“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
Two spouses are an economic unit…even as they divorce. The costs of the divorce is just another marital expense that both spouses are responsible for. While one spouse may be reluctant to pay the other spouse anything in a divorce they will be loathe to pay their spouse’s attorney. Therefore, almost all requests that a
In 12 years of practicing family law in Chicago, Illinois I’ve found that parties almost always separate and begin pursuing separate lives before they even file for divorce. Often, the parties will then believe that a “line in the sand” has been drawn where their earnings are no longer the property of their spouse as
Children are a part of a family and their voices can be used to influence the eventual structure of that family after the divorce. Yet, it isn’t always certain that children will or will not testify in a Chicago, Illinois divorce proceeding. In Chicago, Illinois, parents, children and the court system in general are loathe
Illinois Family law is changing once again with the passage of public act 100-520. Some of the new changes include: 750 ILCS 5/21-103.5 now requires that any petition to change a child’s name require notification to a parent or any person who has been assigned parental responsibilities. “Sec. 21-103.5. Change of name involving a minor.
If you’re engaged to someone out of town or you’ve got a better job offer in another state, you may want to move out of Chicago, Illinois with your child…whether the other parent likes it or not. “Removal cases are difficult. This is especially so when neither parent demonstrates bad faith,” and that “[n]o matter
Maybe your child has your last name and now you want to give your child the father’s (biological or not) last name. You are going to need to know how to change a child’s last name in Chicago, Illinois. When changing anyone’s name in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois you must proceed under statute 735 ILCS
“Both parents have the financial responsibility to support a minor child.” In re Marriage of MacZko, 263 Ill. App. 3d 991, 994 (Ill. App. Ct. 1992) 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
A child’s schedule and yours will change dramatically as the child grows older and your life condition changes. You will need to know how you can change your parenting time or visitation in Chicago, Illinois. If there is no previous Cook County court order you can file a Motion To Enter an Allocation of Parenting
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
Discovery is the process through which attorneys and litigants, prior to a trial, obtain information about the case they are involved in. “The purposes of litigation are best served when each party knows as much about the controversy as is reasonably practicable.” Mistler v. Mancini, 111 Ill. App. 3d 228, 231 (Ill. App. Ct. 1982)