If you are considering divorce or recently went through a complicated child custody case, you know that there have been many changes to Illinois family law over the last few years. When you need help with a family law matter, it is extremely important to have an experienced advocate on your side who can fight for your rights to certain property in a contested divorce, and to ensure that an allocation of parental responsibilities is fair to you and takes into account the important role you play in your child’s life.
As family lawyers in Illinois, we regularly help families throughout the state with many different legal issues. We will help you to understand the recent changes to Illinois family law and to provide experienced counsel throughout your family law matter. An advocate at Arami Law can get started on your case today.
Our team handles many family law cases, including but not limited to the following issues:
One of the first of the recent changes to Illinois family law concerns the petition for the dissolution of marriage under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). Until the law changed, a party filing for the dissolution of marriage could state grounds for divorce. Illinois is now what we call a “no fault” state, which means that the person who files for divorce only needs to assert that there are irreconcilable differences. In other words, neither of the parties is at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, but it cannot be repaired. When the parties live separate and apart for six months or longer, there is a presumption that there are irreconcilable differences and that the parties should be able to divorce.
Not all divorces result in a spousal maintenance award. Under the IMDMA, the court first looks at many different factors to determine whether spousal maintenance is appropriate in the case. Only once it has determined that a spousal maintenance award is appropriate will it decide the amount and duration of the payments.
What is new about this? Under recent revisions to Illinois family law, if the two parties who are getting divorced make under $250,000 together annually, the court will look at guidelines for determining the amount and duration of the marriage. This change in the law streamlines the spousal maintenance award process and makes the awards more even across family situations.
A very recent change to Illinois family law concerns child support. Whereas the state used to use a system in which the noncustodial parent paid child support to the custodial parent, the courts now use an “income shares” model. In other words, the court adds together the income of both parents and uses that number to determine the support obligation. It then determines each parent’s percentage of the support obligation based on parenting time and other factors.
Do you have questions about a family law issue? An experienced Illinois family lawyer can help with your case. Contact Arami Law to learn more about the services we provide to clients throughout the state.
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