Posted on March 25, 2022 in Divorce

 Divorce in Illinois is often a long process made up of many different parts that can each have their own confusing legal terms. Even for couples who try their best to work together and communicate clearly, divorce can feel stuffy and complicated and couples may feel frustrated that their private information suddenly feels very public.

One of the areas people commonly have questions about is the process of discovery, which is one of the most notorious elements of courtroom dramas. Fortunately, divorce discovery tends to be much more boring and straightforward than it might seem on TV. If you are getting divorced and have questions about the divorce process, an experienced divorce attorney can help you get answers to your questions.

What is the Purpose of Discovery?

For couples who do not agree on factual issues in their divorce, the discovery process allows attorneys to trade information back and forth to facilitate compromise between the spouses or prepare for courtroom litigation. Many couples never even need to use the discovery process because they can resolve disputes in mediation or between each other without professional help. But for couples who deal with issues like hidden income or assets, domestic violence, or when one parent alleges their spouse is unfit to be a parent, discovery is useful and necessary because it allows each spouse’s attorney to gather information they can then use to present an argument before a judge.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on March 21, 2022 in Divorce

While divorce is rarely an easy or simple experience, for parents of young children who are disabled or have special needs, divorce can be a complex balancing act of competing priorities. Children with disabilities often require significant time and energy to be dedicated to their care and parents need to address certain elements of the divorce, like parenting schedules and child support, specifically according to the disabled child’s needs. If you are a parent of a special needs child, here are some things you may want to keep in mind.

Child Support for Disabled Children Can Be Flexible

Child support is usually determined according to the Income Shares formula, which determines child support payments using both parents’ incomes and the amount of time they spend with each child. But when a child has special educational, developmental, or medical needs, child support can be adjusted to ensure that the financial cost of these needs is fairly divided between the parents.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on March 16, 2022 in Family Law

 Child support is an issue that, for many parents, is fraught with complications and tension. Even if a parent intends to fully meet their legal obligation to financially provide for their child, the laws can be hard to understand, and the consequences for not following the laws can be severe. Job loss, economic downturns, and unexpected expenses can make paying child support difficult, and sometimes parents have to make hard choices.

Here is a brief overview of the consequences of not paying child support in Illinois. The best way to avoid the negative impacts of missing child support payments is to ensure you understand Illinois child support laws and have the support of an experienced child support attorney from whom you can get help.

Consequences For Not Paying Child Support in Illinois

The punishment for failing to make court-ordered child support payments can vary depending on why the child support is late, how long payments have been missed, and how much money is owed. Some common consequences of not paying child support include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 28, 2022 in Divorce

Also known as alimony or spousal maintenance, “spousal support” is technically the term used in Illinois for payments made from one former spouse to another after a divorce has been finalized. While not every divorce decree contains an order for spousal support, when it is ordered, it is legally enforceable and failing to make payments carries legal consequences.

The recipient of spousal support is often dependent on the funds for essentials like housing, food, and clothing. While spousal support is meant for the spouse, it often also contributes to the expenses associated with raising children. If spousal support payments do not come on time or at all, it can have a seriously detrimental effect on both a parent and child. If you should be receiving spousal support and your ex has decided not to pay for any reason, an experienced Illinois family law attorney may be able to help.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 18, 2022 in Divorce

Thanks to the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges supreme court case, same-sex families in Illinois can get married. Along with an increase in LGBT marriage has come an increase in couples who want to adopt or have children through methods such as egg donation and gestational surrogacy. While these methods are wonderful for building families, they do have legal complications and it is important to understand how Illinois law handles cases where one or both parents do not have a biological relationship with the child.

Illinois Egg Donors Do Not Have Parental Rights

When an egg donor helps an individual or couple conceive through assisted reproductive techniques, the donor completely gives up their legal parental rights to any children that result from their donation. Because an egg donor does not have parental rights, both members of a same-sex couple may have parental rights for a child conceived through egg donation.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 14, 2022 in Divorce

Most couples do everything they can to reconcile their differences before resorting to divorce, especially when there are children involved. While couple’s therapy, family counseling, and renewed efforts to revive a relationship may work for some people, for other couples, divorce is inevitable.

