Recent Blog Posts
Unmarried Couples' Rights
Over the past few decades, society has dramatically changed the way it views unmarried couples living together. What was once a taboo topic and referred to as “living in sin” is now not only accepted socially, but considered by many to be a pragmatic way to determine one's compatibility with his or her partner before marriage. Legally, unmarried individuals who live together are considered to be separate parties. This means that any assets either party owns, such as a retirement account or a piece of real estate, belongs solely to him or her regardless of the other party's contributions to the asset. In some states, unmarried couples who meet a specific set of requirements are considered to be in a common law marriage, which grants them certain rights regarding their shared property. Illinois outlawed common law marriages in 1905.
Seeking Child Support When Your Former Partner Does Not Pay
If you have a child support agreement in place with your former partner, you each have obligations to uphold. If your partner fails to uphold his or her obligation to make regular payments for your child's care, you can easily find yourself stretching your budget to make up for these missed payments. You should not have to do this. When the court orders a child support agreement for a child, it is both parents' responsibility to follow all requirements written into the child support order.
There are many reasons why a parent can become delinquent with his or her child support payments. If your former partner misses a payment, talk to him or her about it to see why he or she failed to pay. Your former partner might have experienced an unforeseen emergency like a pricey car repair or medical bill. When this is the case, you may be able to work out a way for him or her to get the money to you when he or she can, rather than involving the court. This is often the easiest way to resolve the issue for all parties. When this is not possible or your former partner misses months' worth of child support, you have the right to take legal action.
Valuing a Business in Divorce
Owning your own business is a dream that many individuals share. The sense of building something from the ground up and being your own boss can bring great feelings of accomplishment to an individual or couple who chooses this career path. If you are a business owner considering filing for divorce, you might be wondering how your divorce will affect your business. Your business is an asset and may be divided as such during your divorce if you do not have a prenuptial agreement in place stating that you retain all control of the business and its profits.
The division of a business in divorce is determined by its current health and the couple's plans for the business after their divorce. Some couples opt to sell their businesses as part of their divorce settlement and share the profits. In other cases, one partner buys out the other and continues to operate it alone. Still in other cases, the couple chooses to continue to operate their business together after they divorce. No matter what a couple chooses to do with their business after their divorce, the court must determine the following about the business:
Non-Minor Support: Can I Be Required to Pay for My Child's College Education?
Going to college after completing high school is more than just a popular choice for many young adults in the United States: it has become an expectation. As a parent, you naturally want to help your child in any way possible. But wanting to help your child is not the same as being legally required to help him or her. As your son or daughter reaches adulthood, you might be wondering whether you are required to pay for his or her college education as part of your child support obligation.
There is no clear legal answer to this. In Illinois, there is no law that specifically states that a parent must pay for college expenses as part of his or her child support agreement. However, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act includes language that gives a judge the right to order that an individual parent contribute to his or her child's college costs. This section of the law also gives judges the power to determine how much a parent must pay. This is known as non-minor support.
Determining Custody: Can a Child Choose His or Her Own Custody Arrangement?
If you are a parent currently going through a divorce, your child likely has opinions about the divorce and how it will affect his or her life once the process is complete. Depending on your child's age and personality, he or she may be quite vocal about these opinions. One of the issues that your child may be most vocal about is his or her custody arrangement after the divorce.
In Illinois, the court may consider a child's desire when determining custody, but the child's desire cannot be the only factor that determines custody. Much larger issues, such as each parent's household stability and current financial health, carry much more weight in the court's decision regarding a child's custody arrangement.
Getting a divorce and having to work out a custody arrangement for your child is stressful. Talk to your child about the custody evaluation process before it begins and answer his or her questions in a positive, age-appropriate way. If you need guidance with starting these conversations or how to handle sensitive subjects with your child, talk with an experienced family attorney or counselor to get a professional opinion about how to approach these subjects with your child.
Part 2: Miscellaneous Aspects of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is a law that covers general family-law related topics within the state of Illinois. While many topics fall into specific realms, such as divorce, division of assets, and and child support, some aspects of the law do not fit neatly into a single category. In order to handle these topics, the state created a “Miscellaneous” category of family law issues. Here are five more examples of the resulting hodgepodge:
- The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is responsible for supervising the state’s child support enforcement programs. Specific responsibilities include making advance payments to any county included in the program so that the county can enforce payments, and monitoring local programs to ensure that the payments are being enforced.
Part I: Miscellaneous Aspects of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is a comprehensive law that covers divorce, legal separation, division of marital assets, child support and other related issues. Some aspects of the law do not fit neatly into a single category, which is why the state legislature lumped those issues into a “Miscellaneous” section. Here are five examples of the resulting hodgepodge:
- Who gets possession of the family home is often a dispute during divorce proceedings. In fact, either party may file a petition seeking the other party’s temporary eviction while the proceeding is pending. The court will grant the petition if continued occupancy by both parties jeopardizes their (or their children’s) physical or mental well-being. There must generally be an opportunity for a full hearing on the issue.
Appointing a Standby or Short-Term Guardian for a Minor Child
Generally, only a child’s parents or legal guardians have the authority to make decisions regarding the child’s care and well-being. To a certain extent, that authority even extends beyond the grave. Illinois law permits parents and guardians to appoint standby guardians, which allows them to decide who will care for their children if the worst happens. A standby guardian is someone who would immediately take on the care of minor children upon the passing of the parents or guardians.
You may appoint a standby guardian in your will, but the law does not require the designation to be made this way. There are other legal forms that you can use instead. However, the content requirements are the same, no matter the type of document used:
The Illinois Rights of Married Persons Act
Debt is often unavoidable for modern families, whether the debt accrues from credit cards, loans, college tuition or other necessary expenses. However, it is important to remember that marital debt is separate and distinct from personal debt. Illinois law recognizes that married persons can retain property acquired before the marriage as nonmarital property. Furthermore, the law allows married persons to acquire property during the marriage that belongs solely to them (property acquired by descent is one example). That distinction can be confusing for couples and for their creditors. Here are the relevant rules set forth in the Rights of Married Persons Act:
1. Family expenses (including private school tuition and other education-related expenses) may be considered the property of both spouses, or of either them, in regards to creditors. The couple may face a lawsuit separately or jointly.
Violating a Child Custody Order Might Be a Criminal Offense
Child custody battles can be stressful and upsetting, especially for parents who do not have their desired custody arrangement or visitation rights. While child custody can be an emotionally fraught issue, it is also a legally delicate one. If you are a non-custodial parent and missing your child, do not take matters into your own hands. Spending time with your child illegally will only hurt your custody and visitation rights.
Parents can be charged with abducting their own children under Illinois law. For example, a person commits child abduction when he or she:
- Intentionally violates the terms of a valid custody agreement or court order by concealing or detaining the child, or by taking the child outside of the court’s jurisdiction;