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Divorce
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 Okay,
you find yourself needing answers to divorce questions.
You probably never dreamed you'd be needing such
a site. Relax, though. Take
a deep breath. If nothing else, we'll give you
some answers and ease your anxiety. If you're
having a tough time coping, perhaps you should
view this
page first.
Child Support
According
to Illinois divorce laws, either or both parents
can be ordered to pay child support. Determination
of the amount is based on guidelines put in place
by the Illinois legislature and enacted statutes,
and is a percentage of net income. In
general, you can expect the non-custodial parent
to pay child support in accordance with these
guidelines. The court does have latitude however,
and can deviate beyond these parameters. If the
court deviates from these child support guidelines,
it must make a written finding why the deviation
is appropriate, based on the following considerations:
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1.
The financial resources and needs of the child,
2. The financial resources and needs of the custodial
parent, 3. The standard of living the child would
have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved, 4.
The physical and emotional condition of the child,
and his educational needs, 5. The financial resources
and needs of the non-custodial parent. The percentages
of net income that must go toward
child support are: 1 child-20%, 2 children-28%,
3 children-32%, 4 children-40%, 5 children-45%,
6 children-50%. If
a marriage separation
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(sometimes
referred to as a marital separation or legal separation)
has been decreed, the court may make such further
orders for the support and maintenance of either
spouse and for the support, maintenance, and education
of minor children, by either spouse, or out of
the property of either spouse, as the court deemed
appropriate.
Illinois divorce laws
provide that in cases where a marriage annulment
or marital annulment is sought, and there are
children of the marriage, that those children
be afforded the same rights, protections and parental
financial support, including that the children
are not considered illegitimate offspring of the
parents, that other children of the state receive.
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Child Custody
Family courts determine
child custody in accordance with the best interest
of the child. The courts consider all relevant
factors including the following guidelines:
1. The
wishes of the child's parent or parents as to
custody of the child; 2. The
wishes of the child as to custody; 3. relationship
of the child with his parent or parents, or siblings;
4. The child's adjustment to his home, school
and community; 5. The
mental and physical health of all individuals
involved; 6. The
physical violence
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or
threat of physical violence by the child's potential
custodian; 7. The occurrence
of ongoing abuse; 8. The willingness and ability
of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close
and continuing relationship between the other
parent and the child.
The court doesn't consider
conduct of a present or proposed custodian that
does not affect the relationship to the child.
In the absence of ongoing
abuse, the court presumes that maximized involvement
by both parents is in the best interest of the
child. Joint
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custody
is one of the considerations of the court, but
it does not necessarily favor that arrangement
unless one or both parents
suggest it, or if in the court's view, it serves
the child in the best possible manner. The court
may take the following into consideration for
child custody consideration: 1. The
capability of the parents to cooperate effectively
and consistently in matters that directly affect
the joint parenting of the child, 2. The
residential circumstances of each parent; and 3. All
other factors which may be relevant to the best
interest of the child.
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•Visitation
•Co-Parenting
If the parties
can reach an agreement about visitation (parenting
plan) and it conforms to state law, it will likely
be included in the final decree. If no agreement
can be reached, the court will decide. The non-custodial
parent has a right to reasonable visitation with
the children. Ages of the children are factored
into any decision handed down from the court.
The standard visitation features for a non-custodial
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and
his/her children involves alternate weekend visitation
(3-day weekends included), mid-week visits, sharing
of the children during periods of school recess
-winter, spring and summer, New Year's Eve, Easter, Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
withone
parent or the other in alternate years, Father's
Day with Father, Mother's Day with Mother, alternate
years on the children's birthdays, and open communication
by phone and computer. Be sure to have included
in
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the
final orders specifically who picks up and drops
off, where that happens, what will happen if one
parent isn't consistently on time, etc.
Be aware that you have to guide your side of
the divorce. Don't rely that your attorney will
think of everything. You set the course; your
lawyer navigates. If you anticipate any problems
with custody or visitation, we suggest you own Child
Custody Strategies.
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•Alimony
•Maintenance •Spousal Support
Illinois
courts can order temporary or permanent maintenance
(alimony) awards if petitioned. Alimony and maintenance
can also be known as spousal support. Evidence
of marital misconduct is not considered in the
alimony guidelines. Illinois courts will consider
the following factors:
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- The income and property
of each party
- The needs of each party
- The present and future
earning capacity of each party
- The contribution of
one party to the betterment of the other party
- The time necessary
to enable the party seeking maintenance to rejoin
the labor force as a self-sustaining person
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- The standard of living established during
the marriage
- The duration of the marriage
- The tax consequences of the property division
upon the respective economic circumstances of
the parties
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Grounds
For Divorce
In order for the court to
enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage (divorce),
one of the spouses has to be a resident of this
State or was stationed in this State while a member
of the armed services, and the residence or military
presence had been maintained for 90 days before
the filing. Grounds
for divorce in Illinois are:
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- Impotence
- Bigamy
- Adultery
- Desertion for one year
- Addiction to alcohol/drugs,
- Attempted murder
- Conviction of a Felony
- Infecting other spouse
with sexually transmitted disease
- Living separate and
apart for two years where there exists irreconcilable
differences
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- Both parties may in
writing stipulate that they have lived apart for
6 months and that the couple have no chance of
reconciliation, in which case the two year apart
rule is waived
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Marriage
Annulment
Marital Annulment
A marriage
annulment is a judicial ruling that the marriage
never existed. Getting an marriage annulment (also
known as a marital annulment) is considerably
more difficult to have ruled than a divorce because
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must
prove grounds for annulment and in most cases
present proof and witnesses. All
issues surrounding child and spousal support,
property settlement and parenting
must be resolved and be included in the agreement.
