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How Can I Change My Child Support Order in Illinois?
As the saying goes, the only thing constant in life is change. If you are a divorced or unmarried parent subject to a child support order, changes in your life or the life of the other parent may necessitate a child support modification. However, Illinois child support orders can only be modified under certain situations. Read on to learn about when child support orders are eligible for modification and what you should do if you need to request a child support adjustment.
Modifying an Existing Child Support Order Through a Modification Review
Child support orders established by a judicial proceeding may only be changed through a court order. Administrative child support orders may be modified through the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). Every three years, child support orders are eligible for a “modification review” by the DCSS. If a parent wishes to take advantage of this opportunity, they will be asked to submit documents verifying their income. This information is used to determine whether or not the parents’ financial circumstances have changed significantly enough to warrant a child support modification. The dollar amount of child support payments may remain the same, increase, or decrease. If a parent disagrees with the results of the modification review, he or she has the right to request an administrative hearing or appear in court to contest the child support order.
How Can Forensic Accounting Help Me Uncover Hidden Assets During Divorce?
As part of your Illinois divorce process, you and your spouse will be asked to submit a financial affidavit that lists your assets and income. This financial data is vital to obtaining a fair divorce settlement. Asset division, child support, and spousal maintenance are all contingent on divorcing spouses’ financial circumstances. If a spouse omits income sources, underreports business revenue, hides assets, or otherwise falsifies data on his or her financial affidavit, decisions about these divorce issues will be based on inaccurate information. Furthermore, lying about finances during divorce is unlawful. A process called forensic accounting is often the best way to uncover the truth about a deceitful spouse’s finances during divorce.
What Do Forensic Accountants Do?
Forensic accounting refers to an investigation into a spouse’s property, income, debts, and expenses. The more complex a spouse’s financial portfolio, the more in-depth this investigation will need to be. A forensic accountant is a financial professional who has specialized auditing, accounting, and investigative skills. He or she will work closely with your divorce attorney to thoroughly examine your spouse’s finances and discover evidence of deceit. Tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, business contracts, invoices, mortgage applications, and other documents can all provide clues about hidden assets.
What Steps Do I Need to Take to Move with My Child After Divorce?
In 2016, significant changes were made to the way Illinois law handles a parent’s ability to move with a child. Before this update, a custodial parent, meaning a parent with the majority of the parenting time, could move anywhere in the state of Illinois without the other parent’s approval or permission from the court. However, out-of-state moves required court approval even if the move was only 20 or 30 miles away. Now, parents must seek permission from the other parent and/or the court for all moves that are a significant distance away. If you are a parent who wishes to move with your child and you currently share custody with your child’s other parent, there are several requirements you should be aware of.
Defining Relocation
If a parent moves only a short distance away from his or her current residence, this is not considered a relocation. Although the parent will still need to provide written notice to the other parent including the moving date and new address, he or she will not need court approval to move. However, if a move fits the criteria for a “relocation” as set forth in Illinois law, then the parent will need to take additional steps to gain court approval. A relocation is defined as a move that involves:
Should I Get a Legal Separation Instead of a Divorce?
Getting a divorce, or dissolution of marriage as it is called in Illinois, is not reversible. Some married couples who are having relationship problems may know that they want some space apart, but they are unsure of whether or not divorce is the right choice. This is just one situation in which a legal separation may be beneficial. Couples who get a legal separation are still technically married so if they choose to reconcile, they will not be required to get remarried. If they do not decide to continue the marriage, divorce is still an option. Most importantly, legal separation offers married couples a way to address issues such as property division, allocation of parenting time and responsibility, and spousal maintenance without the finality of divorce.
Illinois Separation Process
It is important to note that there is a difference between a physical separation and a legal separation. A married couple is not legally separated until they are granted a separation through the court. In order to be granted a legal separation in Illinois, at least one of the spouses must have lived in the state for a minimum of 90 days and the spouses must be living apart. If a spouse wishes to file for separation, he or she will need to file a petition for legal separation and a summons with their county’s Circuit Court. The petition and summons is then served to the other spouse and a date for a hearing is set. If the spouses have already resolved issues such as the allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, division of assets, and spousal maintenance through a separation agreement, the judge will likely grant the separation after this initial hearing. If the parties have not reached an agreement about one or more of these issues, they may need to attend an additional hearing. The authority of Illinois courts to divide assets and liabilities during a separation is much more limited than it is during a divorce. The court can only include asset division in the order for legal separation if the spouses have reached an agreement regarding how their assets and debts should be divided.
How and When Can a Parent Voluntarily Terminate Their Parental Rights in Illinois?
There are several ways that parental rights can be terminated in Illinois. For example, a father may lose his parental rights if the court finds that he is not the true biological or adoptive father of the child. The involuntary termination of parental rights may be a result of a parent being deemed “unfit” due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or another issue. However, there are also circumstances in which a parent may choose to give up his or her parental rights. Voluntary termination of parental rights is often an important step in the adoption process. For help with issues related to the relinquishment of parental rights in Illinois, contact an experienced family law attorney.
Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights Requires Court Approval
A parent who has terminated his or her parental rights loses the right to spend time with his or her child or have any decision-making authority regarding the child’s upbringing. Additionally, the parent will no longer be required to pay child support. However, a parent cannot simply give up his or her parental rights to avoid a child support obligation. Illinois courts make all child-related decisions based on what is in the child’s best interests. Therefore, courts usually only grant a voluntary termination of parental rights if there is another individual, such as a stepparent, who wants to adopt the child. If there is not an adoptive parent who is prepared to take on parenting responsibilities, a hearing must be held to determine whether or not the termination of parental rights is in the child’s best interests.
