Subject Index Family Law

On June 28, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that Illinois does not recognize a new tort of interference with custodial rights in cases involving the international abduction of children.

On April 15, 2024, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that to establish a prima facie case for a valid marriage, at the time of the ceremony the plaintiff must have had a good-faith belief that the marriage was real, meaning they were not told of any legal impediment to the marriage.

On Jan. 11, 2024, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that first cousins once removed are eligible for a related adoption under the Adoption Act.

On Nov. 22, 2023, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a court order requiring the sale of marital assets prior to the final dissolution of a marriage is only permissible in extraordinary circumstances where that order is necessary to preserve the status quo.

On May 23, 2023, the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a finding that a petitioner is unable to work due to caregiving for a disabled child in determining a marriage dissolution maintenance award.

On Dec. 2, 2022, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a former wife’s right to payments from a federal judgment entered during marriage was not relinquished by her marital settlement agreement (MSA).

On Nov. 9, 2022, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held an individual’s disability benefits received in lieu of retirement benefits were divisible under his marital settlement agreement with his former spouse.

On Nov. 16, 2022, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held a statute governing the effect of marriage dissolution judgments on life insurance policy beneficiaries should not be applied retroactively.

On July 12, 2022, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a catchall provision in a marital settlement agreement precluded modification of maintenance payments.

On June 1, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a body-attachment order was properly issued to effectuate an order of civil contempt.

On April 18, 2022, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court reversed and remanded a trial court’s denial of a postdissolution petition extending and increasing maintenance awards/payments.

On Jan. 28, 2022, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that mothers’ complaint compelling in-person supervised visits with their children was not moot even when in-person supervised visits were later allowed during appeal.

On Dec. 13, 2021, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a trial court’s plenary stalking no-contact order against respondent as to petitioner and vacated it as to minor children.

On Nov. 18, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court held that mandatory individual retirement account (IRA) distributions and withdrawals constituted income for purposes of child support and maintenance calculations.

On Aug. 27, 2021, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that parental-rights termination hearings conducted by Zoom did not violate due-process rights.

On June 18, 2021, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court reversed and remanded a circuit court’s holding that an individual must seek federal relief to a Form I-864 breach-of-contract claim.

On June 18, 2021, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a marital settlement agreement (MSA) incorporated in a final judgment for dissolution of marriage trumps an earlier bifurcated judgment for dissolution of marriage

On March 5, 2021, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a wife was entitled to recover from her husband when the husband failed to abide by their dissolution judgment.

On Mar. 3, 2021, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court found that a father’s inconsistent child support payments resulting from the father’s job changes did not render the father unfit for custody of a minor under section 2-27(1) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.