Recently in Other Family Law Issues Category

Back in December, Andre Curry was arrested on suspicion of child abuse after he posted a Facebook gag photo of his 22-month-old daughter bound and gagged.

The Chicago man was sent to prison awaiting his trial date as he could not meet bail. This week, with the help of a South Side church, Curry was finally able to get his bail amount reduced and was able to post bail, freeing himself after about a month of incarceration, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Complicated domestic relations can lead to domestic violence murder. The brother of a Cook County judge stands accused of killing his sister and her husband. The suspect, Kenneth Rhodes, was living with the couple, Nathaniel Bracy and Pauline Betts-Bracy, at the time.

Police say the shooting at Country Club Hills stemmed from a domestic dispute over who owned the condominium in which all three adults lived, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Apparently, Rhodes had been belligerent the whole day, as the couple had filed a police report of domestic dispute just prior to the shooting.

Everyone knows that having a gun laying around the house is an obvious hazard to young children. But can having an old television laying around the house be as dangerous?

In the third reported television falling on a child death in recent months, four-year-old Gianna Hadjis was killed after a TV fell on her head in a University Park home, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

In another case of domestic violence murder, Brian Hawkins was allegedly killed by his girlfriend inside his Lake View apartment.

So far the details are sparse, but the 42-year-old man appears to have been in an argument with his unidentified girlfriend when she fatally stabbed him in the stomach on Wednesday night, reports the Chicago Tribune.

So far 2012 is turning out to be the year of the celebrity divorce (Katy Perry) or celebrity reconciliation (Maria Shriver). However, family law involves a lot more than what is happening with celebrities, and a recap of the top Chicago family law stories from 2011 shows you why.

Ian Alamilla met his future wife Tara under circumstances fit for a movie. Tara was visiting the Central American country of Belize where Ian worked as a scuba instructor at the resort where she stayed. The two met and fell in love, eventually prompting Ian to relocate to Westmont.

Unfortunately, seven years and three children later, the couple's relationship did not have a Hollywood ending. Instead, Tara sought to divorce her husband. And in an act of rage on April 2010, a DuPage County court found that Ian strangled his wife to death following a late-night argument, reports The Associated Press.

A Chicago South Side father went viral for all the wrong reasons.

You probably saw pictures of the Facebook gag baby. A man posted pictures of his 22-month-old daughter on Facebook bound in blue painter's tape. After the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) got wind of the post, they begun an investigation into child abuse and possible child removal.

But the father, 21-year-old Andre Curry, says it was all a big joke, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

More and more couples eligible to get married in Illinois are eschewing that right and choosing to enter a civil union instead. As you may already know, only opposite sex couples are allowed to legally marry in Illinois. Same-sex couples do not have this option and must enter into a civil union instead.

While civil union and marriage may be similar, they are not identical. And to show their solidarity with same-sex couples, opposite sex civil unions have been on the rise, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Skyler and Ian Lemke just returned home from school on the final day before the start of Christmas vacation. Minutes later they were shot to death and their mother, Sara McMeen was standing over their baby sister with a semi-automatic pistol ready to end the little girl's life as well, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

A neighbor reportedly witnessed the Emington murders and spoke with McMeen as the woman stood over her baby daughter. The neighbor asked if everything was alright. McMeen responded that, "No, everything is not all right," before shooting the baby.

The holidays can be a stressful time for most families with the gift buying and family visits. And if you’re divorced, separated, or sharing custody of your children, the stress is only magnified and you may find yourself having a very difficult time spreading the holiday cheer.

If this is your first holiday season post-divorce, you may have felt that the restructured family relationship has not been easy even in the most amicable divorce, reports the Independent Record. This is because your roles may be changed, traditions are ruined, and you may even have to spend the holidays without your children.