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Under Illinois state law, children are entitled to financial support from both their biological parents, regardless of whether the parents were ever married. However, that support is not unlimited. Instead, the state has a specific formula that is used to determine what a paying parent’s support obligation should be. Learn more about the way that child support is calculated, and discover how to determine when the aid of an experienced attorney may be beneficial for parents who are engaged in an Illinois child support case.
Is Child Support Owed?
Before an order for child support can be entered, the courts must first determine if support is owed. This starts with establishing parenthood over the child. In a marriage, this is presumed for both the mother and the father. If the parents were never married, the mother is usually presumed to be one biological parent, but the father must either acknowledge paternity, or they must request a paternity test to verify that they are the child’s biological parent. From there, the courts will examine other factors, such as the income of both parents and the amount of time that each parent spends with the child, to determine the amount of support that may be owed.
As the world becomes more digital, so do the various aspects of our lives; that includes separation and divorce. In fact, there are several phone applications that promise an easier way to manage, coordinate, and track things like support payments, parenting time schedules, and documents. There are even applications that allow you to complete the entire divorce process, right from your smartphone – but can you really trust an app with such a sensitive and complex matter? The following explores the answer to this question, and it provides you with details on how to reduce the risk of costly oversights and mistakes while navigating through your divorce.
Divorce Helper Applications
Divorce helper applications, or those that are designed to help you track, manage, or coordinate certain aspects of your divorce, are rarely a cause for concern. In fact, many divorcing parties have praised these technological tools, saying they stayed better organized throughout the entire divorce process. We recommend apps that offer real-time adjustments and notifications for things like schedule changes and document sharing to ensure you get the most out of your app.
Discussing a legal document that outlines your divorce before you are even married may not seem like the most romantic move. However, experts are now encouraging couples to talk about their finances, as well as the possibility of a divorce, before they wed. Part of this is due to the increasing prevalence of divorce and second marriages among older adults, and the intentional delay of marriage among millennials. The increase in entrepreneurship and small businesses are yet another factor.
Thankfully, a prenuptial agreement can help in these situations (as well as others). Learn more in the following sections, and discover how an experienced family law attorney can help you plan for the worst possible situation without it tainting the joy of your impending marriage.
Step Out of Your Emotions
Falling in love, planning a wedding, and anticipating all that the future may hold can be exciting and it may even leave you feeling a little reckless. Just remember that you will be stuck with your spouse’s financial habits when reality sets in. If they happen to contradict yours (perhaps you prefer to live and spend for the now but your spouse likes to save for the future), that could lead to some conflict down the road. Be rational about it now, while you are still in the blissful stage of your relationship – and be willing to have the hard conversations before you have fully committed to a lifetime of financial habits that drive you insane.
While it is possible to take a divorce case to litigation, settlements are often more favorable for all parties if a settlement can be negotiated. Sadly, divorce often involves a lot of deep and painful emotions, and that can cause people to act in ways that are unexpected or out of character. Money and child-related matters can also turn what might have been an amicable situation into a contentious one, especially if one or both parties try to use hard bargaining tactics to get what they want in the divorce. Learn how to reduce the risk of such issues in your case, thereby increasing your chances of obtaining a favorable settlement in an Illinois divorce.
Leave Your Emotions Out of the Process
It can be difficult to separate your emotions from the legal aspects of your divorce, yet doing so is essential if you hope to successfully navigate the negotiation process. That is because you cannot make rational decisions about your assets or other aspects of your case if you are viewing them through an emotional lens and placing a non-monetary value on them. Most divorcing parties find that therapy and other support systems, such as family and friends, are a great way to process the emotions they experience during the divorce process so that they do not affect the proceedings. Self-care can also be helpful in counteracting negative or painful emotions.
Divorce is a legally complex process with numerous pitfalls and challenges, which is why parties are advised to each seek their own legal counsel. High asset divorce – a case in which one or both parties has a high net worth or has a higher-than-middle-class income – only further complicates matters. Learn more about the risks associated with a high net worth divorce and how to mitigate against them, and discover how an experienced attorney can help protect your interests and financial future throughout the entire divorce process.
Accurate Valuation of the Marital Estate is Critical
Valuation of the marital estate is a critical element in every divorce, but in a high net worth divorce, the importance is further heightened by the complex (and sometimes inconsistent, fluctuating, or changing) assets involved. Keep in mind that many of the assets may not even be in you or your spouse’s name. Instead, they may be listed under the name of a company, or they may be found in overseas accounts, where tax breaks may be more readily available.
