Illinois Family Legal Questions

Hello, Anonymous. Has there been an order entered by a court here in Illinois? Or has the Israeli order been properly put before an Illinois Judge to be recognized and entered in Illinois? In Illinois, the courts will generally recognize court orders from other areas, but if the child is living in Illinois, and you're in Israel, then I'm not sure the court would be that comfortable enforcing an order from a jurisdiction where the child does not live. If there is a standing Illinois court order, Illinois courts will expect that order to be obeyed by all parties for as long as it stands. That's about all I can tell you without further information.  You will really want to contact an attorney to handle this matter because it will likely be rather complex. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Obtaining a marriage to another person while already married will render that second marriage null and void. It will be like it never happened. Secondly, getting married in another state for the express purpose of skirting the laws on bigamy on another state will also render that second marriage invalid. If you are intent on marrying the second person, you must first divorce from the first marriage before you enter into the second marriage. You should probably hire an attorney to try to get the divorce done in a timely fashion.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Safety is always a vital factor, not just in divorce, but in life. If you feel threatened and worry that abuse will continue, you should contact whatever authorities will help keep you safe. As far as the divorce goes, physical violence is one thing that can complicate the divorce. Illinois is a no-fault state, so physical violence won't result in you getting more of the marital estate because of it; it will really only change the timeline the court requires before granting a divorce. ... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. You should look into filing papers with the courts as soon as possible. This will allow you to get a court order on your side sooner rather than later; you may also be able to file an emergency motion if you are fearful for your son's well-being. Once there is a court order in place, you will have enforceable orders that are required to be followed, and the police will be required to help enforce the court order should it come to that. If your wife is being difficult, unresponsive, and unreasonable, you may want to seriously look into hiring an attorney.  When one party is acting like how you're describing her, it can make the case notoriously difficult, and an attorney's experience can certainly help speed things along and keep it from getting out of hand. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. There are a couple possibilities here. First is that it is a simple clerical error. Second is that a date which was set by the existing support order passed which changed the terms or amounts of the support order. This generally happens when a child is emancipated or some other event happens which triggers a change to occur automatically. Third is that a new support order was entered and you did not appear in court to represent your side in it to know about it. A change can occur if there was a change in circumstances. This does not necessarily have to include a change in employment. It can be a medical condition or some other life event that several affects the party's ability to pay child support and survive on his/her current income. Other than these basic possibilities, I cannot tell you much more without further information.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. If the Separation Agreement has already been entered by the court, then it stands as an existing court order which is only modifiable by the Judge, and the only way the Judge can modify is to show that there was some sort of error or possible malfeasance by one of the parties that should render the existing Agreement void. If you can show this (and showing this is a difficult task), then the Judge may, and I stress "may," vacate the existing order. But be warned. Vacating the existing order essentially renders the previous Separation process moot like it never happened. You will have to go through the entire process again, in addition to the process of trying to convince the Judge that the existing order should be vacated, which, again, is a very difficult task.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. If there is an existing support order, you are still obligated to pay it and follow the orders of the Court, regardless of what the mothers say in terms of enforcing it or not. Child support is seen by the courts as being for the benefit of the child, so it is not something that a parent can refuse or terminate on his/her own. So it is possible that the Judge could always enforce the back pay even if the mothers do not. Additionally, if one of the mothers were to change her mind, she could always seek the back pay even if she's refused it all these years. What could be done, however, is to enter a new support order that sets the arrearage at $0, so this would be possible way to enforce the current sentiments of not seeking back pay. Of course, it is up to the Judge in the end, and it is not always certain if the Judge would allow it. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Michelle. This one is kind of difficult because we are not allowed to tell you what to do or how to do it; we can really only tell you about the law. So I can't really tell you how to properly respond for that reason. Another reason being that each county is somewhat different in their paperwork and procedures, so what I tell you may not be correct or complete for the county you live in. What I can say, however, is that some counties do have carbon-copy forms you can fill out at the Clerk's office. So you may want to call the County Clerk's office to see if they have forms to fill out. They, too, can't tell you how to fill them out, but if they have them, they can give them to you, and the forms are fairly self-explanatory. Also, I can tell you that the purpose of the Response that you would file is just that: a response to the allegations and claims that were made in the Petition. If something that was alleged is false, the court should hear that it is false, etc. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous.  The answer is that you probably do. In Illinois, non-marital property, which the house would be since he owned prior to the marriage, can become marital property when and if it is co-mingled with marital property. For example, if the house was refinanced and both of your names were put on it, then it becomes marital property. If marital assets were used to pay off the mortgage or other fees and expenses for the house, then it probably becomes a marital asset. Essentially, when marital assets are co-mingled with non-marital property to the point that they become indistinguishable, then it is usually considered marital property. Obviously, if he doesn't agree to this, then it is up to the Judge to decide. It sounds like you have a pretty good case that the house should be considered marital property, but the Judge would have the final input on whether or not it is, so I can't say for certain. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Yes. As a general rule, if both parents can agree on an issue then the Court will allow it. In Illinois, there are statutory guidelines on how much child support should be paid. However, these are guidelines and work as sort of a fallback support amount. If the parties can agree on another amount, whether it be more, less, or even none, then the Courts will usually allow it so long as it is done by agreement. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Generally, when one parent has been absent for a prolonged period of time, the Courts will look to have a reintroduction schedule to act as a "getting to know you" period for the child's benefit. This is all up to the Judge, of course.  The father does have certain rights, one of which is access to the child. So you will not be able to totally bar him from seeing his child. If substance abuse is a valid concern, that should be brought to the Court's attention. However, because this is a serious charge, make sure you have reason to assert such an allegation. If there is a basis for it, the Court may order a drug test. (Judges can be a little leery about such accusations because people throw them around all the time to tarnish someone's reputation, so do make sure you can explain your concerns to the Court on this issue.) Finally, I should note that the issue of child support is a completely separate issue from visitation. He is not paying child support in exchange for visitation, so being behind on child support will not bar him from seeing the child. Many people hold this mistaken belief, so if you go into Court knowing that this is not the case, you will already be one step ahead. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Yes, generally it is possible to impute income from a non-custodial parent who is voluntarily earning less than his/her potential. The Judge will look at factors such as the individual's employment history; income history; ability and opportunity to work/earn more; etc. Basically, the Judge will look at the totality of the circumstances, including any outstanding reasons as to why the income is less now than it was before, to determine if there may be any intentional underemployment. There may be valid reasons for the new hours, but it will all be fact-dependent, and ultimately it will, of course, be up to the Judge. Cases like this can be somewhat tricky, so you may want to look into hiring a lawyer, or at least consulting with a local attorney to see how they may help you through the case. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. This is going to be a VERY fact-specific case. It is generally very difficult to get paternity reversed unless there is another man who will be stepping up as the acknowledged father. Unfortunately, I can't answer much to this question right now without many more facts, largely due to the complexity of a case like this. The best I can tell you, I'm afraid, is to call an attorney in your area and discuss the case in detail with them to figure out your options.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous.  If you have a court order, then both parties are bound to comply with the court order until a Judge issue a new order with new responsibilities for the parties. So if you are supposed to be seeing your daughter twice per month, then it is not up to your ex to overrule that (absent some clause in the JPA that allows the ex to make such a decision). If your ex is violating the agreement and court order by not allowing visitation, then it falls to you to attempt to enforce it with a court action. This would bring the issue back before the Judge and require your ex to explain to the Judge why she is not complying. As for the counselor, this is another issue that the Judge would probably like to hear. I'm assuming that the JPA explicitly states that a counselor will be found and retained; the language in the JPA should be clear on this point that it is required and that it is not merely a suggestion or a possibility. If there is language that explicitly orders you and your ex to find a counselor, it will require, at a minimum, that you both make a good-faith effort to do so. If your ex has indeed been dragging her feet on this issue, then the Judge may also like to hear the reasons for this. Since you're in Indiana, it may best and easiest for you to hire an Illinois attorney (assuming that the original case is from Illinois and Illinois retains jurisdiction) to help you handle this. This would not only make it more convenient for you, but would also help get the issues worked out on your behalf. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. If DCFS is involved in this, your best bet is to call a local lawyer. DCFS is notoriously difficult to deal with, and you will almost certainly need an attorney with experience to get this sorted out.  I can't give much more to the answer because the facts, and DCFS's reasoning for their request, will be very case-specific. ... Read More

