Unlike divorcing couples with children, parents who were never married do not automatically receive rights to parenting time. Instead, they must pursue it. Further, an order requiring the payment of child support does not guarantee parenting time to the paying parent. With this in mind, it is important to understand how you can get time with your child if you were never married.

Why Pursue Parenting Time?

Fathers who are not married to the mother of their child often wonder if it is worth pursuing parenting time with their child. They may be concerned about cost, or they may fear their rights will not be acknowledged by the courts. Rest assured that as long as you are not considered to be a risk to the child’s safety or emotional well-being, it is likely that your presence may be considered a positive influence on the life of your child. Further, studies have shown that children often fare better when they have two loving and connected parents. Since you may be required to financially contribute to the rearing of your child, regardless of whether you pursue parenting time or not, why not consider making an emotional contribution as well?

Each year in the United States, an estimated 2.8 million people experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including many whose conditions were caused by car accidents. Of those, approximately 50,000 do not survive their injuries, and another 280,000 are hospitalized and ultimately released. The rest are treated in emergency rooms and then released home to heal. What makes the difference between these three groups of people? Sometimes, it is the severity of the injury itself, but being able to recognize the early signs and symptoms can also be crucial for both the short- and long-term prognosis of a victim.

Early Detection is Crucial

In situations involving a severe brain injury, time can mean the difference between life and death. However, even in cases of mild or moderate TBI, early detection can be important. It ensures that the victim does not do things they should avoid, such as tasks that involve concentration and activities that can result in a secondary injury. Early detection can also ensure that victims receive proper treatment.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Although a traumatic brain injury can be caused by any jolt, blow, or sudden and violent movement of the head, traffic accidents and falls are the most common causes. In addition, traffic accidents are among the leading causes of TBI-related death. As such, all car, truck, bicycle, and pedestrian accident victims should know the signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.

Most people know that you can lose your driver’s license if you are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) in Illinois. However, many people do not realize that there might be a way to get the suspension of your driver’s license rescinded, but doing so generally requires the help of a qualified attorney.

You Have the Right to a Court Hearing Regarding Your Suspension

If you fail or refuse chemical testing following a DUI arrest, the state of Illinois imposes an automatic suspension of your driver’s license—known as a “statutory summary suspension.” For most people, this suspension lasts six months if you failed testing or 12 months if you refused testing. The law in Illinois, however, gives you the right to a court hearing to challenge the suspension. At this hearing, your lawyer can question police officers and present arguments as to why your license should not have been suspended.

If you hope to have your automatic suspension rescinded, you will need to prove one of the following:

In today’s world, it is increasingly common for couples to handle the divorce process collaboratively and amicably, without significant intervention from the court. This can work well when there are few conflicts or intractable disagreements that get in the way of negotiation, but there are other scenarios in which trying to resolve a divorce without litigation is simply too dangerous. One common example is a situation in which one spouse is not being honest with the other as their marriage is coming to an end. When many people think of deception in a marriage, they think of affairs and cheating, but there can also be a financial side of deception in the form of hidden assets.

Hidden Assets and Revenue

When a spouse attempts to hide assets before or during the divorce process, they usually do so in an effort to prevent them from being considered as part of the marital estate, and therefore subject to division in the divorce. This puts the other spouse at a major disadvantage unless they can work with an attorney to discover that the hidden assets exist and take legal action to rectify the situation.

There are several warning signs that your spouse might be hiding assets, including but not limited to:

Restaurant and bar owners in Northern Illinois are hopeful that their businesses will soon be able to resume limited indoor dining after restrictions due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the region. If they are able to open soon, as local news outlets are reporting, they will be just in time for the National Football League’s championship weekend.

Unfortunately, the combination of alcohol, tension, and competing team loyalties can lead to verbal and even physical altercations. People often lose sight of the fact that no perceived slight or indignity related to a sporting event is grounds for assaulting another person. When flared tensions result in personal injuries or even emotional distress in some instances, there are consequences in both the state’s criminal courts and, if a personal injury victim should choose, civil courts. If you have been injured in a physical altercation in an Illinois bar or restaurant, whether as an intended victim or mere bystander, you have the legal right to hold the at-fault party responsible for the harms that you have suffered.

Battery is Both a Crime and a Tort

Physical violence has long been codified in criminal and civil law. In common law (the antecedent to American law), the tort of battery is a “harmful or offensive” intentional contact. Examples include a shove, punch, kick, grab, or inappropriate sexual contact. Importantly, in the context of battery in a bar or restaurant, the legal doctrine of “transferred intent” allows for liability for harm intended by a tortfeasor—the individual who caused the injury—to one person to be transferred when someone other than the intended victim is harmed.