The domestic landscape has greatly changed from what it was 20 or 30 years ago. More fathers are stay-at-home dads than ever before, and many mothers earn incomes equal to or higher than their husbands. Though not all families are set up that way, the general attitude toward men as caretakers has become much more accepting. When a couple goes through a divorce, most fathers still want to play an active role in their child’s life, though they may feel discouraged and disadvantaged when doing so. Certain topics are still skewed in the woman’s favor in many courtrooms, even though the judge may not necessarily mean to do this. If you are a father who is going through a divorce, you should understand how certain issues may affect your rights as a father in Illinois.

Spousal Maintenance

The idea of spousal maintenance was originally created to allow wives who got a divorce to continue to share a portion of their ex-spouse’s income. This occurred mostly in the days when the women were predominantly stay-at-home mothers who did not have careers and did not earn their own income. 

Making the decision to get a divorce is rarely easy. Marriages do not just break down overnight. They typically deteriorate over years or even decades. By the time you are at the point of wanting to end your marriage, you want the divorce process to go as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the state of Illinois has created a streamlined way of getting a divorce, though only some couples qualify. This type of divorce process is called a joint simplified dissolution and it can be greatly beneficial for couples who utilize it.

Qualifying Criteria

Before you file for a joint simplified dissolution, you must make sure you meet the criteria set forth in section 452 of Part IV-A of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. You must prove that all of the following conditions exist before you can file for a joint simplified dissolution:

Divorce is stressful, even for the most steadfast of people. When there are children involved in a divorce, things become more complicated. Children tend to process divorce differently than adults because they are still developing mentally and emotionally. If a divorce is not handled properly, children can experience lasting effects, such as depression and low self-esteem. 

Illinois courts take a very child-centered approach to divorce proceedings. They put the children’s best interests first when making child-related decisions. But what actually are the child’s best interests?

Divorcing when you and your spouse have children can be much more difficult than if you did not have children. In addition to worrying about your own feelings about the divorce and your well-being, you also have to worry about how the divorce will affect your children. In addition, there are a few more issues you will have to tackle before you can finalize your divorce, such as your children’s living arrangements, your parenting time schedules, and child support. In Illinois, courts can order one or both parents to provide financial support for a child until the child reaches the age of 18 or they graduate high school, whichever comes later. There is quite a bit that goes into the calculation of child support, so it is important to understand how these obligations are determined.

Determining the Basic Child Support Obligation

The state of Illinois calculates child support using an “income shares” model. This means that the amount of support each parent owes the child is based on his or her income and the percentage of the total household income he or she provides. First, a Gross to Net Income Conversion Table provided by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family services is used to determine each spouse’s net income. Next, those values will be added together to find the combined net monthly household income.

An Income Shares Schedule will then be used to determine the basic support obligation amount based on the parents’ combined net income and the number of children. The amount of this obligation will be split between the two parents, depending on each parent’s contribution to the monthly household income. Typically, the non-custodial parent will pay their portion of the obligation to the custodial parent, and it will be presumed that the custodial parent will be directly using their portion of the obligation to provide for their children’s needs.

In the Chicago area, the cost of divorce can run from about $3,500, if there are no children and no disagreements over assets, debts, and money, to over $30,000 if there are these and other types of conflicts. The more you fight, the more you go to court, the higher the cost.

At the Divorce and Family Law Offices of Wakenight & Associates, P.C., we know divorce and family law inside and out. Every single day, our attorneys work with and help clients such as yourself. In every case, we aim high, and our first and primary objective is to attempt to reach an agreement on every issue.