Currently, Illinois uses a “percentage of income” formula to calculate a parent’s child support obligation to the custodial parent. This formula calculates child support by multiplying the noncustodial parent’s net income by a certain percentage to determine that parent’s guideline child support obligation. The guideline percentage varies depending on the…
Brad is a financial manager with Big Business USA. He earns an annual salary, and doesn’t have an employment contract. However, his employer does give him the opportunity to receive an annual bonus, based on the company’s performance in general, and Brad’s performance in particular. Whether or not Big Business…
Yes, you read that correctly. In Illinois, under certain circumstances, a noncustodial parent may be entitled to receive child support from the custodial parent. In a divorce or parentage case, a court may either grant joint custody of the children to both parents, or grant sole custody to one…
Income withholding notices issued to employers are the most common way child support orders are enforced. When everything works as it should, employers dutifully obey such notices, withhold child support from the employee’s pay, and send payment off to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (the “SDU”). The SDU then forwards…
In Illinois, courts are authorized to issue orders of protection under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, 750 ILCS 60/101, et seq. ( “the Act”). The purpose of the Act is to support victims of domestic violence and to help them avoid further abuse. The Act aims to “reduce…
Senate Bill 3231 was approved this month and will take effect January 1, 2015. It amends the current divorce law in Illinois on spousal support, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/504. This means changes are coming regarding maintenance, which is also known as spousal support…
Surprising as it may be, divorced people are entitled to receive benefits based upon their ex-spouse’s earning history as well as their own. Moreover, the benefit is based on the ex-spouse’s entire earnings history, not just earnings accrued during the time the couple was married. Spousal benefits were introduced in…
For most legal purposes, a child is considered an adult at age 18. He can vote. He can serve in the military. He can enter into a legally-enforceable contract. He can get married without the consent of his parents. And if he wants his parents to pay for his college…
Normally, a non-custodial parent’s child support obligation is based upon a percentage of his net income, depending on how many minor children there are (for purposes of this blog, I will be sexist and assume the party paying child support is the father rather than writing “his or her” and…
In my last post, I set forth the legal framework in which Illinois courts examine whether property is marital or non-marital. In this post, I apply that analysis to a hypothetical fact pattern. Let’s assume Greg and Sandy are married. During the marriage, they purchase a house and title it…