As any parent can tell you, children are expensive. Things like clothing, meals, healthcare, school supplies, and extracurricular fees are only a few of the expenses children bring about. When two parents split up or end their marriage, it does not mean that they become any less responsible for those expenses. The purpose of child support is to allow the child to enjoy the same quality of life that they had when the child’s parents were together. Some parents try to avoid paying their fair share of these expenses by skipping child support payments. Failure to pay child support can have serious financial and criminal consequences.

Possible Punishments

Each year, some $14 billion in ordered child support goes unpaid in the United States. In order to combat this, penalties exist for parents who do not pay child support. People who chronically avoid child support payments may:

Almost everyone has seen a dramatic divorce played out in movies or television. One that comes to mind is the scene from the movie Liar Liar when a vindictive mother seeks full custody of her children even after admitting that her husband is a wonderful father. Although movies are usually unrealistic, divorce proceeding can become very ugly somtimes. There are so many memories and emotions that a person goes into a divorce with, it can be difficult to be pragmatic. While there is no way have a completely conflict-free divorce, there are a few things you can do to make the divorce process go more smoothly.

Admit That the Marriage Is Over

Humans are not robots who can suddenly turn off the romantic feelings they once had for a spouse. Many individuals who file for divorce still have residual questions, “what ifs?”, and regrets about the marriage. They may still long for the apology they never got or wish for their spouse to admit to a previous transgression. In order to stay sane during a divorce, you may need to let some of these lingering feelings and desires go. If the marriage is truly over, there is no sense in dredging up the past. The focus now should be on dissolving the marriage in a fair and reasonable way. If you have children together, the focus should be to restructure the romantic relationship you had with your spouse into an effective co-parenting dynamic.

It has been a source of confusion to the older generation that many young people in the United States have chosen either to not marry or to wait on marriage until later in life. It is true that there are some advantages to marrying aside from the obvious ones, such as streamlined tax preparation, but for many, there are perks to remaining single. Besides, many argue that they can obtain the best of both worlds via cohabitation, as long as an appropriate cohabitation agreement is signed and executed, so that both partners’ assets and rights are protected.

Do I Need A Cohabitation Agreement?

Not every cohabitating couple needs an agreement. Some do quite well without any kind of legal documentation of their relationship. The tradeoff, however, is that no assets of any kind may commingle, and one has no legal recourse regarding their partner’s assets if they predecease the other. Illinois does not recognize cohabitating couples as having any kind of legal relationship unless they have a valid cohabitation agreement. While being married may not be a couple’s first choice, if they want any legal rights to the fruits of their relationship, they must take definitive action.

Motions to modify parenting time or parental responsibilities are common, especially if the one parent has experienced a change in their work or living circumstances. However, sometimes a true emergency will happen, and in such a case, an emergency motion may be filed, Relief, however will not always be granted. Alternatively, a motion may be filed as an emergency when it is not one, and it is important to know the difference.

The Process of Filing

The regulations surrounding emergency motions differ from county to county. In Cook County, for example, the requirements are set out in the Rules of Court and are fairly clear, but things may be murkier in other jurisdictions. Emergency motions are generally somewhat different to the standard requests for modification in two major respects: the type of notice required and the requirements as to who must be present. With a “normal” motion, notice must be served on the other party, usually by mail, before a hearing can proceed. Emergency motions require only “emergency” notice (at least in Cook County), which is loosely defined as making at least one reasonable attempt to inform the opposing party of the motion’s filing.

January has earned the nickname of “Divorce Month” because data shows that divorce filings begin to considerably increase in frequency during this time. During January, the number of divorce filings is one-third more than average. The rate of filings remains high through February and March as well.

Family and relationship experts offer a few possible reasons for this trend. One explanation is that couples considering divorcing wait until after the holidays to do so. It can be difficult to explain to friends and relatives why your significant other is not with you at the holiday party or family gathering. Splitting up during the holidays is even more challenging if a couple has children. Many parents do not want to spoil Christmas, Hanukkah, or other important holidays for their children with news of the impending divorce. If you have decided to divorce this January, there are a few steps you can take to protect your interests and make the process go as smoothly as possible.

Protect Your Finances