An Overview of My Peoria and Pekin Law Practice
For more information about a family law issue, click on the heading.
Divorce
People who are going through a divorce often feel emotionally vulnerable as a result of having been in a bad relationship, or as a result of what they experienced in their marriage. A person should never make decisions about marital property division or child custody issues without being fully advised and without having a full understanding of the options available.
Child Custody & Visitation
Parents going through divorce often get hung up on labels such as whether they are the custodial parent or whether they "just have visitation." As your attorney, my goal is to help you dispense with a focus on the labels and to focus instead on the quality of the time each of the parents will be able to spend with the children. Sometimes, however, a contested custody case is the only way to deal with parents' conflicting ideas of what is best for their children in a divorce.
Fathers' Rights
In Illinois, our child custody statute is gender neutral. This means that both the father and the mother have equal rights to request custody of children in a divorce proceeding. Joint custody is a popular way to make sure both parents retain a decision-making role in the major issues facing children as they grow and mature. Joint parenting agreements are the result of divorcing couples putting aside their differences and focusing on the best interested of their children.
Child Support
Once determined, child support can be modified if there is a change in circumstances. For example, if the payor of child support loses his or her job, or is forced to take a lower paying job, child support payments may be reduced. If the payor receives a raise or a promotion, child support may be recalculated so the children will benefit by an increased amount of support. There are guidelines for the calculation of child support, but deviations are possible. For example, where the payor's income is so high that the guideline percentage would give a windfall to the recipient, far in excess of the reasonable needs of the children, the court may make a downward deviation. Illinois law calls for the payment of child support directly from the payor's employer. This arrangement ensures that payments will be made on time and in the right amount.
Spousal Maintenance
Spousal maintenance (alimony) can be one of the more difficult issues to resolve in divorce. In Illinois, there are no guidelines for determining maintenance amounts, as there are with child support. Instead, maintenance is decided on a case-by-case basis, with the needs of the party requesting it being balanced against the ability of the other to pay. Our law provides a list of factors which the court considers when being asked to award maintenance to one of the spouses. While most people accept an equitable division of marital property and the necessity to pay child support, few want to write monthly checks to their ex-spouse. When the spouses can not agree about maintenance, a judge will hear the facts presented by each spouse, and the judge will decide whether maintenance should be paid, and if so, in what amount and for how long. Marital Property Division & QDROs.
Most people who go through a divorce understand that they will have to divide marital property with their former spouse. Much of the effort in a divorce case involves determining the identity of all the assets of the marriage and then valuing them. Pensions are marital property, even if they are unvested, but the key is to determine what part of the pension was earned or accumulated during the marriage. Pension interests which accrue before or after the marriage are the non-marital property of the employed spouse. Complex court orders, called Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, are prepared by the attorney to make sure that the former spouse receives his or her share of the ex-spouse's pension.
Paternity Actions
While many dads voluntarily sign birth certificates at the hospital designating themselves as the child's father, doing so does not give the father legal rights, such as the right to see and visit the child, should he and the mother break up. It is essential for a parentage (paternity) case to be filed in order to establish the legal parentage of a child born to unmarried parents, and to create the rights and obligations of parents.
Domestic Violence
During my 30 years practicing family law, I have made a commitment to be responsive to those who are victims of violence. That having been said, an equally devastating situation occurs when a spouse misuses the Illinois Domestic Violence Act to gain an advantage in the divorce or child custody case.
Adoption and Guardianship
Stepparent and grandparent adoptions and guardianship proceedings are often used to give legal recognition to a relationship that already in fact exists. Recent cases have solidified the paramount role of the biological parent; however, there are exceptions in our law which permit non-parents to seek custody and guardianship. Adoption of related and unrelated children is one of the most rewarding things I do.
Mediation
I am a Certified Mediator in family law cases for the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, which includes Peoria and Tazewell counties.
Family Law Consultation
To arrange a consultation with me, lawyer Susan Butler, call 309-938-4204 or fill out the contact form on this site.
