Anderson & Boback Family Law Attorneys

When a relationship ends, it presents the opportunity to make life changes. For many, that change is a move to take a new job or be closer to family and friends. However, when kids and the courts are involved, a post-breakup move can create significant complications. When parents live in different states, and file parenting cases in different courts, it creates a dilemma as to which state can, and should, hear the case. And that question must be answered before the judge can make any actual decisions about the child. To resolve the dispute, the judges in those states are expected to communicate and agree on which state should hear the case. When facing this kind of situation, parents living in separate states need to know the court will look to rules in the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act to make this decision, the exceptions to that rule, and how both are considered and applied by the courts. How Jurisdiction Works Under the UCCJEA In order ...

If you are looking at filing for divorce and bankruptcy , which do you do first? Couples may choose to file for bankruptcy jointly before getting a divorce. This will allow them to discharge both parties’ debts before filing for divorce and taking the issue of debt division out of the divorce process as much of their unsecured debts have been eliminated or discharged. The exemptions allowed also play a role in whether you file for bankruptcy before or after a divorce. If there is a joint filing, you may be able to double the allowable exemptions which may also be an incentive to file for bankruptcy before a divorce if you have assets to protect. What is Exempt in Illinois (What You Can Keep When Filing Bankruptcy) If you are filing for bankruptcy in Illinois, the law allows you to keep certain personal property and excludes them from the bankruptcy .  Here is a list of those exemptions: Homestead - up to $15,000 in equity in your home Motor Vehicle - up to $2,400 in on...

Your office and dental practice will be assigned to you in the divorce without a doubt. The real question is: Will you have to give your spouse any money for keeping your dental practice? In essence, what is the value of your business? There are plenty of professionals and articles written to help you determine the value of your business. An expert can look at the profit and loss statements, your receivables and the income generated each year. How much goodwill exists in your business? In cases with a business that only has personal goodwill, there is unlikely to be much value attached to that business. Sure, you’ll have some value attached to computers and office equipment, but you’ll also want to look at how much cash is on hand. How much is there in accounts receivables? How much inventory is there? Valuation of a Dental Practice in the Marriage of Schneider In your dental practice, your reputation, knowledge, and relationships will be essential to your business’s current...

One of the common parenting mistakes a child of divorced parents makes is relative to that dreaded question: “Do I HAVE to go?” Divorced parents or parents that have never been married hear this question all too often. Hearing your child ask that question time and again can certainly get old after a while. Divorced Parents Should Support a Child’s Bond With the Other Parent However, in most scenarios, it is best to encourage your children to attend parenting time with their other parent. This is quality time which helps them bond (or remain bonded to) the other parent. It also ensures that you are not held in contempt of court for violating a parenting order. You can also be accused of alienating your child from the other parent, or guilty of visitation interference, which is a crime in Illinois. The bottom line is that the court order must be followed, both to keep you protected, as well as for your children’s best interests. Here are a few more helpful tips for divorced pa...

In custody cases, invariably there is a comment by one of the parties that the other parent is just “crazy.”  Even if that is true, and the other parent is diagnosed with a mental illness, how exactly does that affect custodial rights? According to the National Institute for Mental Health, mental illness is a medical condition that affects a person’s thinking, feelings, and abilities to cope with the demands of daily living. This definition covers a wide variety of conditions, ranging from mild depression to severe schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But the real question is, if a parent has mental illness, will the court grant them the majority of the parenting time with the child?  Or if you are the one with the mental illness, will you be prohibited from keeping your child? Mental Illness and the Custody Process Mental illness can mean many things.  There is a large array of diagnoses, and a lot depends on what the person does because of their illness.  ...

We plan for everything. As parents, we plan for our retirement, we plan for our child to attend college and save for that. And, as young adults, we plan for our career by going to college to gain the necessary education. Why then, do people fail to take steps to plan for divorce? People tolerate their spouse longer than they should. They let the steam build and build, until one day, some minor annoyance causes an explosion and then announce, “I want a divorce.” That is a hard comment to come back from if you intend to stay in your marriage. Even those that enter into some kind of family therapy can still have a problem keeping their marriage intact once you’ve declared that you want a divorce. Before you explode and announce your intentions over dinner one night, think about what you are doing and where you want to go. Understand, I’m not advocating that you divorce. I love the people that ask me how I can sleep at night knowing that I’m profiting from the “dirty business of d...

A while ago, I wrote a blog about child relocation cases. I analyzed and cited the most recent cases that had come down from the Appellate Court and discussed the importance of certain findings by the court in each of those cases. The analysis was supposed to help litigants and even attorneys look at the facts in their own case and plan accordingly. Then one of those cases,   In re Marriage of Fatkin , ( 2019 IL 123602)   was reversed by the Illinois Supreme Court. An astute reader of my blog suggested that I might want to   revisit the relocation blog   in light of that reversal. So here we are. In Fatkin, the trial court made a ruling that the Appellate court reversed. Then the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the Appellate court. In essence, with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the trial court’s ruling was upheld allowing the father to move from Illinois to Virginia with the couple’s children. Fatkin Relocation Case History For those unaware of the Fatkin de...