“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
“The rules of court we have promulgated are not aspirational. They are not suggestions. They have the force of law, and the presumption must be that they will be obeyed and enforced as written.” Bright v. Dicke, 652 N.E.2d 275 (1995)
“[E]veryone is presumed to know the law and ignorance of the law excuses no one” Jones v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, 2013 IL App (1st) 122437
“[A]ll citizens are charged with knowledge of the law.” People v. Lander, 215 Ill. 2d 577, 588, 831 N.E.2d 596, 603 (2005)
“Mere contentions, without argument or citation of authority, do not merit consideration…and are waived” First National Bank of LaGrange v. Lowrey, 375 Ill. App. 3d 181, 207, 872 N.E.2d 447, 473 (2007)
“If a party does not offer any argument or meaningful authority in support of an argument, the argument is forfeited. ” Abbinanti v. Presence Cent. & Suburban Hosps. Network, No. 2-21-0763, 8 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021)
“Without legal authority, respondent’s argument is unconvincing.” Thomas v. Thomas, 2024 IL App (4th) 240289-U, 2
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There are three quantifiable inputs in an Illinois divorce: 1) Time the children currently spend with each parent, 2) Marital assets and debts of the couple, and 3) The income of each party. Everything else that determines the results of an Illinois divorce can be described qualitatively in words but not quantitatively in numbers. This
Orders of protection are powerful tools and once an order of protection is in place, its violation has serious penalties. Orders of protection can be violated even if the protected party consents to the so-called violation. Orders of protection keep people apart who used to live together. Orders of protection are ony available to “any
Business owners have the worst divorces. A business owner’s income will be challenged because, after, the business owner pays themselves. The value of the business must be determined by outside experts without an actual sale (business owners always want to keep their business). Furthermore, a business owner’s spouse knows the strengths and weaknesses of the
When one spouse controls all the money in a marriage, the other spouse is left completely vulnerable. It costs money to live! If your spouse has all the money, how can you live? Does withholding money amount to financial abuse in an Illinois divorce? Financial Abuse Is Abuse In Illinois In Illinois, abuse is resolved
In Illinois, maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is always one of three different numbers: Zero. Because maintenance is not warranted in this divorce case. 33% of the payor’s net income minus 25% of the payee’s net income (with payor’s income and maintenance not to exceed 40% of the total of the two incomes) An amount
After an Illinois divorce is settled or a trial order is issued, the divorce is not over. Both parties must still comply with the terms of the Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage and the incorporated Marital Settlement Agreement and Allocation of Parenting Time and Parental Responsibilities. Illinois law provides multiple methods for enforcing those terms.
Warren Buffet once said, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Many people have saved enough money, that subsequently makes enough money to maintain themselves…and then they get divorced. The money divided is often enough to live off as well (or at least pay
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” – Warren Buffett. Lots of people have followed Warren Buffet’s advice by saving and investing so their money can earn them an independent income one day. These investments generate interest, dividends and other kids of income. However,
When a divorce begins, there is a fundamental lack of trust between the two spouses. This lack of trust is especially strong when it comes to finances. There will always be suspicion that one spouse will try to hide or remove assets from the marriage. Because of this, parties will try to ask the court
Drugs and alcohol make people do crazy things. When someone is intoxicated their actions can threaten or hurt others…even the people they claim to love. Behavior when a person is intoxicated can be abusive. Abusive behavior requires the court to issue an order of protection. “If the court finds that petitioner has been abused by
Orders of protection are scary in multiple ways. The people asking for protection from their romantic partner usually also rely on that romantic partner for financial support. One of the purposes of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act is to “address any related issues of child custody and economic support, so that victims are not trapped
Illinois courts are happy to grant orders of protection. Orders of protection prevent possible tragedies with little harm to the parties who are subject to the order of protection. Orders of protection simply prevent a party from doing something that may lead to some kind of future abuse of another party. “An order of protection
There’s a lot of selfish reasons to enter into a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement: you want to keep your stuff or you don’t want pay your spouse support in the future. There is one, relatively, noble reason to enter into a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, to preserve your heir’s inheritance in
Divorce is a touchy subject. Each party to a divorce knows a great deal of the other party’s secrets. The divorcing parties, armed with those secrets, are now trying to resolve their differences in a public forum: family court. The reality is that divorcing couples really don’t know everything about each other. That’s part of
Most divorces in Illinois are resolved by agreement. The steps leading to that agreement should be fair if both parties are adequately represented by competent counsel. However, if one party explicitly lies in order to get the agreement they want, that agreement may be reformed or vacated. Lying to convince someone to enter into a
Ernest Hemingway was once asked, “How’d you go bankrupt?” Ernest replied, “Two ways, slowly and then all at once.” That’s a lot like how a divorce works. Years of resentment and planning become tactics and strategies once the divorce is finally filed. Often, one spouse is left without support yet the discovery deadlines necessary to
Divorce is rarely a surprise. A person anticipating divorce will contemplate how their net worth will likely be reduced by half at the end of the divorce process. This potential loss of assets via divorce may induce a spouse to start transferring money and assets to third parties before the divorce is finalized. In theory,
After a divorce, people move on. After a divorce, former spouses date and marry other people. Sometimes, they move very, very far away to date or marry other people. Good luck to those who have found love again in a new community, new state or even a new country. However, if a moving parent has
While adultery and betrayal can be central to any divorce, there seems to be no greater betrayal than financial betrayal. Illinois, while being a no-fault state for divorce, does recognize financial betrayal and takes strict accounting of extreme financial malfeasance on the part of either spouse. This accounting of marital money spent on girlfriends, boyfriends,
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