Monthly Archives: December 2011

Can’t Afford Child Support OR a Lawyer?

In a recently issued opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “deadbeat” parents facing jail time for failure to pay child support aren’t automatically entitled to an attorney.  In the case, Turner v. Rogers, the father claimed he couldn’t afford either his child support payments or an attorney to defend himself in the case against him. Despite his claims, Mr. Turner was sentenced to a year in jail for “civil contempt”. This was an interesting, but common, situation.  Th...   Read more ...  

Same Sex Divorce in Illinois

Same-sex divorce The historic day that Illinois’ civil union bill took effect this past June; a slightly less well-known bit of history took place. A same sex Illinois couple, previously married in Quebec, filed for Illinois’ same sex divorce. With the passage of the law, same sex couples were afforded not only the right to enter into civil unions, but also the right to legally dissolve their relationships. Perhaps it’s not as glamorous a right as some that same sex couples no...   Read more ...