Seeking an Order of Protection in Illinois

 Posted on April 07, 2016 in Domestic Violence

While divorces are often contentious, and parties say harmful things they later regret, usually these cases are not violent in nature. But unfortunately, on occasion, one party is so hurt by the divorce that they feel the need to threaten the other spouse. In some cases, violence and threats are the reasons for the divorce. The laws of Illinois do not require you to put up with this harassment, however. If you feel that your former spouse intends to do you harm, you can seek an order of protection from the court that bars him or her from contacting you.

The First Step: Emergency Orders of Protection

Because any threat of violence is a serious matter, Illinois law allows for someone in fear of their safety to obtain an emergency order of protection from a court without the other side being able to contest it. This emergency order can bar the other party from having any direct or indirect contact with you or your children, but it only lasts for 14 or 21 days before it expires. There are, however, more long-lasting protection orders available.

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You Can (Possibly) Get Child Support from an Ex Who Flees the Country

 Posted on April 05, 2016 in Child Support

Far too often, parents who owe child support will do anything they can to avoid making payments for their children’s necessities. Frequently, this means multiple trips to court and tense hearings before a judge. In some cases, judges will hold parents who refuse to make child support payments in contempt of court and order them to spend time in jail. In the most extreme cases, parents will flee the country because they think it is might be a way to avoid meeting their child support obligations. Fleeing the country does not release you of a court order to pay child support, but it does make the process of collecting payments more difficult.

How to Get Child Support from an Ex Who Moves to Another Country

Obviously, there first needs to be a valid child support order from an Illinois judge before you can make any claim that you are entitled to child support. If the child was born during the marriage, child support is usually set forth as part of the divorce agreement. If the child was not born during a marriage, a hearing may be necessary to establish paternity. If a parent leaves the country before a hearing can be held, he or she may be ordered to pay child support by default.

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Can You Get Pet Visitation Following a Divorce in Illinois?

 Posted on March 31, 2016 in Asset Division

Under Illinois law, pets are technically considered property, but any dog or cat owner knows that pets are really more like family members. Because of the fondness that many people have for their animals, it is unsurprising that pet custody becomes a contentious issue in many divorce cases, but it was actually just recently that Illinois courts determined whether divorced spouses have rights to pet visitation the same as they do with children.

Divorce Court Goes to the Dogs

In Re Marriage of Enders was one of the final cases to come out of the First District of the Illinois Court of Appeals in 2015. In the case, the wife filed the initial petition for divorce following 10 years of marriage, during which the couple acquired two dogs. While separated, the wife kept the dogs at her home because the husband was not allowed to keep pets at his apartment. He believed, however, that they would have joint custody of the canines and claimed that his landlord would allow the dogs to visit for short periods of time. After alleging that his ex-wife was denying him any contact with the dogs, he filed a petition for temporary weekend visitation, which was granted by the trial court. The wife appealed.

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Dealing With Depositions in Illinois Divorces

 Posted on March 29, 2016 in Divorce

In the weeks following the initial divorce filing, the parties will exchange information about their assets and income to determine how marital property is to be distributed and whether either side is entitled to spousal maintenance. If the couple had children, a temporary custody agreement might also be entered into at this point. Often, many disputes about property and child custody can be settled by negotiation, but if a case becomes especially contested, either party may decide that they need to take depositions to pursue their case.

What Is a Deposition?

A deposition is testimony taken under oath, and your appearance is required if you receive notice that you are to be deposed. A court reporter creates a transcript of the deposition, but depositions are usually taken at an attorney’s office with no judge is present. Attorneys for both sides may ask questions during the deposition about the disputed issues relating to the divorce, or object to irrelevant questions. The general purpose of depositions in a divorce proceeding to uncover information of which the party taking the deposition was previously unaware. Anything said at the deposition may later be admitted into evidence before the court.

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A Deeper Look at How New Illinois Laws Affect Paying for College

 Posted on March 24, 2016 in Child Support

A college education is virtually a requirement for a successful career in the twenty-first century, and a divorce does not excuse parents from making every effort to ensure their children receive quality higher education. Illinois law has long provided courts with the authority to require both parents to contribute to the post-secondary educational expenses of their children, and amendments to Section 513 of the newly overhauled Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act outline even more clearly how divorced parents may be ordered to do so.

How and When Divorced Parents Pay for College The first thing the new law on college expenses clarifies is how long parents may be required to contribute to college expenses, previously a point of contention in many cases. The IMDMA now requires parents, when subject to such an order, to contribute to educational expenses until their child’s twenty-third birthday unless “good cause” can be shown otherwise. The law does not define exactly what “good cause” means in this context, but also goes on to clarify that there is absolutely no obligation to provide for educational expenses under any circumstances once the child turns 25.

