Changes to Illinois Spousal Maintenance Law in the New Year

Beginning on January 1, 2019, the way that spousal maintenance payments are taxed under federal law will change. This change is likely to have a significant financial impact for divorcing couples in Chicago and throughout the state of Illinois. Recognizing that the changes to the federal tax law under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will change the way that couples in Illinois are planning for divorce in terms of the financial effect, the state legislature amended the Illinois[...]

Why January is the Most Common Month to File for Divorce

Are you considering divorce? If you end up filing for divorce in Chicago in January at the end of the holiday season, you will not be alone. Recent studies have addressed the ways in which divorce filings tend to spike at certain times of the year, and an article in Reader’s Digest explains why more divorce filing may occur in January than in any other month. Why is January such a central time when it comes to divorce filings? Seasonal[...]

Some Grey Divorce Issues in Illinois

Partially because the marriage rate has declined, the divorce rate has dropped somewhat since 2000. The number of over-50 divorces, or grey divorces, has bucked this overall trend, however. This figure has doubled since 1990. Longer and more active lifespans may have something to do with the grey divorce phenomenon. Today, a 50-year-old person may expect to live another 30 years, and most of those years will be active ones. That is a long time to remain in a bad[...]

Did No-Fault Divorce End Saturday Morning Cartoons?

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other stalwart superheroes were once a fixture on Saturday mornings. Some people still wonder what happened to these shows, especially since many superhero movies are so popular. There is some evidence that no-fault divorce may have been at least partially responsible for the demise of Saturday morning cartoons. So, in a way, Cook County family law judges may have closed the Hall of Justice, thus achieving something that always eluded the nefarious Lex Luthor and[...]

Five Important Property Division Factors in Illinois

When it comes to property division, the Prairie State is an equitable division jurisdiction. “Equitable” is not necessarily the same thing as “equal,” but there is a presumption that the divorce must not be an unfair financial burden for either party. So, to unequally divide property, a Cook County judge must be convinced that one or more of the following factors is an issue. Furthermore, the judge must also hear evidence that the proposed unequal division would not be unfair[...]