Grounds for an annulment accepted in Illinois
include: One
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person
can not have more than one spouse; Same-sex marriages
are prohibited; Consanguinity is also a lawful
Illinois annulment ground (marrying a close relative:
father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt),
or marriages of children who are under 17 years
of age without the consent of parents. |
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•Marriage
Counseling
•Mediation
If the court concludes that
there is a prospect of reconciliation, the court,
at the request of either party, or on its own
motion, may order a conciliation conference, as
guided by Illinois divorce laws. The conciliation
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conference
(mediation) and counseling would take place by
court order.By
the same token, the court can prohibit conciliation,
mediation or marriage counseling if it believes
it is not in the best interest of one or both
parties.
In an action for dissolution
of
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marriage
(divorce) involving minor children, the court
may order the parties, excluding the minor children,
to attend an educational program concerning the
effects of dissolution of marriage on the children,
if the court finds that it would be in the best
interests of the minor children. |
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•Legal
Separation
•Marital
Separation
Unlike divorcing spouses,
couples who seek an Illinois legal separation
must in fact be living separate and apart before
seeking a formal Judgment from the Court. The
petition seeks a judicial ruling that one spouse
should pay another spouse child support or spousal
support or maintenance, and |
distribution
of property, without seeking to dissolve the marriage.
Such petitions are often made for religious reasons
or to preserve health care or insurance coverage.Being
legally separated (sometimes referred to as a
marital separation) means that the "marital
estate" is closed and two new, separate financial
estates, for
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inheritance, tax purposes,
business deals, etc., are created, just like in
a divorce. Legal separations are just like a divorce,
except that you continue to be married. Any person
living separate and apart from his or her spouse without
fault may petition for reasonable support
and maintenance while they so live apart. |
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Waiting
Period
If the grounds for the dissolution
of marriage is based upon living separate and
apart for two years with irreconcilable differences,
the court must determine that efforts at reconciliation
have failed or are impractical and not in the
best interests of the family. |
Illinois
divorce statutes provide that if the parties have
lived separate and apart without cohabitation
for at least six months immediately prior to the
filing of the petition, the parties may waive
the requirement of living separate and apart for
two years by filing a stipulation to that effect
with the court. |
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Grandparents Rights
Grandparents
visitation will not be granted unless the parents
are living apart and not cohabiting on a permanent
or indefinite basis, one of the parents has been
absent from the martial residence for over one
month without the other spouse knowing his /her
whereabouts, one of the parents is deceased, one
of the parents joins in the petition with the
grandparents or |
great-grandparents,
or if a sibling is in state custody. The Illinois
Supreme Court has stated “The constitution
(Illinois) prohibits the state from forcing fit
parents to yieldvisitation
rights to a child’s
grandparents when the parents do not wish to do
so merely because a trial judge believes that
such visitation would be appropriate.” The
parent preventing visitation may have very good
reasons for doing
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so.
Even if the parent has no good reason to deny
grandparent visitation, U.S. and Illinois law
still require the grandparent to meet a fairly
high burden to secure visitation of a grandchild,
in order to respect every parent’s superior
right to raise a child the way that parent sees
fit.
State
Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives
Raising Children
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Divorce
Settlement
Illinois is known as an
equitable distribution state. Assets are divided
by the court in an equitable (although not necessarily
even) manner. You and your spouse will be given
the opportunity to arrive at a divorce settlement
of marital assets and liabilities, and if you
are unable to
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agree,
the court will provide a divorce settlement for
you. Did
you come into this marriage owning a house? Concerned
about the equity in that house that you brought
into the marriage? Worried that a property you
brought into the marriage may end up in the divorce
settlement negotiations? Here's how it works generally.
What you brought into the |
marriage
is usually all yours. However, any appreciation
of the house or the property value is normally
treated as a "marital asset", meaning
that you will likely forfeit a third to a half
of that appreciation to your spouse in the divorce.
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Residency
Requirements
In order for the Family
Court to issue a judgment of dissolution of marriage
(divorce), one of the spouses must have established
residency in Illinois or was stationed in this
State while a
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member
of the armed services, and the residence or military
presence had been maintained for 90 days prior
to filing. The filing of the petition should occur
in the county where the plaintiff or defendant
resides.
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