2025 Articles

2025 Statutory Changes in Child Support Imputation By Rebecca Melzer March 2025 On January 1, 2025, SB 3284 became law. As part of that bill, it amended the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to add specific criteria in the statute for determining child support if a parent is unemployed or underemployed. It further added the requirement that a court is required to conduct an evidentiary hearing to impute income to a party.

3 comments (Most recent March 29, 2025)

ABA’s February 2025 House Resolutions and Their Intersection with Family Law By Olivia K. Basu March 2025 ABA’s House of Delegates held its February 2025 Midyear Conference in Phoenix. During the meeting, the ABA House of Delegates passed several key resolutions that intersect with the field of family law. The most influential resolutions are explored in this article.

Chair’s Column By Jessica Patchick March 2025 A note from the chair.

Chair’s Column By Jessica Patchik February 2025 A note from the chair.

Chair’s Column By Jessica Patchik January 2025 A note from the chair.

Child Support in Illinois—Multiple Answers to a Single Question By Nancy Chausow Shafer February 2025 This article discusses allocation of the dependent tax exemption and designation of the majority-time parent—two tax-related choices often misunderstood and used incorrectly.

Cohabitation—Will We Know It When We See It? By Christopher Bohlen January 2025 The issue is cases with similar fact patterns, but different results leave the parties involved with maintenance in a quandary. What is the meaning of residing in a continuing conjugal relationship? Recent cases have been able to define the concept. It is a de facto marriage. It is not an intimate dating relationship. But what is the bright line between those two concepts? Is it answered by Justice Stewart’s concept of “I know it when I see it”? More importantly, is the termination of maintenance based upon cohabitation so fact-specific and unpredictable as to argue for its elimination?

Hitting It Big: The Rise of Online Sports Betting and Its Inevitable Impact on Divorce Proceedings By Michael J. Levy January 2025 While the specific issue of online sportsbooks has not yet reached the appellate court level in Illinois, prior decisions regarding other forms of gambling offer insight into how a court might treat a party's sportsbook app and the funds it contains.

Illinois State Bar Association’s 2024 Annual Midyear Meeting: A Resounding Success! By Genevieve E. Miller, Esq. January 2025 The ISBA's 2024 Midyear Meeting lived up to its reputation as one of the premier events on the legal community’s calendar. Held at the JW Marriott in downtown Chicago on December 12 and 13, the two-day event provided a perfect blend of professional development, networking, and celebration for attorneys, judges, and legal professionals across Illinois. Attendees engaged in a full schedule of substantive section council meetings, dynamic CLE courses, and lively social gatherings.

Immigration Considerations for Family Law Lawyers By Rachael Toft March 2025 The evolving political landscape has resulted in drastic changes to immigration enforcement that must be accounted for by family law lawyers. A client that has an uncertain immigration status should be warned that their status can have significant impacts in both divorce and parental responsibility cases.

Is a Divorce Judgment a Judgment? By Michael S. Strauss February 2025 The Second District Appellate Court vacated the ruling denying statutory interest in the 2024 case of In re Marriage of Hyman. That part of the court's ruling is the focus of this article.

LAWPAC Needs You! January 2025 The Illinois Lawyers’ Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) needs your help to fulfill its mission to support the legislative goals of the ISBA and Illinois’ legal community.

Thirteen Red Flags for Spotting Problem Clients By Matthew Benson January 2025 The purpose of this article is to provide a list of “red flags:” the phrases that problematic or regrettable clients say or make reference to in initial consultations, so that they can be spotted early and encouraged to find counsel more suited to their disposition. If a client exhibits any of the following, it might be wise to question the wisdom of allowing them to hire you.