“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
Most divorces in Illinois are governed by one to three documents: a Judgment For Dissolution Of Marriage, A Marital Settlement Agreement and/or an Allocation of Parenting Time and Parental Responsibilities. 95% of these final divorce documents will be entered into by agreement. Agreements will be enforced as written in an Illinois court. “[S]ettlement agreements are
When people get older, they ponder their life decisions. Often, they say, “Why did I let him get away with NOT paying child support or maintenance all those years.” The man who failed to pay (it is almost always a man) is now in his dotage and is collecting checks from the U. S. government
Cash money has a strange effect on people. Cash seems more real because you can touch and see the money. Cash is not just digital numbers on a spreadsheet somewhere. Cash can be instantly transferred or received. If no one keeps a record (and no one ever does), the parties to a cash transaction are
In an Illinois divorce, there is a presumption that a supporting spouse or a spouse who made significantly more than the other spouse will have to pay the other spouse maintenance (formerly known as alimony). The amount of that maintenance is then determined by a formula called “guidelines maintenance” What Is Guidelines Maintenance In An
When two parties to an Illinois divorce have an ongoing obligation, maintenance or child support, between them, that obligation is usually based on the parties’ incomes at the time the order was entered. As time passes both parties’ incomes will surely change. After a divorce, the parties no longer share their financial lives. So, each
Having a professional degree and license is often very lucrative (take it from me). A degree makes a person eligible for certain professional positions and a license makes a license holder an exclusive provider of some regulated service. These restrictions in supply almost always create a higher price for the services of a degree or
If you or your spouse own a business or part of a business, that business must be determined to be marital or non-marital for the purposes of division of assets in your Illinois divorce. If the business was started, acquired, or built during the marriage, it is presumed to be marital and, thus, divisible. Interest
After a maintenance award is made in an Illinois divorce, there will be some language that will specify the amount and duration of maintenance. The amount and duration of maintenance is “designed to allow the recipient spouse to maintain the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage.” In re Marriage of Micheli, 2014 IL App
Most of people’s understanding of divorce comes from television and movies…which are made in California. Therefore, we often parrot back Californian law that has little to no impact in states such as Illinois. One Californian legal concept is that the standard of living to which a spouse was accustomed to will determine that spouse’s alimony
Maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is the manner in which Illinois divorce courts assure both parties to a divorce that they will be able to maintain their lifestyles post-divorce until they are able to “get back on their feet.” Illinois divorce law doesn’t have a “needs test” like in many other states. Instead, Illinois calculates