Children need adults to keep them safe and help them grow up to be happy and healthy. Typically, a child’s parents are the primary caregivers in a child’s life. However, modern families come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes a child’s grandparent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, or another responsible adult takes on the primary caregiver role. Legal guardianship allows a person other than a child’s parent to assume responsibility for child-related decisions and caretaking.

What Is A Guardian of a Minor Child?

As a non-parent, you may occasionally babysit a child, help make decisions about the child’s education, or assume roles typically assigned to parents. However, being an informal caretaker and a legal guardian are very different things. When you become a child’s legal guardian, you assume certain legal rights and responsibilities not expected of non-guardians.

There are several different types of guardianship in Illinois. If you are the “guardian of the person,” you assume responsibility for major decisions in the child’s life, including where he or she will go to school or what types of medical care the child will receive. “Guardian of the estate” allows you to manage the child’s financial assets. Sometimes, one person will act as both the guardian of the person and guardian of the estate.

For decades, misconceptions about prenuptial agreements have confused and misled engaged couples. News stories about last-minute celebrity weddings and divorces have led many to believe that prenups are only for the ultrarich or for couples who do not take their wedding vows seriously. Fortunately, these misconceptions are slowly being replaced by the truth that prenuptial agreements are a valuable legal tool for any engaged couple.

Estimates place the divorce rate between 40-50 percent. More and more couples recognize that no one can predict the future and that preparing for the possibility of divorce is an important part of being financially responsible. Prenuptial agreements have increased in popularity among younger couples for several reasons.

Young Couples Understand That There is Always a Chance of Divorce

The last thing a couple wants to think about when they are planning their wedding is the possibility that they will eventually divorce. However, statistics do not lie, and many marriages do ultimately end. Many couples understand that preparing for this possibility does not doom the marriage to failure, just as carrying car insurance does not increase the chances of a car accident.

As a business owner, you may assume that your business assets are completely separate from your marital property, but this is often not the case. According to Illinois law, business assets acquired by a spouse during their marriage are typically considered to belong to the marital estate. Even business assets owned before a marriage can be at risk of becoming commingled with marital assets and losing their separate identity. One way to ensure that your business assets remain your own is to address them specifically in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement with your spouse.

Prenuptial Agreements for Business Owners

If you are planning to get married and you already own a business or professional practice, that business will still be considered your non-marital property once you get married. However, a prenuptial agreement can provide an additional safeguard to ensure that it stays that way throughout your marriage. Beyond designating your ownership rights to the property, your prenuptial agreement can also include other provisions that may be beneficial to you and your partner.

When we hear the term “guardianship,” we often think of children. However, Illinois law also provides legal avenues for someone to receive guardianship of a disabled adult. If you have a loved one with a disability that renders him or her unable to care for himself or herself, you may be interested in getting guardianship of that person. Although the law uses the word “disability,” when referring to guardianship of an adult, the criteria for what constitutes a disabled person is more inclusive than you may assume.

How Does Illinois Define a Disability for the Purposes of Guardianship?

There are several different types of guardianship in Illinois. When someone acts as a guardian for an adult, they may assume responsibility for that person’s medical, financial, and/or day-to-day decision-making. Illinois courts only grant guardianship of an adult if that person meets the legal definition of disabled. A disabled adult is someone who cannot make and communicate reasonable decisions about his or her personal affairs. This incapacitation may be due to:

• Cognitive deterioration – Many times, guardianship of a disabled adult is granted when an older adult suffers from Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Huntington’s disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases may also cause a person to be unable to care for himself or herself.

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