The issue of whether a certain type of business profit should be considered personal income for support purposes has always been a difficult one. A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision may have clarified the issue. By way of background, a sub-S corporation is a pass-through entity often utilized in small businesses for federal tax purposes. […]
The Illinois Supreme Court proclaimed that family courts are not bound by the Internal Revenue Service definition of income in establishing or setting a child support order. In 2004, in the case of In Re Marriage of Rogers, the Supreme Court reversed two Appellate Court decisions that had previously ruled that the Internal Revenue Service […]
Each year, approximately 6,000 children born in the U.S. have Down Syndrome,[1] as many as 5 out of every 100 children in school may have Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) [2] and autism now affects 1 in 68 children.[3] The emotional and financial toll of caring for a disabled child can be overwhelming, even for […]
Over the last several months, the Illinois Appellate Court has had numerous opportunities to opine on what constitutes income for purposes of calculating child support under the Illinois guidelines. Under certain circumstances, retirement benefits, social security benefits, stock options sales proceeds, and loan proceeds have all been declared to be includable in the calculation for […]
We recently reported in an earlier blog entry that U.S. Census Bureau statistics showed that in 2011, more than $14 billion in child support was left unpaid to American parents, meaning that more than 1 out of every 3 dollars that were due had not been paid. Unfortunately, in certain instances, receiving full payment of […]
A recent report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed startling statistics regarding the payment of child support. The report, titled “Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011,” focused on child support from non-custodial parents, including both monetary and noncash assistance. In 2011, in excess of $14 billion in child support was left […]
In Illinois the Court’s generally assume parents will adequately represent their children’s interests. See Payla v. Payla, 87 Ill.App.3d 472 (3rd Dist. 1980). However, Illinois also has allowed children, albeit over the age of 18, to sue their parents for college education expenses. The issue is one of standing and whether a child, not a […]
I recently read an article on the differences in how Illinois appellate courts are split on whether or not a child of divorce has “standing” (legal term for the right to be in court asking for something) to enforce the college education provisions in his or her parents’ divorce decree. What does this mean in […]
Every parent has a legal and moral obligation to financially support his or her child. When parties divorce, the court will usually require the noncustodial parent to pay a percentage of his or her net income as child support. What happens, though, when the noncustodial parent’s net income is difficult to calculate or fluctuates from […]
Some parents have estranged relationships with their children. Whether the estrangement was caused by bad decisions, alienation by the other parent, geographical constraints, service in the military and separation from the child for a long period of time, or other reasons, there is no better time than the present to take the first step. Some […]