Posted on January 25,2017 in Child Support

Illinois courts currently determine child support payments based on the non-custodial parent's net income. A person's “net income” means all income less statutorily specified deductions. A common deduction is for state and federal income taxes, which are generally withheld by the employer and paid directly to the government.

Of course, many of us end up receiving a tax refund each year because our employer withholds more than the final tax due. Is this refund therefore considered part of a person's net income for purposes of child support? The short answer is yes, but the long answer is more complicated depending on the specific circumstances.

Court Finds Refund Not an Attempt to “Game” System

In fact, an Illinois appeals court recently addressed this very subject. The parties, in this case, divorced several years ago. At the time, they agreed the father would pay the mother 28 percent of his net income as child support. This percentage is consistent with Illinois guidelines for couples with two children.

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 Posted on January 23,2017 in Divorce

There are dozens of details surrounding a divorce. One that may get overlooked is estate planning. Most couples have previously signed wills, powers of attorney, and advances directives for health care naming the other spouse as their agent. Once a divorce is final, however, these documents may no longer reflect each party’s wishes.

Wills

When it comes to estate planning after divorce, Illinois law actually provides some assistance. If you executed a will prior to divorce that named your then-spouse as executor or a beneficiary of your estate, any such provision is automatically revoked once the divorce is final. The rest of your will remains intact; only those provisions affecting your former spouse are invalidated.

That said, there may be circumstances where you want your spouse to remain an executor or beneficiary. For example, if you plan to leave your estate to your minor children, you may still wish for your spouse to serve as executor. If that is the case, you need to make a new will reaffirming your intentions.

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 Posted on January 19,2017 in Child Custody

One of the more common disputes that arise during (and after) a divorce is visitation rights for the non-custodial parent. Ideally the parents establish a visitation plan and stick to it. But life does not always go according to plan, and when one parent feels they have been deprived of time with their child, it can lead to additional litigation even after the divorce is final.

Missed Weekend Leads to Extended Litigation

In a recent case from Chicago, a judge went so far as to hold a mother in contempt of court after the father missed two scheduled visitation days with their son. An Illinois appeals court reversed the contempt finding but still ordered the mother to give the father “make-up” visitation days. It is worth noting this dispute arose more than a decade after the parents divorced and agreed to a visitation plan.

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 Posted on January 17,2017 in Cohabitation

A common issue in high asset and complex divorces is one spouse's right to share in the business interests developed and owned by the other spouse. These issues may be complicated if the parties had a longstanding relationship that existed prior to marriage. Unfortunately for the less-wealthy spouse, Illinois courts generally do not take such nonmarital time into account when awarding property and spousal support in a divorce proceeding.

Court Affirms Different Rules for Opposite-Sex, Same-Sex Couples

A recent Illinois appeals court decision illustrates the uphill climb many estranged spouses face. This case involves a husband and wife who were only married for seven months but had a prior 13-year relationship. The husband owned several fast-food franchises and acquired a number of other significant assets over the years, including “multiple homes and motor vehicles.” The wife, in contrast, had “modest” financial resources, according to court records.

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 Posted on January 12,2017 in Social Media

Social media posts have become an important source of evidence in many divorce cases. Many people falsely assume their posts are “private” and that any incriminating material–such as proof of an extramarital affair–can be concealed from an estranged spouse. In fact, many spouses have learned how to keep an eye on their partner's social media activity for just that reason.

But, what happens when a person goes even further and takes steps to monitor their spouse's email? An ongoing lawsuit suggests such activity may violate federal law. Not surprisingly, this litigation arose in the context of a highly-contested divorce.

Federal Court Reinstates Husband's Wiretap Lawsuit Against Wife

The plaintiff and the defendant have been married for more than 40 years. The wife filed for divorce in Chicago five years ago. That case remains pending before a Cook County court.

