be other additional topics that the court and the parents might consider, these four cover most of the child’s needs.

What Categories Are Considered When Allocating Parental Responsibilities?

While custody decisions will determine the specifics of both parents’ time with their children, including differences in schedules based on holidays and vacations, there are also some other subjects that need to be discussed throughout the process. Specifically, when allocating parental responsibilities, all parties involved must consider responsibilities for these four main categories, the particular elements of which would be further detailed in the parenting plan:

1. Education—This involves everything regarding the child’s schooling, such as:

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In previous blogs, we have discussed the role that guardians ad litem (GAL) play in child custody cases. But GALs are not the type of only objective third party who can work to help judges and determine the best interests of children in Illinois. There are also child representatives and attorneys for children. While all three roles are very similar, there are a few distinct differences between them. It is important to know these distinctions in case a lawyer or judge thinks it is a good idea to appoint one for your child custody case.

The Three Roles and How They Are Different

The three roles of guardian ad litem, child representative, and attorney for children are very similar overall in Illinois law, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, even though this is inaccurate. However, each of these roles can serve a different purpose, depending on the case.

• Guardian Ad Litem—As discussed in prior posts, GALs investigate the children, the parents, the families, any other related parties, and the child’s home life in general in order to develop a comprehensive report that will provide the proper recommendations for a judge with regards to child custody. A GAL will conduct interviews and study the case from the children’s perspective so that they can help make a final determination in the case as a third party.

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