Other new parts of the law also allow for the early termination of the parent’s responsibility to contribute toward college expenses. As one might expect, there is no requirement to keep paying for college expenses once the child has completed a bachelor’s degree, but the law now also terminates the obligation of the parents if the child marries while still in school. In addition, Section 513(g) also requires students to maintain a “C” average for their parents to contribute toward their schooling expenses, though this requirement may be waived in cases of serious illness or other showing of good cause.

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Tax Implications for Spousal Support in Illinois

 Posted on March 22, 2016 in Child Support

April 15 is just around the corner, and that means that it is almost time for everyone’s least favorite day of the year: tax day. While many people think that filing taxes is just a matter of reporting the income they earned from their job last year, income taxes can actually become quite a bit more complicated than that, especially if you have been ordered to pay, or are receiving spousal support.

Spousal Maintenance is Considered Income by the IRS

The IRS always considers spousal maintenance received to be income that must be reported when filing taxes. Any person receiving spousal maintenance must also provide their Social Security number to their former spouse as those who pay spousal support may count their payments as a deduction. The IRS uses Social Security numbers to determine who is eligible for the deduction and who must report spousal maintenance as income. Failing to include this information on a tax return may result in a $50 fine.

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Receiving a Portion of a Former Spouse’s Pension Through a QILDRO

 Posted on March 17, 2016 in Divorce

Pensions are big money in the state of Illinois. Virtually every public sector employee contributes to one of the state’s 17 pension funds, and almost all police and fire departments have locally administered pension funds. Illinois courts have long held that, in most cases, a pension is marital property that can be distributed to a former spouse in a divorce. However, merely stating that a former spouse is entitled to half of a pension is legally insufficient. The parties must enter a Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order (QILDRO) with the court.

What is a QILDRO?

A QILDRO can be incorporated into a marital settlement agreement, or may exist as a separate document. The QILDRO must contain the caption of the divorce case and the name of the pension systems to which the public sector employee belongs. QILDROs can contain either exact dollar amounts or percentages. If the parties opt to include percentages, a separate QILDRO calculation order must be submitted to the court that determines what share of the pension the former spouse will receive.

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New Illinois Laws Are Changing Parenting Plan Deadlines

 Posted on March 15, 2016 in Child Custody

On January 1, 2016, the most sweeping changes to Illinois family law in decades went into effect as the legislature amended major portions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Attorneys are still grappling with how the law will affect divorce and child custody cases filed in the new year in DuPage County, but it has already become apparent that a few procedural issues still need to be addressed.

Old Approach Left Much Uncertain 

Illinois courts have always tried to put children first in divorce cases by encouraging judges to award primary custody in the best interests of the child. However, this has never been an easy task in the early stages of divorce proceedings while the parties are hammering out the details of custody.

The previous version of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) allowed for parties to establish custody while the divorce was pending through a series of temporary visitation and custody orders that could require multiple trips to court to extend and enforce. Parents were encouraged to come up with a custody agreement within 90 days of filing for divorce, or the case would be set for mediation. In many counties, the wait for mediation could be several months, leaving the parties in limbo for quite some time.

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Uncovering Financial Infidelity in a Divorce

 Posted on March 10, 2016 in Divorce

Divorcing couples typically have a lot of contention over money. In many cases, this is the one issue that prevents couples from reaching an amicable divorce settlement and keeps divorce cases in court for years. Usually, there is a great deal of money, property, businesses, or other assets at stake. All too often, the thought of having to cash in these assets to split in a divorce is enough to make one spouse commit financial infidelity.

Financial infidelity is defined as one partner’s secretive act of spending money, having separate credit cards or accounts, or incurring debt without the other partner knowing. In divorce proceedings, it is common to employ an accountant to uncover financial infidelity. On the surface, it may be hard to uncover such behavior, but taking a closer look at certain transactions can shed light on what has been happening behind the scenes. Here are several way in which a spouse can hide assets:

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Adoption & Guardianship in Illinois

 Posted on March 08, 2016 in Family Law

For children placed in foster care, there can be an intense desire to be placed in a stable home with a loving family. Over the past decade, programs sponsored by the State of Illinois have helped place over 15,000 children into permanent homes. The decision to bring a child into the home is a life-changing decision for a family and the adopted child. Illinois allows for two processes to take place in order to place a child permanently in a home – adoption and guardianship.

Adoption is a legal process through which an adoptive parent assumes all rights and responsibilities of a child in foster care, including the care, supervision, and custody of the child, as if the adoptive parent actually gave birth to the child. Adoption terminates the rights of the birth parent. Adoption can occur through one of four avenues:

1. Agency assisted adoption – an adoptive parent works with a licensed adoption agency to adopt a child within the United States;

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