When child support is ordered, the payments are based on the income of the parent who is ordered to pay it. Income is considered from different sources, and a percentage is calculated based on Illinois law and the number of children involved. However, this does not mean that the amount will always be affordable to the parent, and the law allows a parent who loses employment or other forms of income to appeal to a court to seek lower payments. If a parent fails to seek modification of the child support after losing income, they may end up getting behind and owing arrearages on the child support.

Arrearages owed on child support do not go away. A parent may be ordered to keep paying child support based on arrearages long after the children have reached their eighteenth birthdays. While this feels unfair, especially since the child is not likely to be receiving the support payments directly, it is important to remember that the arrearages payments are not new support payments; they are meant to cover child support that the parent was supposed to be making in the past and never did. When making payments on arrearages, it is important to make sure that the calculations are done to reflect this and new child support payments are not added.

Options for Settlement

Court ordered visitations after a court decides a custody issue is supposed to be made on the same basis as the custody issue; that is, visitation should be awarded if it is in the best interest of the child. However, even if the court finds that visitation is in the best interest of the child, it may also find that the visitation should be supervised.

Following changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage law that took effect on January 1, 2016, Illinois courts will now refer to visitation as parenting time. Parents are usually encouraged to work out issues relating to their children before presenting an agreement to the court. In cases where the parties cannot agree, the court may make determinations regarding parenting time. In making this determination, both parents are presumed to be fit parents, and limitations on parenting time are not to be placed unless the court finds that granting parenting time will seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. The court may also consider how the parenting time would impact a child’s emotional development.

It is important to note that the court is not allowed to consider a parent’s conduct in deciding whether or not to grant parenting time, unless that conduct is in direct relation to the child. Therefore, it is possible that accusations of abuse towards the other parent, that are not alleged to have been towards the child or witnessed by the child, may not bar the alleged abuser from being granted parenting time.

As unromantic as it may sound, a marriage can be compared to a contract, with two people coming together and agreeing to form a partnership under certain terms. In some cases, when couples are contemplating marriage and even after they are married, they may enter into additional agreements to ensure their financial interests are secure in the event of a divorce. There are many reasons why couples may choose to enter into these prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and there are numerous other concerns that they have to keep in mind when executing them. One important aspect of both kinds of agreements is the legal need for all parties to be aware of the assets at stake.

Financial disclosures are a key requirement in determining the enforceability of a prenuptial agreement. One of the elements a court looks at in determining that the contract is enforceable is if the party challenging the agreement was provided with a fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party’s assets or financial obligations. While there may later be a disagreement as to what constitutes a fair and reasonable disclosure, it is safe to say a complete disclosure of all assets owned, even partial interests, and all debt owed would satisfy this requirement. Often, the financial disclosure submitted by each party is attached to the prenuptial agreement as an exhibit or addendum to avoid questions of what was and what was not disclosed later on.

With postnuptial agreements, financial disclosure can be just as important. A couple that agrees to sign away rights to property or other assets after they are already married should not assume that they know what they own individually or jointly. If one person suggests a postnuptial agreement, each party should seek a complete financial disclosure of all assets, even those that may be considered premarital property. Having an accurate picture of all the assets and debts at play can affect the negotiations that take place. In agreeing to distribute property a certain way after the marriage, parties should also remember that a court would still look to see if the agreement was unconscionable. If either party fraudulently misrepresents their financial assets, shields marital assets, or misrepresents their intentions in order to get the other to agree to an unequal financial distribution, a court is likely to find the agreement unconscionable.

Not all parents agree that they need to contribute to their children’s educational expenses past the high school level. Some parents believe having a child work in order to pay for college expenses builds character, and for other parents, it is an expense they cannot afford. When parents’ divorce, the question of whether or not they will contribute to their children’s college expenses may be decided by a judge. In Illinois, courts can order parents to contribute to their children’s educational expenses, including college expenses.

Illinois law provides that in some cases, after receiving a petition from one of the parties, a court may award funds from a couple’s property or income, to be used for a child’s higher education expenses. If a parent is deceased, the court may order expenses to be paid from the parent’s estate. Generally speaking the educational expenses a court may order are for an undergraduate education, or for trade school. A parent who wishes to challenge a petition for college-related expenses has to show the court good cause why the petition should not be granted. If one parent has financial hardships, for example high personal student loan debt, they may argue that they should not be responsible for the child’s college expenses.

Factors a Court Considers

For individuals needing legal assistance but who are low on funds and assets, a contingency-fee arrangement can seem like the ideal way to secure quality legal representation. In a contingency-fee arrangement, the client agrees to pay the attorney a portion or percentage of the value of the recovery the attorney is able to secure for the client. In most contingency-fee arrangements, the client is not obligated to pay any attorney’s fees to the attorney if he or she is unable to recover any award or compensation for the client (although there may be certain administrative fees or other case-related costs the client is still responsible for paying.)

Obtaining quality legal representation during a divorce may seem too costly for some individuals. Can Illinois attorneys accept divorce or family law cases on a contingency-fee basis?

No Contingency-Fee Agreements for Family Law or Divorce Cases