Illinois Law (Section 504) provides that a party to a divorce or legal separation may be awarded maintenance (formerly known as alimony) after the Court considers all of the relevant factors of the case. In deciding whether to award a party maintenance from their spouse, the Court will consider the needs of each party, the incomes of each
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Today, if a party does not pay child support and is found to be in arrears, interest is automatically awarded via statute. However, prior to an Illinois Supreme Court ruling in 2011, child support interest was not considered mandatory. Rather, Illinois Courts had the discretion to award interest on back child support, but were not
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Prior to trial, parties will often issue an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 237(b) Request to Appear and Produce. This Rule 237(b) Request to Appear and Produce does just that: it requests the party to be present to testify at trial and, oftentimes, will request a party to bring certain documents with them to the trial.
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In order to obtain a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, the parties must do one of two things: either settle their case, or proceed to trial. Under the first option, the parties reach a settlement agreement which disposes of all issues regarding their property and their children. Once the agreement has been reached, the parties
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Consider the following scenario: A couple divorced several years ago. Pursuant to their Judgment, mother has residential custody of the parties’ two children and father pays mother child support. However, one day, father is laid off and struggles to pay his support obligation. Out of the kindness of her heart, mother agrees to let father
Continue Reading »Clients and potential clients ask regularly for their spouse to pay their attorney fees and costs for their divorce. Despite the fact that this is a popular request, there are generally two ways that your spouse would be ordered to pay or contribute to your attorney’s fees in an Illinois divorce proceeding. Scenario 1: Ability
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