Visitation for Non-Parents After a Chicago Divorce

After a divorce in Chicago, other family members may be frustrated by their ability to spend time with the minor children from the marriage. For example, a grandparent might be accustomed to spending a particular amount of time with the kids and may be angry about the way in which the court allocated parental responsibilities. Adult siblings also may want to have the ability to spend time with their younger siblings despite the way in which parenting time has been[...]

What to Expect When a Parent is Not Allocated Significant Decision-Making Responsibilities

In a Chicago divorce involving minor children from the marriage, parental responsibilities will be allocated through a parenting plan developed by both parents or through an allocation judgment issued by the court. In either scenario, the way in which parental responsibilities are allocated must be in the child’s best interests. As you may know, parental responsibilities include both significant decision-making responsibilities and parenting time. Before child custody matters were revised in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA),[...]

Which Apps can Make My Divorce Easier?

Are you planning to file for divorce? Do you have minor children from your marriage? If so, it is important to know that you will need to find ways to communicate with your ex-spouse for the sake of your children and sharing parental responsibilities. For many families in Cook County, communication can be difficult, especially when the divorce was contentious. Even when the parties have a relatively amicable relationship under the circumstances, communication can become strained. According to an article[...]

How Can I Avoid Paying High Taxes on Alimony?

Anyone in Chicago who gets divorced and is required to pay alimony—known as spousal maintenance or support under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA)—should know that they will have to pay taxes on that money. Under older tax laws, the party who received alimony payments would pay taxes on that money as if it were income, and the party making alimony payments would be able to deduct that amount before taxes. However, as you probably know, the[...]

Can I Seek Attorneys’ Fees in My Chicago Divorce?

Divorces in Chicago can be expensive, especially if your spouse is engaging in behaviors or actions that are requiring extra time with your attorney or additional court dates. When a married couple begins the process of getting divorced and one of the parties was a primary earner or breadwinner in the marriage, the other spouse (the non-primary earner, often the stay-at-home parent) can struggle to find resources to pay for a divorce. If you are in this situation, you may[...]