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Can Child Support Be Modified for a Change in Income in Illinois?
A change in income is one of the most common reasons parents ask to change a child support order in Illinois. State law allows for child support payments to be changed when specific criteria are met. If you are wondering whether your situation qualifies, a Geneva, IL child support lawyer can help you understand your rights and guide you through the legal process.
What Are the Grounds for Child Support Modification in Illinois?
Under Illinois statute 750 ILCS 5/510, either parent may request a change, or a "modification," to child support if there has been a "substantial change in circumstances." Whether it increases or decreases, a change in income is a potential reason to update your child support order. A significant raise, a promotion, and a new job are also commonly cited in petitions to change child support.
Using Mediation To Resolve Custody Disputes in Illinois
Tensions and emotions can run high for co-parents trying to work out disputes over parental responsibilities, commonly known as child custody. Ultimately, everyone should want what is best for the child, and that is not typically a courtroom brawl. Mediation offers another pathway to a resolution that prioritizes the child’s well-being and values the co-parenting relationship. If you have questions about using mediation to resolve custody issues, a Geneva, IL custody mediation attorney can help.
What Is Mediation?
In Illinois, mediation is a confidential process where a third party, often an attorney, is used to help parties resolve disputes by negotiating and compromising. It’s typically voluntary and can be used in cases involving the allocation of parental responsibilities, divorce, and other civil disputes. The mediator does not make decisions for the couple as a judge would in court. Instead, they help the parties communicate more effectively and consider other ways to resolve their disputes.
How Can I Protect the Family Business During Divorce in Illinois?
As a business owner, the unknown of the divorce process can be intimidating. Illinois is an equitable distribution state, and that means that in a litigated divorce, a family business, which is often marital property, will be divided fairly. With so much at stake, understanding how you can help preserve your valuable assets during divorce is crucial. If you have questions about how to protect your business or what could happen to it during divorce proceedings, an experienced Geneva, IL property division attorney can help.
Business Valuation During Divorce in Illinois
Illinois law outlines the rules for determining whether property is categorized as marital or non-marital property. For businesses, this process can be complicated. Sometimes, none, all, or only a portion of the business is marital property. Factors like how the business was acquired and whether your spouse contributed to its value play a role in how the company is characterized.
How To Prove That My Illinois Custody Order Needs Modification
When your child custody order, known as the allocation of parental responsibilities in Illinois, is no longer working, Illinois courts have a legal avenue for adjusting the original order. If you file a request, you are responsible for proving that a significant change in circumstances has occurred that justifies the change you are asking for.
While decree modification can be complicated, a Geneva, IL custody modification attorney can assess your case, helping you gather the evidence necessary to prove your claim and create a more appropriate allocation of parental responsibilities that serves you and your child’s best interests.
What Do You Have To Prove for a Custody Modification in Illinois?
A significant change in circumstances can mean many things. If you are filing for a modification alone, you are responsible for proving that a new order is necessary. Some examples of conditions the court is likely to accept as a significant change in circumstances include:
What You Should Know About the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
Domestic violence and orders of protection are closely associated in Illinois. More specifically, orders of protection are a legal option for victims of domestic violence, mainly because of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA). It offers an avenue to protection and requires officers to assist victims in very specific ways. If you have suffered or think you may have suffered from domestic violence, you may need a Geneva, IL domestic violence attorney to walk you through the legal resources available to you.
How Is Domestic Violence Defined in Illinois?
According to the IDVA, the violence you suffer does not have to be physical abuse, even though it is covered. It can also include harassment, interference with personal liberty, intimidation, and willful deprivation. For it to be domestic violence, the person committing the act against you must be someone from your family or household. This could include a spouse, co-parent, former spouse, roommate, or anyone living with you.
What Should You Know About Guardians ad Litem?
From custody agreements to child support orders, children are often centered in family court cases. To protect their best interests and ensure their voices are heard, the court appoints a guardian ad litem (GAL) to be the unbiased voice for children. They bring a singular perspective, concerned only with the welfare of the child. Consider the duties of a GAL and how they may relate to your case, and if you have questions, a Kane County, IL family law attorney can help you feel more comfortable about their role.
