On May 22, 2014, the Illinois Supreme Court found that a constitutional challenge to section 607(e) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the "Act") became moot when the affected parent established compliance with the statute. See 750 ILCS 5/607(e).
Illinois' new same-sex marriage law leaves in place the Civil Union Act and provides for voluntary conversion of civil unions to marriages, among other important changes.
A proposed 300-page overhaul of Illinois' decades-old marriage and divorce act remains alive in the legislature and continues to evolve in response to stakeholders' concerns.
Newly added section 602.3 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act provides that if a court determines joint custody or visitation rights to be the best arrangement for a child under section 602.1 or section 607 respectively, then the court may further consider, as consistent with the child's best interests, awarding one or both of the parents the right of first refusal to provide child care for the minor child during the other parent's allotted parenting time.
Serving a withholding notice on a child-support obligor's employer? Make sure to include the required information (think social security number) or the employer won't be forced to comply.
What happens when a child of divorce's college tuition bill comes due and the parties didn't specify who pays? The language in the divorce decree can make all the difference.
On October 3, 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court held that advance payment retainers paid in dissolution of marriage cases are subject to disgorgement pursuant to the "leveling of the playing field" rules in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the "Act").
On August 16, 2013, the First District Appellate Court held that a nonvested discretionary bonus accrued during a marriage, but received after entry of a judgment of dissolution of the marriage, was not marital property.
The Illinois Supreme Court holds that a financially strapped divorcing wife can require her husband's lawyer to turn over already-paid fees to help finance her own legal expenses.
A recent case illustrates that in claims for loss of society in wrongful death cases, the rebuttable presumption of a substantial pecuniary loss is sometimes illusory.
The ISBA supports changes to Rule 138's soon-to-be effective limitations on disclosure of personal identity information in response to concerns raised by divorce lawyers and others.
A recent Illinois Supreme Court decision holds that parents can recover for emotional distress if they win a claim for negligent genetic counseling, even if they suffered no direct physical injury.
A proposed major rewrite of Illinois' 35-year-old Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act has some ISBA matrimonial lawyers feeling encouraged and others concerned.
The U.S. Supreme Court's DOMA case opens the door to an array of federal benefits for same-sex married couples. But Illinoisans won't enjoy its full advantages, the authors argue.
Howard Mayfield ("Mayfield") and Shannon Dykes ("Dykes") divorced in 2003. Dykes received primary custody of their two children, and Mayfield was ordered to pay $158.50 per week in child support.
The supreme court delayed rule changes on personal identity information that some family law practitioners worry will force them to choose between the rule and conflicting statutes.
On March 21, 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court and held that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ("DCFS") did not have authority to charge someone with an offense that defined "neglect" using language that had previously been deleted by the legislature in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act ("ANCPA").
A recent case holds that if you don't conduct formal discovery in your divorce case, you may lose the right to reopen the judgment after it's entered, even to seek assets that weren't disclosed.
If parents treat a child they have not legally adopted as their own, he can pursue an inheritance even in the absence of their express or implied contract to adopt him, the high court rules.
The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act has been amended to require that copies of the materials used by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, in their investigation of the death or life-threatening injury of a child, be provided in their report. 325 ILCS 5/4.2.
When the valuation hearing comes after the dissolution judgment, is marital property valued on the judgment date or the hearing date? The supreme court recently settled the question.
