Illinois Family Law

Illinois laws are created and revised by the actions of lawmakers and the courts, as in other states. Click on the links below to learn more information.

1.State statute	705 Illinois Statutes
2. Fault or no-fault (typically when a state allows fault based and no-fault divorce, fault based divorces require no separation period.	Fault based and no-fault
3. Equitable distribution or community property	Equitable Distribution
a. Methods of apportionment	Sec. 503. Disposition of property and debts.
i. Periera and Van Camp in CA
b. Property distribution factors	Property distribution factors
4. Legal separation?	Dissolution & Legal Separation
a. Waiting period/Separation period	2 years
5. Is mediation required	Mediation
6. Forms used	default.asp
7. Alimony guidelines and factors	Section 504. Maintenance
Alimony formula	Yes. See (b-1)(1)(A) of Section 504.
a. Types	"1.  Temporary maintenance which is awarded prior to the parties obtaining a dissolution of their marriage 2.  Rehabilitative maintenance which is awarded to a spouse usually for a specific period of time which the court believes it will take for him or her to return to the job market and become self-supporting, and 3.  Reviewable maintenance which is reviewed by the court after a specified period of time to determine whether the recipient has become self-supporting at which time the maintenance award can be modified, extended or terminated."
b. Term Limits
Cohabitation	Automatic modification OR Court may modify order based on change in circumstances (IL ST CH 750 § 5/510)
c. Imputing income	Automatic modification
d. Change in circumstances
e. Ceases on retirement	"In re Waldschmidt, 241 Ill. App. 3d 7, 608 N.E.2d 1299 (1993) (where husband retired in good faith at normal retirement age, and incomes of the parties would be roughlyequal when wife retired, error not to terminate support)"
Impute income on early retirement
Early retirement for health reasons is involuntary
f. Definition of income	http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=6000000&SeqEnd=8300000
8. Child support factors and guidelines	see Sec. 505. Child support; contempt; penalties.
9. Child support calculator	Child Support Calculator
10. Lump Sum  Support allowed?	Maintenance in gross is a lump sum award in addition to the property division to give one spouse sufficient assets to avoid the need for rehabilitative or permanent spousal alimony.
11. Valuation
a. Valuation date	Divorce
b. Goodwill divisibility	Personal goodwill is not divisible.  Enterprise goodwill is divisible. - In re Marriage of Head, 273 Ill. App.3d 404, 652 N.E.2d 1246, 210 Ill. Dec. 270 (1995)
c. Standard of value	Fair market value
d. Discounts
e. Shareholder/partner agreements
12. Double dip	Impermissable double dip, not issue because personal goodwill not divisible
a. Stock options
b. Retirement accounts	Permissable - In re Marriage of Klomps, 676 N.E.2d 686 (Ill. Ct. App. 1997)
c. Child support	Double dip prohibited even when dealing with child support - Harmon v. Harmon, 210 Ill. App. 3d 92, 568 N.E.2d 948 (1991)
13. Key cases
14. Premarital agreements	"Uniform Pre-Marital Agreement Act adopted. Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to the modification or elimination of spousal support IL ST CH 750 § 10/4"
15. Common law

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