Lake in the Hills Family Law Attorneys

Our Lake in the Hills divorce & family law attorneys discuss the new divorce laws that became effective in 2016. These laws were passed in an attempt to reduce the potential for disputes and update for the modern day parenting life. We have provided a summary of the section of the articles below that are the most important changes that may affect you and your case.

‍Grounds for Divorce

In the past, there were 11 grounds for divorce in Illinois. These included irreconcilable differences, adultery, impotence, or habitual drunkenness. During the waiting period, couples were required to live apart depending on the grounds. Now the only ground for divorce is irreconcilable differences and the waiting period is shorter.

Custody and Visitation Rights

Instead of referring to parents as custodial or non-custodial and assigning visitation rights, the divorce court now has adopted the term allocation of parenting time and responsibility. 

‍Relocation of a Parent

The custodial parent in the past was permitted to relocate without court order, but leave of court was still required to move out state. 

Read the entire article by our Lake in the Hills divorce & family law attorneys.

In this article our Lake in the Hills divorce attorneys discuss the new laws that took effect on July 1, 2017.These changes to Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act reform the calculation of child support in Illinois.

The divorce court now uses economic tables to determine base figure necessary to care for the child of the separating couple. These tables will take into account many factors such as combined income of the parents, cost of living based on locality, and the number of children of the parents.

‍But when situations arise where there is shared parenting, the support may be calculated differently. When this situation arises, each parent has the child for at least 146 nights a year. Also, while there is this shared parenting situation the child support will be multiplied by 1.5. This means the total amount allocated to child support will be increase for both parents. The relative income of each parent is not the only factor to be divided. Time is also considered in the court to determine how much time is given to each parent. The more time that is spent with the child will reduce the obligation of the child support allotment.  

Read the entire article by our Lake in the Hills divorce & family law attorneys.

In this article, our Lake in the Hills divorce attorneys explain the divorce process:

1. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage - The first step in initiating the divorce proceeding, one of the spouses must file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The purpose of this petition to establish ​the proper venue, explain background regarding their marriage, assets and income, children, and requests that the court decide the issues of child custody and support, division of property, spousal support & maintenance. This petition is personally served upon the other spouse along with a Summons requiring the respondent to appear at the initial court date.
   
2. Response - Once the respondent receives this petition, the respondent files a Response that states his or her positions on the issues addressed in the petition.
3. Discovery - The next step is to exchange documents and information that discloses income, assets, and liabilities through each party's respective attorney.
4. Settlement Negotiations - Once the parties review these documents and information, the lawyers will attempt to resolve a lot of these issues through negotiations. If a successful settlement can be achieved, both parties would be able to save significantly on legal fees that would be spent going to trial. However, if there remains issues regarding the divorce after the efforts to settle, the parties may choose to undergo a mediation or pre-trial settlement conference wherein a third-party attorney mediator or judge will attempt to solve any lingering issues.
5. Marital Settlement Agreement & Joint Parenting Agreement - If settlement is successful, the next step  is to sign a Martial Settlement Agreement. This agreement resolves financial issues upon. If children are involved, Joint Parenting Agreements may be reached which resolves custody and visitation issues. These files are to be filed with the court and a final hearing will be held that allows the court to approve the Marital Settlement Agreement and/or Joint Parenting Agreement. The judge then issues an Order of Dissolution which dissolves the marriages and begins the agreements that the parties have agreed to.
6. Trial - On the other hand, if negotiations fail, parties will not be able to enter into a Marital Settlement Agreement or Join Parenting Agreement and a trial will be mandatory. The court will then be forced to decide on the disputed issues before making issuing the Order of Dissolution.

Read more by our Lake in the Hills divorce attorneys about Petitions for Dissolution of Marriage.