Its tax season once again and, starting Monday, the Internal Revenue Service is ready to process your tax return. As you prepare your 2019 taxes, there are changes to the tax treatment of spousal maintenance to keep in mind. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted new tax rules regarding spousal support payments, also known…Read More
Prenuptial Agreements When Planning a Lifetime Together
Many millennials start out their adult lives carrying student loan debt coupled with sky high rents and car payment causing many to put off significant milestones such as marriage and children or buying a home. Because financial difficulties are often one of the leading contributors to divorce, when millennials finally do decide to take the…Read More
Illinois Parenting Plans for a Special Needs Child
Today family courts handle an increasing number child custody cases involving children with special needs, some of whom suffer from common neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit disorders, depressive disorders, and autistic spectrum disorders which present complex challenges to families and family law professionals trying to craft parenting plans and child support provisions…Read More
Limited Scope Representation is Working in Iowa. Why Not Illinois?
Michael Strauss is mentioned in a January, 2020 Illinois Bar Journal Presidents Page article, “If You Build It, They Will Come, Limited Scope Representation is Working in Iowa. Why Not in Illinois?” by ISBA President, David B. Sosin. The following are excerpts of the article: “From our conversations with Iowa State Bar Association leaders and…Read More
Interstate Child Custody Jurisdiction
The Netflix movie, Marriage Story, chronicles the divorce of two devoted parents of a young boy involved in an interstate custody dispute. In a fictional account that mimics real life, the story begins with a marriage on the rocks and a subsequent move by the mother and son from NY to CA to take a…Read More
Filing for Divorce First
When marriages start to unravel, one or both spouses may begin to contemplate divorce but are hesitant to act because they fear they are being too hasty or perhaps neither one knows how to proceed. One question that pops up regularly among those seriously considering divorce is whether or not it is advantageous to be the first spouse to file for divorce. The answer is often yes, there can be potential advantages of filing first in a divorce.
Life Insurance Benefits Protecting Child and Spousal Support
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