Some couples agree that divorce is the best option, but it is common for one spouse to be confident about the decision to divorce while the other spouse still hopes or wishes to reconcile. A spouse who is determined to exhaust all possible options cannot ultimately prevent a divorce from happening, but he or she can slow things down and make it more difficult for a divorce to proceed. One way this might happen is through trying to convince a court that reconciliation may still be possible and asking for a conciliation conference.

What is a Conciliation Conference?

Couples in Illinois no longer have to prove fault in a divorce case. In the past, abandonment, infidelity, and abuse could be difficult to prove and were not necessarily present in marriages that spouses wished to end. Today, fortunately, couples in Illinois need only list “irreconcilable differences” as their cause for divorce.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on February 07, 2022 in Divorce

While divorce is difficult for everyone involved, it often presents a different set of challenges to men and women. Women are more likely to become depressed than men and the divorce process is littered with complications that can rattle the confidence of even the most self-assured woman. Women also tend to earn less than men and are nearly always the primary child caregivers, meaning that their financial, physical, and mental burdens are often increased substantially during divorce. If you are a woman considering divorce in Illinois, here are five things that you should know.

It is Normal to Feel Emotional

Many women resist feeling the full extent of their emotions because they need to think clearly. But emotions are powerful and useful, and they can have a place in making wise decisions. It is perfectly normal to feel angry, hurt, frightened, confused, and even happy during the divorce process. Whether or not you allow these feelings to drive your decision-making process is ultimately up to you, but you should never feel shame for allowing your emotions to run strong during this period of major upheaval.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 31, 2022 in Divorce

On January 1, 2019, a new federal law called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed the way that divorced spouses could deduct taxes from spousal maintenance (also known as alimony or spousal support). Because tax deductions are under the purview of federal law, this law applied to all states, including Illinois. While each state could still set their own guidelines for how spousal maintenance payments would be calculated, the tax implications of these payments changed. Naturally, many people may have questions about what this means for their divorce or spousal maintenance renegotiation.

Which Spouse is Responsible for Taxes on Spousal Maintenance? 

Before 2019, the spouse making spousal maintenance payments could deduct those payments from his or her taxable income. The spouse receiving payments would pay taxes on the spousal maintenance as if it were income. With the TCJA, the spouse making payments now cannot deduct them from his or her taxable income and the spouse receiving payments does not pay taxes on them. This means that the spouse who makes payments is also responsible for paying taxes on that amount.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 21, 2022 in Divorce

Pets of all kinds are often loved and cared for as another member of the family. Children who grow up with a dog or cat in the home may have known that animal their entire lives and feel very attached to it. So when a couple decides to get divorced, the issue of how to manage the family pet can become quite contentious. Spouses often want to know who will get to keep the pet, how such a decision will be made, and who will pay for the expenses of caring for the pet in the future. If you are getting divorced and wondering what will happen to Fido, read on.

Does Illinois Have Pet “Custody” Laws?

Illinois law recognizes that people love their pets and want to give them the best possible life, even after divorce. Although pets are technically still considered property under Illinois law, a pet cannot be “divided” the same way another asset, like a bank account, could be divided.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 14, 2022 in Family Law

Every day, men and women all over Illinois deal with domestic violence. Fear of an intimate partner or relative can have serious negative consequences on a victim’s mental health, to say nothing of the physical dangers of living with a violent person. Sometimes, victims want to leave their situation but fear their abuser will pursue them wherever they go - even if they leave the state.

Fortunately, Illinois law recognizes the importance of protecting victims of domestic violence and offers Orders of Protection for men and women who want legal help. If you are living in fear of your abuser, you have options. There are many organizations that help domestic violence victims escape dangerous situations and an experienced Illinois attorney can help you file for an Order of Protection when necessary. To learn more about Orders of Protection and how they work across state lines, read on.

Continue Reading ››