When deciding whether or not to file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, often the choice boils down to the immediate finances. Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually requires a higher upfront payment, typically around $1,000 versus Chapter 13 may offer $0 deposit. Throughout the duration, Chapter 13 is more expensive, approximately $3,000, but many debtors are unable to produce the higher initial costs for the alternative, and Chapter 13 often allows the inclusion of the fees in the repayment plan. Unfortunately, for a significant portion of the population, this decision is costly with lasting effects on the credit for only short-term relief.
Debtors Below The Poverty Line Are More Susceptible to Relapse
The low initial costs of Chapter 13 bankruptcy is alluring for many individuals struggling to make ends meet. Armed with the dream of living in a home without collectors calling around the clock and having some money left over at the end of the month, many debtors turn to debt relief options. However, not all bankruptcy options are equal. Chapter 13 operates on a repayment plan, typically about five years in length. So long as payments are kept up to date, collectors are unable to harass clients. However, for the population living under the poverty line and struggling to make ends meet, about half make it through the first year, let alone five years, and the calls begin once more.
Family courts have favored the mother in divorce proceedings for more than a century, partly because they have always been considered the “natural caregivers” of children. Times are changing, however, and more families using a shared parenting plan model that provides both parents with adequate time with their child. Learn how to determine if this parenting plan model may be appropriate for your family, and discover how an experienced attorney can help to ensure the best interests of your child are preserved throughout the entire legal process.
Understanding the Shared Parenting Plan Trend
During the 1950s and 60s, more women began to enter the workforce. That was when divorce laws started to change, offering no-fault options in some states and protecting what the courts considered to be the “best interests” of the child across the U.S. However, to really understand what was in a child’s best interests, the courts had to begin looking at cold, hard facts.
American families look quite different today than they did just a few short decades ago. In fact, recent studies have determined that approximately half of all families are blended, meaning there may be step-parents, step- or half-siblings, or any combination of the three. Some of these blended families co-parent with the biological parent (and perhaps the biological parent’s partner), but others find that a stepparent adoption is more appropriate for their situation. Learn more about the process, including how to determine if this may be an option for your family, and discover what an experienced attorney can do to help in the following sections.
Is Stepparent Adoption a Viable Option for Your Family?
Illinois state law does not allow a child to have three legal parents, so stepparent adoption may not be appropriate in every situation. Typically, they are reserved for situations in which one of the biological parents is deemed unfit or unsafe, but a stepparent adoption can also be pursued if the biological parent is uninterested in maintaining a relationship with the child. In the latter situation, parents and adopting step-parents must understand that consent—usually from the biological parent that would be relinquishing or losing their rights, but also sometimes the child, depending on the circumstances—is a critical element in stepparent adoption cases.
Parents who receive child support often rely on it to ensure their child’s needs are met. What happens, though, if the paying parent falls behind or refuses to make their payments? Besides placing a financial strain on the receiving parent, and potentially the child as well, the paying parent then becomes delinquent on their support. If that support is paid under an existing order with the courts, the receiving parent also has recourse for pursuing their overdue support. Learn more, including when the assistance of an experienced family law attorney may be necessary.
Determining How Much Support is Owed
Before pursuing overdue child support, a receiving parent is encouraged to first determine how much support is owed. If the payments are made through the State Disbursement Unit (SDU), the parent can request payment records directly from SDU. Parents who receive their payments directly through the courts can request such records from the circuit clerk. If payments are made directly to the receiving parent, they must bear the burden of proof in court, meaning they must supply the court with evidence that proves the child support payments were never made.
Unmarried fathers often assume that an agreement with the mother, and perhaps some financial assistance, will satisfy their desire to be a part of the child’s life. Sadly, this is rarely the case. Relationships break down, and issues along the way may jeopardize a father’s time and say-so in the child’s life. Thankfully, there is a way to protect all your fathers’ rights. Learn more in the following sections, including how an experienced attorney can help.
Legally Establishing a Father’s Rights
Although fathers can sign the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (“VAP”) to have their name placed on the birth certificate, it does not establish the father’s rights to spend time with the child, nor does it give them any decision-making power in the child’s life. Only a judge can provide these rights. As such, fathers are encouraged to seek legal rights over their child, even if their name is on the child’s birth certificate.
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