How Will My Small Business Be Addressed During My Illinois Divorce?
Typically, the more complex a divorcing couple's assets, the more complex the property division process will be. Dividing bank accounts and personal property like vehicles and household furniture is often much more straightforward than dividing a small business. First, the business must be classified as either marital or nonmarital property. Next, the business must be properly valued. Divorces involving businesses are often complicated, so getting guidance from an experienced divorce lawyer is crucial.
Is The Business Considered Part of the Marital Estate?
You and your spouse have the option to design your own property division arrangement during divorce. You may be able to negotiate property distribution concerns with help from your prospective attorneys or you may be able to reach an arrangement during family law mediation. If you cannot reach an agreement, the court will intervene and make property division decisions on your behalf. In Illinois, courts make property division decisions based on the theory of “equitable distribution.” Marital property, meaning property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, is divided in an equitable, or fair manner. Nonmarital property includes property acquired before the marriage, gifts, and inheritance. Nonmarital property is not divided and is instead assigned to the spouse who owns the property. If you acquired your business during the marriage, it will most likely be treated as a marital asset. If your business was inherited, received as a gift, or was obtained before you got married, it will likely be classified as nonmarital property.
How Is Child Support Calculated for More Than One Child?
When a couple with children divorces, child support is often ordered to ensure that the child receives financial support from both of his or her parents. Child support can be a major expense in the paying parent’s life as well as a valuable resource for the recipient parent. If you are a divorcing parent who already has a child support obligation from a previous relationship, you may be concerned about how any additional child support requests will be handled. Read on to learn about how child support is calculated in Illinois when the parent has multiple obligations.
Income Shares Method for Calculating Child Support
Illinois child support orders entered after July 1, 2017 are calculated based on the Income Shares model. Instead of child support being based entirely on the payor parent’s income, this calculation method takes into account both of the parent’s incomes. In order to determine the amount of child support that a parent pays, the court combines both parent’s net income and then uses a statutory formula to determines the total amount of support for which both parents are collectively responsible. This total is called the “basic child support obligation.” The basic child support obligation is then divided between the parents based on each parent’s income. If each parent has the child for at least 146 nights a year, this is called a shared parenting arrangement. Because both of the parents are responsible for a large percentage of the total parenting time, the child support obligation is reduced in cases involving shared parenting. The courts may deviate from the Income Shares formula if doing so is in the child’s best interests.
Top Reasons to Consider Mediation During Your Custody Dispute
Divorcing and unmarried couples with children often struggle to reach an agreement about child custody and visitation, called “the allocation of parental responsibilities” and “parenting time,” in Illinois. Divorcing parents are asked to create a “parenting plan” that addresses how the parents intend to share child-related duties. The plan contains information about which parent the child will spend time with and when, how parents will make major decisions about the child’s upbringing, transportation arrangements, and more. When parents cannot agree on one or more elements of a parenting plan, one option that may help them reach a resolution is family law mediation.
Parents May Be More Likely to Comply with Parenting Plans They Helped Create
During child custody litigation, the court considers arguments from each party and then decides on a parenting plan that is in the child’s best interests. During family law mediation, parents are encouraged to negotiate the unresolved issues and find solutions that both parents can agree to. This means that if the parents are successful in creating a parenting plan during mediation, the plan will contain input from both parents. It is much more likely that a parent will comply with a parenting plan that he or she helped create than a plan that was decided by the court.
What Are Some of the Most Common Ways Divorcing Spouses Hide Assets?
Divorce is not only a romantic separation; it is also a financial separation. Determining how assets and debts should be distributed to divorcing spouses is often one of the most complicated parts of the divorce process. Division of assets is made even more problematic when a spouse is not willing to be transparent about his or her financial circumstances. Spouses may attempt to conceal assets, understate income, overstate debts, or use other strategies to gain an unfair advantage during property division. If you are planning to divorce and you have reason to believe that your spouse may be hiding assets or otherwise lying about financial resources, an experienced divorce lawyer can help.
Financial Deception During Divorce
In order for a divorcing couple to fairly divide marital assets during divorce, each spouse must be honest and forthcoming about his or her financial resources. However, some spouses purposely lie about their financial circumstances in an attempt to manipulate property division, child support, or spousal maintenance determinations. Typically, the more complicated a spouse’s financial circumstances are, the easier it is for him or her to hide assets during divorce. If a person owns multiple bank and brokerage accounts, trusts, rental properties, vacation homes, stock options, deferred compensation, retirement plans, a business or professional practice, or other complex assets, there are many opportunities for him or her to be deceptive. However, spouses with simple financial portfolios may also lie in order to gain a financial advantage during divorce.
When Do Illinois Courts Deviate From Income Shares Child Support Guidelines?
Illinois child support payment amounts are typically based on the “Income Shares” model. This model uses each parent’s net income, the amount of parenting time each parent is responsible for, and a specially designed formula to determine how much child support an obligor parent must pay. However, this child support calculation method may not be reasonable or appropriate in certain circumstances. Illinois law gives courts the option to deviate from the Income Shares guidelines if the court finds that a deviation is in the best interests of the child.
Child Support Calculations
By law, Illinois courts must follow the Income Shares guidelines for determining child support unless the court finds that a deviation would be more beneficial to the child. Courts consider the following factors when determining whether or not to deviate from the guidelines:
- The child’s financial resources
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