Summer is quickly approaching, and the school year is coming to an end. As summer sneaks up, parents must prepare to handle parenting time, vacation planning and camp, the best way for their family. If you have an allocation judgment, re-reading your court-ordered parenting plan is helpful while creating a schedule that fits your obligations to your children and co-parent.
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Choosing to get a divorce and end a marriage is often tough and challenging for both parties involved. The thought of “Should I get divorced?” or “Should we stay together and reconcile our marriage?” can be a hard choice to make as a couple without help. If you are in a similar predicament, discernment counseling might be your best option.
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When one party files a pleading to commence a court case, a common question is “what happens if the opposing party does not engage?” There is recourse if one party does not participate in a court proceeding in the form of a “default judgment” being entered by the judge.
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Financial tracing is a process that occurs in many divorce or parentage proceedings. Essentially, financial tracing is the process of tracking the origin, movement, and ownership of assets or income incident to a domestic relations matter.
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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect. DCFS investigations can occur regardless of whether you are currently involved in divorce or parentage legal proceedings. Understanding the investigation process, potential outcomes, and relevant laws is crucial for families involved in these cases.
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Protective orders serve different purposes and should be tailored to the party’s specific needs. It can be rather confusing to know what protective order is applicable to your circumstances. The Law Office of Erin M. Wilson is available to help you navigate what protective order applies to your specific circumstances.
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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect. Understanding the investigation process, potential outcomes, and relevant laws is crucial for families involved in these cases.
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Financial tracing is a process that occurs in many divorce or parentage proceedings. The process typically stems from instances of needing to track a party’s sources of income, expenditures made for non-marital purposes (also known as dissipation in Illinois), or in the event a party is trying to prove the marital or non-marital nature of an asset.
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Maintenance, formerly known as “alimony”, is financial support provided by one party to another after a marriage. Not every party will be entitled to receive maintenance and certain factors must be considered to determine if maintenance is appropriate.
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In domestic relations proceedings, imputing income is a term used to describe the process of assigning a certain amount of income to a parent or spouse for the purpose of calculating child support or maintenance.
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Illinois is a no-fault divorce state. No-fault divorce means that wrongdoing by one of the parties does not need to be shown. Rather, a couple can show that “irreconcilable differences” have led to the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and a divorce is in the best interests of the family.
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Orders of protection are legal documents that safeguard individuals from “abuse, neglect, or exploitation” (750 ILCS 60/214 (a)). Abuse, neglect, or exploitation are defined as “harassment, interference with personal liberty intimidation of dependent, physical abuse, or willful deprivation, neglect or exploitation, or stalking” (750 ILCS 60/214 (b)(1)).
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In Illinois family law courts, understanding the difference between venue and jurisdiction is crucial for ensuring your case is properly handled. Here's a concise explanation of these concepts and their importance.
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An important consideration when negotiating a divorce settlement is whether there are any tax consequences for a spouse being awarded certain marital assets. Often the most equitable way to divide a marital estate is for each party to be awarded assets “in kind”, meaning similar amounts of similar types of assets. That way each party is in a similar financial position post-divorce.
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The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/602.5(c)(1), mandates that in determining a child's best interests for allocating significant decision-making responsibilities, the court must consider all relevant factors, including the child's wishes
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Section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) addresses the allocation of college expenses between parents and the child attending college. Specifically, this section outlines the factors that a court should consider when determining the allocation of college expenses, as well as the types of expenses that are eligible for reimbursement and allocation between the parties.
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Our Family Wizard (OFW) and Talking Parents are two of the most common communication services that help streamline communication between co-parents. Typically, these applications can be downloaded onto a phone or are accessible via computer.
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There can be serious consequences for violating a court order. It is important that individuals keep themselves informed regarding court orders pertaining to their court proceedings, including deadlines and required actions, for both them and the opposing party. When a court order is violated an individual may be held in “contempt of court”.
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As the hot days of summer start to come to an end, parents all over the country begin their preparation to get kids ready and prepped to begin a new school year. Here are some tips to help start the new school year with less stress and manageable expectations.
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It is often discussed what happens when one parent is underpaying the amount of child support that they are ordered to. Although less common, there are occasions where one parent overpays the amount of child support that they are supposed to.
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