Hello, Jaime. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "simple divorce forms." If you're talking about the forms they have in the clerk's office, then yes, you should be able to use those. If you're talking about generic forms from a 3rd-party site or source, then it would depend on the form and what is included in the form they have provided. The best bet, outside of hiring a lawyer to prepare the necessary documents for you, is to check with the clerk's office in your local county and see what forms they offer and if there are any specific facts or details that are required above and beyond others. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. If your spouse has filed the papers and started the proceedings in Illinois, then Illinois law will apply, and all of the court proceedings will be taking place in Illinois. So you will need an attorney who is licensed in Illinois and who can be present for the court appearances when they take place in Illinois.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. I think you'll need to provide some more information before anyone can really start to give you an answer. From what you've written, it seems more like a problem with finding an accepting residence than an issue for the family courts. If you could provide more information, it would help someone on these boards to provide you with some legal information.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. It all depends on the agreement, how it is going to be split, and the financial institution which actually handles the pension. Generally, there are a couple options for splitting a pension or retirement account. First, one party's share could be bought out by giving the other party a larger share of some other marital property. Then the entirety of the pension would go to the first party and no split would take place. The second common option is for the pension to be split by a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). This is an order which is entered by the court, sent to the financial institution which handles the pension, and then compels the financial institution to split the pension in some proportion. When this happens, generally what the financial institution does is to make a new account for the other spouse; the first account has a certain proportion of funds taken out of it and placed in the second account; and then each party goes on with their own individual pension account and no claim or access to the others. Of course, it all comes down to the financial institution itself. Every one has their own policy, and while the situation I described is somewhat common, it does not necessarily mean it will be the case in your situation. This is probably a question you might want to also direct at the financial institution which handles your pension. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. Assuming there is already a court order for child support that has created a legally binding obligation for the father to pay, then you can report his non-payment to the court with a filing, and the Judge will decide how to handle the situation; the Judge will most likely look at his financial situation and order him to remedy the situation in any number of ways. A refusal to show up in spite of proper notice could indeed possibly result in the Judge issuing a Body Attachment, which acts like a warrant and will result in his arrest and being brought by the Sheriff to the courthouse; but you must demonstrate proper notice. I hope this helps.   (This answer does not create a binding attorney-client relationship and should be used for information purposes only.)... Read More

