Posted on July 08, 2016 in Divorce

Divorces can be contentious. The end of a marriage means separating two lives and involves many major decisions, from spousal and child support to property division. There are plenty of issues on which spouses can disagree, but when a divorcing couple can reach a compromise on as much as possible, they can save significant amounts of time and money.

Uncontested Divorce

An uncontested divorce means that the spouses reached an agreement on all the issues before beginning the divorce process, including property division, alimony, child support, child custody and parenting time. Uncontested divorces are both simpler and faster than contested divorces.

One main benefit of an uncontested divorce is that the spouses can reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Rarely will a divorce settlement be ideal for either spouse, but the spouses in an uncontested divorce retain control over the outcome, unlike in a contested divorce, where the issues are settled by a judge.

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 Posted on June 24, 2016 in Division of Property

When a couple dissolves their marriage, all marital property, including both assets and liabilities, must be allocated between the spouses. Dividing marital debt is a similar process to dividing assets; however, there are unique issues that come with apportioning debt in a divorce.

Equitable Distribution

The best and simplest solutions are when spouses are able to either pay off their debt or collectively divide their debt before filing for divorce. However, these options are not always possible, and the Court may need to split the marital debt.

When dividing debt in divorce, Courts use the principles of equitable distribution. Hence, the debt is divided fairly, if not equally. Courts take into account factors including:

• Each spouse's financial circumstances such as assets and earning potential;
• The duration of the marriage;

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 Posted on June 10, 2016 in Child Support

Child support determinations can be filled with tension, and the amount of support is often hotly contested. Child support calculations in Illinois are based on each parent's earnings, and sometimes, one parent tries to evade responsibility for support payments by hiding income.

Imputing Income

If the judge in a child support proceeding suspects that one parent is trying to avoid paying child support, Illinois law has a mechanism to ensure fairness — imputing income. When a Court imputes income, a parent is assigned a higher income for purposes of calculating child support. This action is appropriate when there is doubt as to the accuracy of the parent's reported income and evidence shows that the parent is or could be earning more than reported.

There are several reasons to impute income in Illinois. Imputing income may be appropriate when a parent conceals or fails to report his or her earnings, or when the parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.

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 Posted on June 03, 2016 in Family Law

Social media is a useful tool with widespread use. However, social media use means that privacy has changed as well. We often do not fully consider the implications of what we post online and may expose too much information to the outside world.

Social media use can create tension in a marriage and may additionally affect family law issues such as divorce, custody proceedings and spousal or child support issues.

Social Media Evidence

Courts are increasingly allowing social media posts to be used as evidence in family law cases. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine and Snapchat posts and photos can reveal cheating, substance abuse and other issues that can affect legal outcomes. Foursquare and Yelp can show a user's whereabouts with location check-ins. LinkedIn may disclose information about one's employment, including income and bonuses.

Child and Spousal Support and Property Distribution

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 Posted on May 27, 2016 in Spousal Support

Unfortunately, in some divorces, one or both parties may attempt to hide or misrepresent their assets from the other. However, the recently passed Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act now makes the attempt to provide false information on a financial affidavit punishable by financial sanctions and attorney's fee awards.

Financial Affidavits

During a divorce, either party is permitted to submit a petition for temporary maintenance or temporary child support. Maintenance is a set payment that may be paid in one or more installments and is intended to help the petitioning party pay necessary expenses and living costs.

The petitioning party must include a financial affidavit that sets forth information about his or her assets and income, which must also be supported by specific documentary evidence, including:

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 Posted on May 20, 2016 in Child Custody

The stresses of military deployments can lead struggling couples to begin the process of divorce and custody proceedings while one party is still overseas. However, a federal law, the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act (SCRA), provides some protection to members of the military who are at a disadvantage in asserting custody rights due to physical distance.

SCRA

Under the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act, judges are permitted to grant a stay of custody when a military member's participation in the proceedings is materially affected by his or her service. In fact, stays are mandatory for 90 days after deployment if certain conditions are met, including the submission of:

• A communication containing facts that support a service member's assertion that current military duty requirements materially affect his or her ability to appear at custody proceedings and that confirm a date when he or she will be available to appear; and

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 Posted on May 17, 2016 in Family Law

Four area students receive the 3rd Annual Scholarships for College-Bound Chicagoland Powered by the Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C.

This month, the 3rd Annual Scholarships for College-Bound Chicagoland Powered by the Law Office of Nicholas W. Richardson, P.C., were awarded to four area high school students. Applicants highlighted one issue facing today's society and outlined a possible solution.

Congrats to the winners listed below, along with the issue highlighted:

• Jessica D'Souza, Schaumburg High School, Corruption in the American Patent System
• Evan Johnson, Central High School, Racial Profiling by Police Officers
• Josh Seidman, Fremd High School, Minimum Wage
• Karolina Skarzynska, Schaumburg High School, Private Prisons.

Each $250 scholarship helps these high school seniors in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs with expenses related to their education, including college, nursing, business, trade, technical training and other similar programs, and can be used for any related expense.

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 Posted on May 13, 2016 in Child Custody

Between 2011 and 2013, residential Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) facilities reported 29,425 incidents of children who had gone missing while in DCFS custody. Tragically, many facilities did not immediately report runaways or missing children, making it much more difficult, if not impossible, for local law enforcement to locate them. However, a new law, known as the Safeguard Our Children Act, went into effect in Illinois this year and is aimed at addressing these practices. The law places a series of requirements on DCFS employees in regards to reporting incidences where children of any age, who are under their care, have been missing for more than 12 hours.

Senate Bill 1775

The new law, introduced last year by Senator Bill Cunningham, requires DCFS to consider a child under its care, who is living in a residential facility under contract with the Department, missing if he or she:

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 Posted on May 06, 2016 in Child Support

In many states, parents are not legally required to provide child support for their disabled, non-minor children. In Illinois, however, a recent amendment to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) enabled Courts to allocate funds from the income or property of either or both parties to a divorce, for the maintenance of any adult children with mental or physical disabilities.

Disability

Under the amended law, a disabled person is an individual who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity;
• Has a record of this type of impairment; or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment.

The law does not grant a Court the authority to award support for a non-minor child who became disabled after child support has been determined or an estate has been divided. Thus, in order to make a claim for support, the child must suffer from a disability that existed at the time the Court was in the process of awarding child support or dividing assets. The only exception to this rule is when a party submits a request for educational expenses.

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 Posted on April 27, 2016 in Child Custody

Under the changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the consequences of one parent's interference with the other parent's allocated visitation time are more severe and rigidly enforced than previously. The violation of a parenting agreement can result in a variety of civil and criminal penalties and range from fines and driver's license suspensions to probation and jail time. Moreover, a negative impact on a child's well-being is extremely likely to occur with regard to scheduled visitation interference.

Petitions

The new law, which went into effect this year, requires Courts to provide expedited procedures for handling the enforcement of parenting time. In order to bring an action for enforcement of visitation rights, a parent or guardian must file a petition with the Court. The following information must be included:

• The petitioner parent's name and address;

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