When changing anyone’s name in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois you must proceed under statute 735 ILCS 5/21-101 which requires that the person whose name is being changed be an Illinois resident for at least 6 months. You may change your name, your spouse’s name and your children’s name all together, if you so desire, under…
Effective July 1, 2017, courts in the State of Illinois implemented changes to how child support is to be calculated. Going forward, child support obligations will be calculated using something called the “Income Shares Method”. The formula no longer uses a straight percentage to calculate income. Instead, it calculates child support incorporating both the non-custodial…
If there is no previous Cook County court order you can file a Motion To Enter an Allocation of Parenting Responsibilities and Parenting Time. The court will consider what parenting time (formerly called visitation) you should be awarded based on the best interests of the child. In the case of modifying an existing order, I…
In Islam,a mahr (also transliterated mehir, mehr, meher, mehrieh or mahriyeh) is a mandatory payment, in the form of money or possessions paid or promised to pay by the groom, or by groom’s father, to the bride at the time of marriage, that legally becomes her property. While the mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such…
I only practice Family Law and I only practice in Chicago, Cook County, IL. Specifically, I will only handle cases in the Richard J. Daley Center at 50 W. Washington, Chicago, Illinois. This is the largest court building in the world. Tens of thousands of family law cases are processed in the Richard J. Daley…
It depends on the time frame. In Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, If the divorce was entered in the last 30 days, you can file a Motion To Vacate under section 2-1301. Under this section the court can vacate “set aside any final order or judgment upon any terms and conditions that shall be reasonable.” This…
Illinois law provides that maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is awarded “For a marriage of 20 or more years, the court, in its discretion, shall order either permanent maintenance or maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage.” 750 ILCS 504(b)(1)(b) What does “permanent” maintenance, exactly? Does it truly go on forever?…
One of the key functions of a divorce is the division of property acquired during the course of a marriage. Illinois is an ‘equitable division’ state, meaning the courts are inclined to divide all marital property equitably. This can be either 50/50, 60/40, or another ratio based on what the court determines to be equitable.…
For years, Illinois statutes referred to decision making for the children of separated parents as “custody” and the time spent with the children by the non-primary parent as “visitation”. As of January 1, 2016, the Illinois state legislature changed all the terminology presumably so that parents would no longer feel unequal with emotionally charged terms…
Maintenance is a monetary sum paid by one spouse for the benefit of the other spouse upon separation or the dissolution of marriage; also called “alimony” or “spousal support.” In determining how much one spouse will pay another spouse maintenance (formerly known as alimony), In Illinois the first step is to determine if the spouse…