Hello, LaTasha. The general rule when calculating child support is that the courts look to the non-custodial parent's income, and the support payments are based off of that. In this instance, it looks like that would be your boyfriend. Generally, the income of the custodial parent is not factored like the non-custodial parent's income is. So, generally, a change in income to the custodial parent may not result in the non-custodial parent paying more. I say "generally" because it is difficult to make a bright-line rule about these things because of the complexity of these situations. If your boyfriend's income has increased and can be considered a "significant change" then he may be required to pay more, but that would be because of his earning power and not the custodial parent's earning power. If there are late support payments that have to be factored in, then the amount may go up regardless of earning power in order to get the support payments up to date. Regarding who claimed whom on the taxes, this can be addressed by the court should you choose to take the issue to court. It is possible that the extra money the mother received from claiming both children instead of just the one could potentially be counted as a credit towards child support owed. This would, of course, be up to the Judge based on the totality of the circumstances. I hope this helps.   (This answer does not create a binding attorney-client relationship and should be used for information purposes only.)... Read More

First, there is the question of ownership: who else is on the Deed?  under what interest - joint or in common - is that interest held? Secondly, there does appear to be some marital interest held in the house.  As such, it should be addressed in any divorce proceeding.  You need to determine whether the fair market value exceeds all the claims on the property.  This figure is then refigured with the costs of sale and realtor's commission to decide if there will be proceeds from sale. Depending on those answers, the property may be kept from or given to your soon-to-be ex-spouse subject to a hold harmless OR the interest may be sold or traded with the Soon-to-be-ex OR the home sold.  This is integrated in any dissolution proceeding, whereby you should discuss this situation, the valuation, and your options with a family law attorney.  The mother may also need to be a party added to the divorce, but is a legal question that needs to be addressed with your attorney. From your question, it does not appear that you have an attorney, the suggestion is to contact your County Bar Association for a referral.  Then you can visit the attorney's website and call the office to find a suitable attorney for a consultation, if not representation.    ... Read More

You did not identify the County of the underlying custody award or reference that there was an initial custody award. First, we presume there was such an order.  In the order should be some award of visitation.  A Petition for Rule can then be brought for any violations by the Dad.  If, however, there is only general terms in the order, a Motion to Compel Visitation or one to Modify (to include specific times, dates, etc.) can be also be brought.  This would grant you the specifics that can then be enforced. If there was no order, you can file a Petition for Visitation.  It may be that your County includes mandatory mediation of such disputes, a practicing attorney in your area can answer that question. Although these actions can be brought without an attorney, one is heartily suggested.  Should you not know where to begin, the suggestion is your local county bar.  They may have a referral system in place.  You can also review potential names via their website as you narrow the search. As there may be time constraints, the sooner an appointment is made, the better.... Read More