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Illinois Collaborative Divorce Gains Traction

I recently trained in Collaborative Divorce. I recommend it as an approach to resolving divorce cases without expensive heavy litigation. Essentially, collaborative law is a new approach to resolving divorce cases with a team or family approach, where the attorneys work with clients to negotiate a settlement up front, rather than at the conclusion of a case after thousands of dollars are spent on litigation. Obviously, this may not be suitable for all cases, but it can be a useful method for resolving a divorce efficiently. For more information, the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois webpage is a great source. If you are interested in collaborative divorce, mediation, or alternative dispute resolution, please call 630.434.0400 Ext. 165, or email.

Labels: ADR, collaborative divorce, collaborative law, illinois, mediation

posted by Raiford Palmer at 3:09 PM

Employer's Failure to Pay Illinois Child Support a $1.2 Million Mistake!

In Lenora Ann Miller v. Harold Miller, the Illinois Supreme Court recently reinstated a judgment against Harold Miller, Sr. in the amount of $1,172,000 for failure to pay child support of $12,382! Mr. Miller, Sr. was both the father and employer of Harold Miller. Harold Miller owed child support to Lenora under a divorce judgment to be withheld from his paychecks by his employer, Harold Miller, Sr. Lenora Miller's attorney served Mr. Miller, Sr. with an Order of Withholding, which requires an employer to withhold child support from an employee's paycheck and forward the funds to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit. The statute behind this, 750 ILCS 28/35, provides that for each day an employer fails to make support payments pursuant to such an order, a $100 independent penalty applies. In the underlying case the trial court determined that the total failure to pay resulted in 11,721 seperate penalties against the employer for the total sum of almost $1.2 million.

Bottom line: If you are an employer served with an Order of Withholding, you must obey that order. Otherwise the potential penalties are extremely severe. The Supreme Court held that the penalty was not unconstitutional despite the amount. Also, if you are a support recipient and your ex' employer is not paying although served with an Order of Withholding, you may be entitled to substantial penalties from the employer, not just your ex spouse.

Please contact us with any Illinois family law issues or email. We work in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties primarily. We concentrate in complex family law and divorce cases.

Labels: Child Support, divorce, enforcement, illinois, judgment, order of withholding

posted by Raiford Palmer at 2:44 PM

Illinois Grandparent Visitation Article and Court Decision

Recently I published an article regarding grandparent visitation in the Illinois State Bar Association's Family Law Section Council Newsletter, "Family Law." In that article I discussed the importance of proving that denial of grandparent visitation would physically or emotionally harm the child. I also emphasized that a generalized concept of harm was not sufficient to overcome the presumption in favor of the parents that their decisions are in the best interest of the child. Specifically, the idea that denial of grandparent visitation alone is "harmful" in and of itself sufficient to obtain visitation is incorrect in my opinion.

The Illinois Supreme Court agrees with me. Recently, the Court decided Flynn v. Henkel, Docket No. 103946, entered November 29, 2007. The Court held "Neither denial of an opportunity for grandparent visitation, as the trial court found, nor a child “never knowing a grandparent who loved him and who did not undermine the child’s relationship with his mother,” as the appellate court held, is “harm” that will rebut the presumption stated in section 607(a–5)(3) that a fit parent’s denial of a grandparent’s visitation is not harmful to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health."

This means that grandparents seeking visitation of children (in a divorce or death of a parent situation) will need to prove that either 1) the parent is "unfit" or 2) denial of visitation actually harms the children physically or mentally. This will likely require expert testimony in most cases, as most cases will not involve any evidence of physical harm. This makes a grandparent visitation claim more difficult to bring and more expensive.

If you would like to have a copy of my article, or have questions about grandparent visitation or other divorce and family law matters, please email or call.

Labels: flynn, grandparent, grandparent visitation, henkel, illinois, supreme court, visitation

posted by Raiford Palmer at 9:43 AM

Illinois Divorce Law - Marital Property - Recovery of Education Expenses

Under certain circumstances, a spouse can be compensated for his/her contributions to the education of the other spouse. For example, where a spouse pays for the law school education of the other and the couple divorces after a short time, the paying spouse can be compensated for the contributions to the education during the marriage. In re Marriage of Abma, 720 N.E.2d 645 (1st Dist. 1999). This can be a substantial sum for advanced educations (MBA, doctor, attorneys) and should not be overlooked in determining a fair property settlement.

On the other hand, the education itself is not marital property. Illinois law holds that a degree, education, license, and future earning capacity are not marital property. See In re Marriage of Weinstein, 470 N.E.2d 551 (1st. Dist. 1984).

If you need counsel for a divorce matter, please call me, attorney Raif Palmer at 630.434.0400, dial zero and ask to schedule an appointment. Initial consults are free of charge.

You can always email as well.

Labels: divorce, education, finance, illinois, law degree, marital assets, marital property, mba, professional, recovery, spouse

posted by Raiford Palmer at 12:45 PM