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 Posted on January 10,2017 in Divorce

Normally, a divorce is a single judgment that not only dissolves the parties' marriage but also resolves all outstanding issues, such as division of property and establishing child support. A contested divorce can take several months or years to resolve, but there are some situations where one party may need to expedite the process. Illinois courts, therefore, have the discretion to split–or bifurcate–a divorce into separate proceedings if the judge finds there are “appropriate circumstances.” With bifurcation, a court can immediately divorce the parties while reserving other issues until a later date.

Court Permits Bifurcated Divorce to Terminally Ill Man

A recent Illinois case illustrates how bifurcation works in practice. In this case, a couple married for over 20 years “stopped acting as husband and wife,” according to court records, although they continued to reside in the same house. For approximately seven years afterward, the husband was in a romantic relationship with another woman. Eventually, the husband started living with his girlfriend.

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 Posted on December 29,2016 in Divorce

It is not unusual for spouses to argue about child visitation rights as part of a divorce settlement. But what about pets? After all, many couples consider their dogs, cats, and other animals to be “members of the family.” It stands to reason, then, that custody of pets, including visitation rights, could be a matter for a divorce court to resolve.

Canadian Judge Says Dogs Are the Not the Same as Children

Unfortunately for animal lovers, that is not how the law works in most places. A judge in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan was recently asked to award custody of two dogs in a contested divorce. The husband offered to split custody—each spouse would take one—but the wife wanted to keep both.

Before the Court of Queen's Bench, Saskatchewan's trial court, the wife proposed what the judge described as “an interim custody” order granting the husband limited visitation rights with the dogs. The wife effectively wanted the judge to treat the dogs as if they were children. The judge said this idea “holds absolutely no attraction for me.” Noting that dogs are “wonderful creatures,” when “all is said and done, a dog is a dog.” Under Saskatchewan law, dogs are property, no different in legal status than, say, furniture. The fact that the parties in this case, who did not have children, had “lavished their natural love and affection on these pets” did not convert the dogs into the legal equivalent of human children.

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 Posted on December 27,2016 in Child Custody

Fathers' rights are a critical issue for many Illinois men, especially with respect to questions of child relocation. When one parent tries to move a child out-of-state without the other parent's consent (or knowledge), it may be necessary for the other to seek a court order to protect their own parent-child relationship. Even when the mother has legal and physical responsibility for the child, Illinois law can still protect a father's interest in maintaining an active role in the child's life.

Court Says Five-Month “Visit” Established Child's Residency

A recent case from here in DuPage County illustrates how the courts can protect father-child relationships. In this case, two unmarried parents have a five-year-old child. The mother has custody. She lives in North Carolina, but in October 2013, the mother allowed the child to stay with the father's parents in Illinois while she underwent a minor surgical procedure. The father, a member of the United States armed forces, was on active duty during this time.

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 Posted on December 22,2016 in Child Custody

Many people choose to change their name following a divorce, either to go back to their premarital last name or to adopt the surname of a new spouse. Illinois divorce decrees typically contain language authorizing a spouse to resume use of a maiden name. But even if the spouse does not wish to immediately change their name following a divorce, they are typically free to do so later by petitioning an Illinois court.

If an ex-spouse also wishes to change the last names of their children, however, the law is a bit more complicated. A judge will only approve such a name change if it is in the child's “best interest.” Illinois law specifies a number of factors the court must consider in deciding a parent's application to change their child's name:

• Does the other parent or person with “physical custody” of the child approve?

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 Posted on December 20,2016 in Divorce

In an Illinois divorce, the general rule is that all property acquired by either spouse during their marriage is considered “marital” property and therefore subject to equitable division. With very limited exceptions, it does not matter how the property was acquired or titled. Unless there is a specific arrangement between the parties (such as a prenuptial agreement), a court will look to when the property was acquired to decide whether it is, in fact, marital property.

Wrongfully Convicted Man Ordered to Share Settlement With Ex-Wife

Sometimes, figuring out “when” certain property was acquired is not obvious. For instance, an Illinois appeals court recently had to decide whether the proceeds of a lawsuit settlement constituted marital property. Normally, any type of personal injury claim that arises during a marriage is considered marital property. In this case, however, the facts giving rise to the lawsuit actually predated the marriage.

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