Children 4 Tomorrow
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| What We Need to Know about Psychological Child Abuse a.k.a. “Parental Alienation.”
Raising Awareness – Increasing Knowledge of Parental Alienation WHEN: April 26, 2024 8 CLE’s – Legal (Judges & Attorneys) For more information, go to www.children4tomorrow.org or call 713-660-0760. Presenters: Please Register here: |
In my practice, much of the emphasis on this blog is placed on complex child custody litigation, and how to manage these difficult issues with child custody litigation. Yet, in some of my cases along with child custody issues there can be significant financial issues and division of property issues. One issue that sometimes arises is the valuation of a family owned business, or the valuation of a percentage share in a corporation our group of companies.
With certain exceptions all property acquired during marriage through the time, skill and efforts of either spouse is considered marital property. The disposition of property is governed by Section 503 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). Under Illinois law, all property acquired by either spouse during a marriage is presumed to be marital property.
A business begun by one spouse after the date of marriage and before physical separation will need to be divided in a dissolution proceeding, and if you and your spouse cannot agree on its value it may need to be evaluated by an expert. Under the IMDMA the Court can appoint its own expert to advise it about financial issues in a case, but more typically each arty will retain a CPA-level expert to determine values in the business and property interests, and then be available to testify at trial (if necessary) regarding the values that the Court should determine in a marital estate.
https://amandasillars.com/blog/f/parental-alienation-literature-2016-and-beyond?blogcategory=Books
Amanda is the founder of the Eeny Meeny Miney Mo Foundation and the creator of the Australian Parental Alienation Awareness Day, on the 12th of October. Amanda is regularly consulted as an emerging subject matter expert in this field. Amanda’s goal, and that of the Eeny Meeny Miney Mo Foundation, is to educate parents, Family Court and mental health practitioners on parental alienating behaviours, the dynamics, processes and profiles, and the trauma, stress, and lifelong impact it has on children.
Nearly 40% of the Parental Alienation literature has been published since 2016. Parental Alienation research has moved beyond an early stage of scientific development and has produced a scientifically trustworthy knowledge base.
So what accounts for the post-holiday divorce?
According to experts, the biggest reason that divorces rise following the holidays is a desire for one person in the marriage to start fresh and begin another year with a clean slate.
Through manipulation and coercion, innocent children are weaponized against the alienated parent. Children are involuntarily forced to align entirely with one parent and sever ties with the other. They are forbidden to love a parent with whom they were previously close to.
Targeted parents and alienated children suffer the effects of this atrocity for a lifetime.
Aside from memberships in leading psychological science groups such as the American Psychological Association, and memberships with Parental Alienation professional groups (clinicians, judges, scientists, lawers), I continue to study and develop professional skillsets in the understanding of PA and how it affects families, and how it can be mitigated within the court system.
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Module 1: How Can Parental Alienation Happen?
Many clients of our firm are asking this important question: What is the immediate impact on my case if my courthouse is closed for weeks or months, starting right now?
It has been only since last Friday that the various counties in Illinois announced via email and posts on their websites that the courthouses were to be closed for about 30-45 days, while the COVID-19 pandemic works its way through Illinois. Many of our cases were set for important hearings with our judges in March and April, and now these cases will have to be reset. Some will be reset by the courts, and others are being reset by agreement with opposing counsel.
| Illinois Divorce Law Blog | 28 | 5.02 | 66 | 5 |
A quick note to discuss the art and science of managing complex divorce and post-decree cases for my clients.
For me, it is a privilege to represent men and women facing some of the most challenging life changes and decisions, whether they are facing a new divorce filing, or dealing with the aftermath of a divorce (often when the predecree case was handled by another attorney) and problems or issues arise that weren’t managed well in the predecree phase.
Doing this work well for my valued Clients requires experience, insight into the best outcomes and solutions, as well as a passion for the craft of managing family law cases. I feel that it is critical that to be successful in this work, a lawyer must approach this profession with a strong measure of empathy and passion; the ability to truly diagnose the problems that the case presents, and to provide creative, insightful and positive outcomes for the Client and their children.
Working with high conflict personalities, I have always been open to approaches that can manage difficult issues with HCPs (High Conflict Personalities), without necessarily involving the courts every time there is a dispute, or transgression by a HCP. One way of dealing with difficult personalities in divorce is to have a Parenting Coordinator involved in the case. What is a Parenting Coordinator (PC) ? Essentially, a PC acts as a middleman, referee, and dispute resolver. The PC can make recommendations to a solution for a disputed issue. In other words, the PC can act almost as a magistrate for the judge, and help the Court manage these difficult issues without court involvement. Because the PC acts almost like a magistrate judge, some judges in the Family Courts do not like to appoint PCs, believing that they are essentially usurping the function of the judge. However, for certain cases, it is my opinion that a Parenting Coordinator can be a valuable tool and resource in managing issues that arise with a HCP.
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Parenting Coordination began gaining recognition in the 1990s as a result of presentations and trainings first offered at conferences such as the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and by experienced Parenting Coordinators. Initially there were variations in role, source and degree of authority, and practice in different jurisdictions, and different titles were used to describe this innovative intervention model, including Special Masters, Co-Parenting Facilitators, or Mediator/Arbitrators. In 2003, AFCC appointed an interdisciplinary task force to develop Guidelines for Parenting Coordination to guide mental health professionals, mediators, and lawyers with respect to training, practice, and ethics (AFCC, 2006).
Illinois Divorce Lawyer Blog