“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
The point of taking a divorce to an Illinois court, often with the guidance of a divorce lawyer in Chicago, is to resolve matters that the divorcing parties cannot agree upon. The Illinois divorce judge then provides equitable relief by ordering each party to do something (divide assets, enter into a parenting plan, etc.) Courts
Verifying both parties incomes in an Illinois divorce is crucial to determining both maintenance (formerly known as alimony) and child support. Often, it is necessary to request tax returns from the IRS in order to verify a party’s true income. Why Income Must Be Verified In An Illinois Divorce Both parties’ net incomes must be
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules provide a variety of tools by which each party to a lawsuit may request information from your spouse/ex-spouse or third parties who hold information relevant to the pending divorce case. These tools include notices to produce, subpoenas, interrogatories, requests to admit and financial affidavits. These requests can ask for virtually
A subpoena is “[a] writ or order commanding a person to appear before a court or other tribunal, subject to a penalty for failing to comply.” Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) Before email subpoenas really would make people come into court (or the lawyer’s office) with all the documents requested and then the lawyer who
During an Illinois divorce, sooner or later, you will receive an email or a letter that says “pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 201(k)…” and then a bunch of demands will follow. What is this? A threat? Or just empty legal jargon? Actually, it’s important to know what rule 201(k) is and what you must
A divorce represents a complete breakdown of trust between the two parties in a marriage. Due to this lack of trust, the parties involved in a divorce often need to verify information through third parties. The information requiring verification might include the parties’ income, assets, or even late-night activities. The requests for information are allowable
If knowledge is power then giving away knowledge is equivalent to giving away power…which people never want to do. In order to preserve control after revealing a business secret, employers and business partners often require their employees or coworkers to enter into nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). A nondisclosure agreement is “a contract or contractual provision containing
Because of the portrayal of trials in movies, it is considered common for a witness to finally admit some horrible, damning fact in open court that resolves the case in its entirety (“You can’t handle the truth”) This rarely happens at trial…but it can happen during the course of filing and answering pleadings, motions and
There is probably no more thankless job than being a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in an Illinois divorce. “A GAL is the ‘eyes and ears’ of the court.” In re Marriage of Wycoff, 266 Ill. App. 3d 408, 415 (1994) Beyond eyes and ears, Guardian Ad Litems also have mouths…and parents often do NOT like
Almost anything is allowed to be asked in a deposition. You could ask a deponent “what color underwear are you wearing?” There are no questions provided for the deposition provided in advance. Everything is a surprise. In a divorce, there are so many possible embarrassing questions. After all, your soon-to-be former spouse knows (almost) everything