Posted on April 30, 2012 in Family Law

Going through a divorce when you have young children can be one of the most difficult and most stressful decisions for a family to make, not only for the parents, but for the children. With the guidance of a caring and experienced divorce lawyer, you and your family can find the best resolution for your custody and visitation situation.

In Illinois, the court can order either sole physical custody, or joint physical custody. Sole physical custody means that one parent would have the power to choose the child’s residence, religious upbringing, and make health care decisions for the child. It does not mean that the other parent never sees the child; they can be granted visitation rights. Joint physical custody means that both parents are responsible for sharing important decisions in the child’s life, as well as sharing time spent with the child.

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 Posted on April 23, 2012 in Family Law

NOTE: As of July 2017, the laws that determine how child support payments are calculated in Illinois have changed. Please see our child support page for more information.

Illinois family courts determine the amount of child support a non-custodial parent should pay by looking at several factors. The court will look at the parent’s net income and the number of children the parent is responsible for. Typically the breakdown is as follows:

Other factors that courts may use to make the determination include financial resources and needs of the children and/or the custodial parent, the standard of living the children would have if the marriage had not been dissolved, the emotional and physical condition of the children, and the financial resources of the non-custodial parent.

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 Posted on April 21, 2012 in Family Law

When basketball star Kobe Bryant married his wife in 2001, he was 21 years old and she was 18. Bryant was just beginning his basketball career with the Los Angeles Lakers and the two did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement. Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce in December 2011, and with no pre-nup and California’s community property laws, she stands to receive half of Bryant’s reported $150 million in assets.

The couple has two children together, for who Vanessa will most likely receive child support payments. Because the marriage lasted more than ten years, California law considers the marriage a lengthy one and she may also be entitled to spousal support as well as a portion of Bryan’s retirement savings.

The LA Times reported that the couple owns three mansions, located in Newport Beach, which have already been put in Vanessa’s name. According to property records on file, the homes have a total value of $18.8 million.

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 Posted on April 12, 2012 in Family Law

Marriages lasting more than 5 years often involve disagreements over property distribution. Although one partner may threaten to take everything from the other in a divorce action, this threat is fundamentally without merit. Illinois law is precise and specific regarding who receives what property in a divorce, and a spouse's threats of having the power to take the house, furniture and other valuable items from another spouse are usually unfounded.

Under Illinois divorce law, an "equitable" distribution of material goods during a divorce is legally recognized, not an "equal" distribution. This means that while a married couple may have two cars, one of which is worth more than the other, and two motorcycles, the distribution process does not necessary give each spouse a car and motorcycle. If one car is worth $15,000 and the other is worth $5,000, then one spouse may receive the less valuable car in addition to the two motorcycles (each worth $5,000). In other words, each spouse would then have "liquidable" assets worth $15,000.

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 Posted on April 05, 2012 in Family Law

Last month, after 33 years of marriage, Donald Ratcliff’s wife, Brenda, filed for divorce alleging irreconcilable differences. The so-called “differences” may very well be related to the fact that DuPage County prosecutors have indicted Mr. Ratcliff on at least five charges of possessing pornographic images of young children.

According to the Arlington Cardinal, Mr. Ratcliff’s home computer allegedly contained at least 500 pornographic pictures. Prior to his arrest and being held in DuPage County jail, Mr. Ratcliff taught Christian education at Wheaton College, a religious school. Wheaton College terminated his employment in March. Mr. Ratcliff holds his PhD from The University of Georgia.

Ms. Ratcliff is suing for spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony) from her 60-year-old soon to be ex-husband. Ms. Ratcliff was extremely surprised and humiliated about the revelation that her husband was leading a double life. The couple first met at a small college in Ohio, where Mr. Ratcliff began his teaching career. According to the a document he wrote as a part of his application to teach at Wheaton College, Mr. Ratcliff bragged that he and Brenda “served as missionary teachers on a small island in the West Indies for a year.”

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 Posted on April 01, 2012 in Family Law

Illinois divorces can generally be classified as either contested or non-contested. When one partner doesn’t want a divorce, this constitutes a contested divorce. Yet even if the parties agree to divorce, there are other issues that can make the divorce contested, including disagreements over child support, child custody, or division of marital assets and debts. When there are no conflicts in any legal aspect of the divorce, the divorce is considered uncontested.