What Are the Duties of a Guardian ad Litem?
A GAL is typically appointed in divorce, adult guardianship, and child protection cases. While their duties may vary from case to case, common responsibilities include:
Five Reasons Divorce Mediation May Fail
In many family law cases, especially those that involve children, the court may require mediation, although in some cases, the judge may waive court-ordered mediation. This usually happens only when it is clear that mediation will not be successful for the parties involved. Whether a couple is ordered to mediation during a divorce or agrees to it on their own, mediation requires active participation, as well as a willingness to communicate and accept resolutions for disputed issues.
When the court requires you to meet with a mediator - a neutral third party who will help you resolve your disputes – all divorce-related issues will be discussed. This includes the division of marital assets, the award of spousal support, and the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. Post-divorce issues can also be brought before a mediator, such as one parent’s desire to move from the area or change the child’s school.
Can a Parent Be Deemed Unfit in Illinois?
While it may not be all that unusual for an ex-spouse to claim a child’s other parent is "unfit" during or after custody (parental responsibility allocation and parenting time) decisions, this is not a claim that should be taken before a judge without compelling evidence. Family courts do not determine whether a parent is unfit without facts to support the assertion.
If your ex sent your five-year-old to school in his or her pajama bottoms, forgot to pick up your teen after soccer practice, or routinely lets the children have ice cream before dinner, you might consider these things bad parenting. If you take issues like these before a judge, he or she is likely to be annoyed with you for taking up the court’s time on such insignificant issues.
If the child’s other parent actually is unfit, there is a high burden of proof that will need to be met before the court agrees with your assessment. Speaking to a Geneva, IL family law attorney can help you decide whether your ex-spouse’s parenting is bad enough to get the court involved and have him or her declared unfit.
What is a Motion for Enforcement, and When Do You Need One?
You may have made it through your divorce relatively unscathed and are looking forward to starting a new chapter in your life. After all, there are now court orders in place governing parental responsibilities, parenting time, child support, spousal support, and the division of marital assets and debts. But what happens if your ex-spouse refuses to comply with one or more of these court orders?
While the added stress this will cause you is a given, do you have any recourse? You do have options for an ex-spouse who is willfully ignoring court orders. You can ask the court for a motion for enforcement through your Geneva, IL family law attorney. This means asking the court to review the violation or violations, enforce the order, and potentially impose penalties for noncompliance.
When Could a Motion for Enforcement Become Necessary?
When your child’s other parent refuses to follow the parenting time schedule, perhaps even actively preventing you from seeing your children, a motion for enforcement could be necessary. Being late dropping off the child once, or even two or three times, is rarely reason enough to file a motion for enforcement.
Can a Parent Lose Parenting Time for Leaving a Child Alone?
Your divorce is finally over, and you and your ex have settled into a routine with the children that seems to be working fairly well. He has parenting time with the children one night during each week and every other Friday through Sunday. You have one child who just turned 14, one who is four, and one who is eight. As difficult as your divorce was, you have never really had any qualms about his ability to parent your children.
Then you get a call at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night. It is your fourteen-year-old who is crying and telling you she and her siblings are alone – their dad is nowhere to be found. You immediately attempt to call your ex, but the calls go straight to voicemail. As you drive to his home, you are torn between worrying that something could be wrong with him and being furious with him for leaving the children alone.
There is no sign of your ex or his car, and he is still not answering his phone, so you gather up the children and take them to your home. Saturday morning, you receive an angry phone call from your ex, berating you for taking the children. After all, he says, the eldest is fourteen, so that makes it "legal" in Illinois. He says he went out with friends; the children were asleep and safe, and that you are the "kidnapper" for taking them from his home.
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630-844-8781We serve clients in Kane County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, and Kendall County, Illinois, including the communities of Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, West Chicago, North Aurora, South Elgin, Winfield, Warrenville, Elburn, Aurora, Sugar Grove, Carol Stream, Bartlett, Wheaton, Elgin, DeKalb, Sycamore, Campton Hills, La Fox, Maple Park, Kaneville, and Cortland.
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