Pet Custody
As of January 1, 2018, the court can consider the well-being of pets and award joint or sole ownership and responsibility to the parties in a divorce. Pets are considered property in a divorce. They fall under 750 ILCS 5/503(n). […]
Child Support – a comparison of the old vs. the new
Background Before July 1, 2017, there was a common complaint that the existing statutory child support guidelines were random and unfair. This was because a non-custodial parent’s child support obligation was calculated almost entirely from a percentage of that parent’s […]
Allocation of Parental Responsibilities formerly known as Custody and Visitation
In 2016, Illinois overhauled the laws pertaining to child custody. Parental Responsibilities include both parenting time and significant decision-making. I will focus on significant decision-making in this post. 750 ILCS 5/602.5 is the relevant law. Four Main Decisions There are […]
Maintenance
Maintenance (Updated) Maintenance is sometimes known as spousal support or alimony. It is a hot topic with clients and the court. It is important to understand how the courts determine whether someone should receive maintenance and if so, how much […]
Abuse of Parenting Time (Visitation)
One of the most important things to our clients is spending time with their children. A parent denying the other parent access to the kids is a common problem. It hurts the child’s relationship with that parent. In the past […]