ILLINOIS DIVORCE LAW BLOG

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I received a call today from a potential client in Illinois whose partner/spouse left the State of Illinois and set up life with the minor children in another state.  As I look back on decades of my Family Law career, I have had a number of similar cases. Sometimes, when a marriage falls apart, a spouse takes the children out of state and goes “home” to where he or she grew up and has family locally. In this situation, sometimes the spouses will file a divorce case is two different states. How does the law handle and reconcile the fact that parents have filed in two states?  This is where the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) comes in: it is a nationally (except for Massachusetts) adopted statute that provides a uniform process for Courts to determine where the case should proceed.

  1. Uniformity: Before the UCCJEA, each state in the US had its own laws regarding child custody jurisdiction. This lack of uniformity often led to conflicting custody orders and forum shopping, where parents would try to file for custody in a state they believed would rule in their favor. The UCCJEA provides consistent rules for determining which state has jurisdiction over child custody matters, promoting fairness and predictability in custody disputes across state lines.
  2. Child Protection: The primary goal of the UCCJEA is to protect the best interests of the child. By establishing jurisdictional rules based on the child’s home state and prioritizing continuity and stability in custody arrangements, the UCCJEA aims to minimize the disruption and trauma that can result from custody battles.
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Through the decades of practicing divorce and child custody law in Illinois, I have encountered the myriad reasons that a spouse or couple is seeking a divorce.  In some cases, there are serious behavioral issues that make staying together unhealthy for the marriage, and unhealthy for the children. In a minority of time that people meet with me for a complimentary initial consultation, the issues are fixable…for example, young couples that need counseling to learn how to manage conflicts in a marriage. I always encourage fixable family situations to seek counseling or other behavioral health modalities before initiating a divorce process.

As every relationship is unique and complex, some common reasons for considering a divorce include:

  1. Communication issues: Ineffective communication can lead to misunderstandings, resentment, and feelings of being unheard or unappreciated. Communication issues are amenable to counseling and family therapy before a divorce is considered.
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In Illinois, child custody (now called allocations of parenting time and decision making) can be modified through the courts if there is a substantial change in circumstances that warrants a modification. In general, the modification will be sought after two years has expired from the original judgment, but some cases allow for a modification before two years if the issues presented are serious, or if the changes are moderate and needed to serve the interests of the child(ren).

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Here are the basic steps:

  1. File a Petition in Kane County: The process begins by filing a petition with the court requesting a modification of child custody. This petition should outline the reasons and changes that have occurred in the child’s life or circumstances of the parent(s) for the requested modification, and any supporting evidence.
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A few years ago, I tried a lengthy case in Will County, Illinois that ended up on appeal on a few key issues. One of these issues is that at trial, I put in evidence and argued that the small company owned by the parties should have its retained earnings considered as marital property, insofar as the practice of this husband and wife company had been to distribute the retained earnings out to themselves as dividend income. While the trial judge held that they were part of the valuation of the marital business, the appellate court agreed with my approach, and ordered that the retained earnings be considered a cash asset of the marriage. This ruling was a significant financial win for my client, and my case ended up clarifying an area of Illinois law and was cited nationally on the following principle: retained earnings in a closely held corporation can be found to be a marital asset (outside of the value of the company itself) subject to distribution in the divorce.

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Retained earnings in a small corporation refer to the portion of the company’s net income that is not distributed to shareholders as dividends but rather kept within the company for reinvestment in its operations or for other purposes. Essentially, it’s the cumulative amount of profits that the company has retained since its inception, minus any dividends paid out to shareholders. Retained earnings are an important asset class in an Illinois divorce with a closely held company.

Retained earnings can be distributed to the shareholder(s) as a 1099 dividend, and many owners of small companies use retained earnings for this purpose. These dollars can also serve as a source of funding for various activities such as business expansion, research and development, debt reduction, or building up cash reserves. They are an important indicator of a company’s financial health and its ability to reinvest in itself for future growth.

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One aspect of my practice is to deliver high level legal skill to my clients, while at the same time optimizing their outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Divorces don’t need to cost an “arm and a leg.”

Divorce can be emotionally and financially taxing for all parties involved. While the emotional aspect might be harder to mitigate, there are several strategies to save on the cost of divorce:

  1. Mediation: Consider opting for mediation instead of litigation. Mediation involves a neutral third party who assists in facilitating discussions and negotiations between spouses to reach mutually acceptable agreements. It’s often faster, less adversarial, and less expensive than going to court.
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Parental alienation is defined as a mental condition in which a child—usually one whose parents are engaged in a contentious separation or divorce—allies themself strongly with the preferred (alienating) parent and rejects a relationship with the other (targeted) parent without legitimate justification.

– The mental component of this condition is a false belief that the rejected parent is evil, dangerous, or not worthy of love.
– The behavioral component of parental alienation is the firm, persistent rejection of a relationship with the targeted parent.

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The Borderline Personality Disordered Parent: A Challenge for Courts, Professionals, the Target Parent, and the Child

Mary Alvarez, PhD, Psychologist

WHY WOULD A PARENT weaponize a child in order to hurt or destroy the other parent’s relationship with that child? Which also leaves the child with significant negative psychological effects? There are several different psychological “culprits” that can help explain a parent’s extreme behavior (engaging in parental alienation) and borderline personality disorder is one such high conflict personality disorder that is not an uncommon diagnosis for the alienating parent. Not understanding nor including some sort of plan to deal with a borderline parent in the mix can have unintended consequences to the success of both judiciary orders and treatment plans. What is borderline personality disorder? It is a disorder in which the individual:

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Children 4 Tomorrow
5th Annual PA Symposium
What We Need to Know about Psychological Child Abuse a.k.a. “Parental Alienation.”

Raising Awareness – Increasing Knowledge of Parental Alienation

WHEN: April 26, 2024
TIME: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Central U.S. Standard Time)
WHERE: via Zoom

8 CLE’s – Legal (Judges & Attorneys)
8 CEU’s – Mental Health (LMSW, LSCW, LPC, LMFT
8 CPE’s – Teachers & Schools Administrators (TEA Accredited)

For more information, go to www.children4tomorrow.org or call 713-660-0760.

Presenters:
• Shawn Wygant (keynote speaker) Who Needs to Be Trained in PA & Why?
• Rod McCall – Death, Depression & Drugs: Results of high conflict divorce in children
• Stephen Morrison – A solution for the Family Courts for Seeing the Unseen PA issues
• Dana Laquidara – The Inside Struggle of an Alienated Child
• Jayna Haney – Understanding Grief in Divorces and Consequences in Disordered Mourning
• Ben Rodgers – Child Psychological Abuse Awareness & Preventions
• Suzanne Radcliffe – Unraveling “Parental Alienation” as a Judge, Attorney & an Advocate for Children
• Ryan Blue – How to Defend a PA Case
• John Brownlee – Yes, Betrayal and Grief
• Sheanea Carrington – Unlocking Opportunities: The Significance of an Internship
• Alan Blotcky – Understanding PA: Diagnosis and Treatment

Please Register here:

https://www.children4tomorrow.org/online-store/Children-4-Tomorrow-5th-Annual-Symposium-2024-p84693163
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Custodial Interference is a form of child maltreatment and a crime under family violence. Raising awareness about this issue can help reduce alienating behaviors, such as withholding and manipulating children.

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Your help would be appreciated in sharing and promoting this campaign throughout the month of April.

The goal is to urge parents to contact their governmental representatives (state legislators in the U.S.) to ask them to take a stand against custodial interference in all its forms.

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