Child support is often awarded in a divorce to support minor children. If children are very young at the time of the divorce, a payor may be obligated to pay child support for many years to come, sometimes throughout their college years. Of course, a lot can happen over the course of 10 to 20…Read More
Taxes and Marital Property Division
It is important to consider the tax treatment of various assets when dividing marital property to ensure a fair division. Say, for example, you and your spouse have a 401k as well as a Roth IRA, both with roughly equal dollar amounts. On the surface it may seem that awarding one to each spouse makes…Read More
Schlesinger & Strauss Upcoming Events
Attorney Gary Schlesinger has been chosen by the incoming president, David Pasulka, to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers starting November 1, 2019. December 6, Gary will be attending the mid year meeting of the Illinois State Bar Association where he will…Read More
Deanna Hoyt Appointed to ISBA Leadership Academy
Deanna Hoyt was recently selected to be part of the ISBA’s inaugural Leadership Academy. The Illinois State Bar Association Leadership Academy’s mission is to enhance the professional careers of young, diverse members of the Illinois Bar. The program aims to serve the next generation of legal professionals by providing training to become effective leaders in…Read More
Petition to Modify Allocation of Parental Responsibilities
Illinois allocation of parenting responsibilities, formerly known as custody, refers to parenting time and the authority to make significant decisions regarding minor children such as religious upbringing or education. When a divorce is finalized, an Allocation Judgement will be entered either by agreement or by a judge’s ruling, which will set forth the parenting time…Read More
Michael Strauss is presenting at the Symposium for a Safer Lake County
Michael Strauss is presenting at the Symposium for a Safer Lake County, Friday, November 8, 2019. Michael is presenting on the topic of Developments in Family Law. The Symposium for a Safer Lake County is a professional development forum dedicated to broadening the knowledge and collaboration of clergy, healthcare, legal, and human services professionals working…Read More
Protecting Marital Assets in a Divorce
Marriages end for various reasons. Sometimes there may be domestic violence, abuse or infidelity involved while other times, one spouse may simply be ready to move on. When a spouse seeks a divorce under any of these circumstances, the other spouse may feel resentful and angry, perhaps even wanting to exact a measure payback by…Read More
Firm News October 2019
October 28th Michael Strauss presented at a Winnebago County Bar Association on the topic of mediation with attorney Shyama Parikh.
How is child support and maintenance in Illinois calculated?
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