For child support orders entered after July 1, 2017, Illinois courts apply the income shares model to calculate child support. This formula considers the income of both parents. The court uses the economic tables to determine the appropriate amount of child support and then apportions this support between the parents in proportion to their income. For example, if the child support amount is $1,000 and the mother earns $40,000 and the father earns $60,000, the father would be responsible for $600 of this support. Michael Strauss Attorney was a co-author of the new statutes in Illinois
Pet Prenuptial Agreements A Growing Trend
A recent survey shows that roughly 70 percent of households, or 85 million families, own a pet in the United States. Ask most pet owners what their pet means to them and they will typically use words such as love, companionship, friendship and loyalty to describe the bond they have with their dogs, cats or…Read More
Guardian Ad Litem Role in Determining Parenting Time and Responsibility
Deciding how parenting time and parental responsibilities will be structured to best meet the needs of your children during a divorce is perhaps the most important decision divorcing parents will make. Parental responsibility means making major decisions affecting your children such as education, religion, medical care and more. Parenting time means how much time children…Read More
Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct
The letter to the editor below is a letter to the editor originally submitted to the Lake County Bar Association. It is reprinted with permission. Dear Editor, All of us who have a law license must obey the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. One such rule is 4.1 entitled Truthfulness in Statements to Others. “In…Read More
Consequences For Domestic Violence Crimes
Domestic violence is a crime that can spell serious consequences for the perpetrator. For a crime to be considered domestic violence, the abuser and the victim have to have a specific relationship under the law. Someone may be charged for committing an act of violence under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act if they are your…Read More
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Board Appointment
Attorney Gary Schlesinger is slated to be on the board of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers for two years starting November 1, 2019. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) was founded “to encourage the study, improve the practice, elevate the standards and advance the cause of matrimonial law” to…Read More
Factors Considered in the Equitable Division of Marital Property
If you are divorcing in Illinois, you may be expecting that the equitable division of marital property will be split 50/50, fair and square. However, Illinois is an equitable division state and therefore property is divided in a way that is proportionate to what is fair, not necessarily to what is equal. A fair division…Read More
May a Guardian Ad Litem Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act File Pleadings?
By GARY L SCHLESINGER 750 ILCS 5/506 is entitled representation of child. Subparagraph (a) is titled “Duties.” Three different positions are listed. One is attorney for the child who owes “the same duty of undivided loyalty, confidentially, competent representation as are due to an adult client.” The second is the child representative who “shall have…Read More
Tips to Reduce the Costs of Getting a Divorce
If you and your spouse are considering divorce after a lifetime of accumulating assets, sorting out all the details regarding property division, spousal maintenance and even child support can get expensive. To keep legal fees down, you may want to consider the following tips to reduce the costs of getting a divorce. Avoid a trial….Read More
Exclusive Possession of the Marital Residence in an Illinois Divorce
Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), exclusive possession of the marital residence means that one spouse is subject to temporary eviction from the home while a divorce case is pending. Exclusive possession allows one spouse to go so far as to change the locks on the matrimonial home if he or…Read More
