A celebrity divorce is still a divorce. Illinois courts are not applying a special statute simply because a spouse is recognizable, followed online, or famous. The courts dissolve marriages, allocate parental responsibilities, determine child support, consider maintenance, and divide property under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act just like any other ordinary case. Before entering a judgment of dissolution, a court must consider, approve, reserve, or make provision for issues such as parental responsibilities, child support, maintenance, and disposition of property. 750 ILCS 5/401(b). So, the question becomes what actually changes in a celebrity divorce. Typically, the law…
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An Illinois divorce judgment is meant to do more than simply announce that the parties are divorced. In most cases, a final judgment decides who receives which property, who is responsible for debts, whether maintenance will be paid, how child support will be calculated, and how parental responsibilities and parenting time will be allocated. Those decisions should not appear out of thin air. In several areas of an Illinois divorce, the court must make findings that show how the evidence led to that final result. Findings refer to the court’s factual determinations and legal reasoning; they explain what the court…
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Medicare is a federal health insurance program that covers individuals, not families. It is typically available to people aged 65 or older, along with certain younger people who have disabilities. Unlike an employer-sponsored plan, which usually allows a spouse to be covered as a dependent on the other spouse’s policy, Medicare has no family coverage. Because Medicare is individual coverage, an Illinois divorce court does not divide Medicare between spouses. In other words, a spouse does not receive the other spouse’s Medicare coverage as part of the marital estate. Likewise, a spouse does not lose Medicare coverage just because the…
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Health insurance can be one of the first concerns in an Illinois divorce. One spouse may be insured only through the other spouse’s employer. The children may be covered under that same plan. The coverage may continue while the divorce is pending, yet once the divorce is finalized, the dependent spouse’s coverage can quickly change. Generally, a divorce prevents a former spouse from staying on the employee-spouse’s health insurance plan as a spouse. Once the judgment of dissolution of marriage is entered, the former spouse is no longer the employee’s legal spouse. So, if the employer’s group health plan only…
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Illinois child support law is changing. Senate Bill 3524 amends Sections 505 and 510 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which are the provisions that govern child support calculations and child support modifications. S.B. 3524, 104th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ill. 2026); 750 ILCS 5/505; 750 ILCS 5/510. The Illinois General Assembly’s bill status page identifies SB 3524 as “Child Support Changes” and states that the bill passed both houses on May 21, 2026. Bill Status of S.B. 3524, 104th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ill. 2026). These changes are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.
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People move out of Illinois every day for better job opportunities. If they’re no longer with their child’s other parent, those job opportunities must be weighed against preparing a whole new parenting schedule if the move occurs. If you attempt to move and take the child with you, you’ll face a series of legal hurdles if the other parent invokes their rights. Relocating With A Child When There Is No Court-Ordered Custody If there is no court-ordered custody, you can move out of Illinois with the child and enroll the child in a new school without asking the other parent.
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When a parent travels with a child under the auspices of a “vacation” only to have announced that the parent and the children now live in another state. This scenario is sometimes characterized as parental abduction even when it begins as a seemingly innocent vacation. No matter which parents narrative of move vs. vacation, a custody dispute is sure to arise. The initial question, however, is where will that custody dispute take place? In the state the child moved from or the state that the child moved to? UCCJEA Governs Custody Jurisdiction The determination of what state decides custody is…
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Stay-at-home parents can expect to receive the majority of the parenting time and, therefore, also receive child support. As the spouse that earns less money, stay-at-home parents can also expect to receive maintenance (formerly known as alimony) from the other spouse. This combination of child support and maintenance can easily exceed 50% of the payor’s net income, leaving the payor destitute as they support another household at a great cost than their own household. Illinois law has codified that it does not want Illinois divorce courts to be locked into forcing one parent to pay over 50% of net income…
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Illinois divorce lawyers often speak in code. No code carries more weight than the phrase “604.10 Evaluators” which describe court-appointed experts who provide professional opinions as to the custody of children in divorce litigation. Illinois divorce judges can have thousands of cases on their docket. Illinois divorce judges see dozens of cases each day. Illinois divorce judges cannot understand the years of family dynamics that have led up to the point where two people untangle their lives and divide their most precious asset: time with their children. Yet, Illinois divorce judges are charged with doing exactly that. “Once the issue…
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The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys has selected Law Office of Russell D. Knight partner, Rebecca Day, for recognition as as a “TOP 10” for 2026. From NAFLA’s website: “The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. With over a million attorneys in the United States, choosing the best lawyer is difficult. However, through a stringent selection process, the NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with our most prestigious honor of being named “TOP 10″. The very few attorneys (less than 1%)…
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Therapists help people deal with difficult emotional situations. Perhaps no emotional situation is more difficult (or prevalent) than divorce. A therapist’s communications with their divorced or divorcing client are private unless those communications could shed light on some child custody determination. Child custody in Illinois is divided into parenting time and parental decisions. These are both determined by what is in the best interests of the child. “The court shall allocate parenting time according to the child’s best interests.” 750 ILCS 602.7(a) AND “The court shall allocate decision-making responsibilities according to the child’s best interests” 750 ILCS 602.5(a) “[T]he best…
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You own a business with a partner. Your partner, however, has another partner: their husband or wife. If that husband-and-wife partnership results in divorce, you can expect to be sucked into the divorce process…but you have a very powerful defense mechanism that can keep you and your business safe. This article explains how to get out of an Illinois divorce if you are included as a third party. Can A Business Partner Be Made A Third Party In An Illinois Divorce? Family law courts in Illinois can include almost anyone. “The court may join additional parties necessary and proper for…
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Divorce law in Illinois is largely written for couples with two working adults who may have children. While Illinois divorce law does not explicitly address retirement and divorce, many relevant principles can be derived from the statutes and case law. Experienced Illinois divorce lawyer Russell D. Knight can help apply those principles so that your retirement is minimally affected by your divorce, and your divorce is minimally affected by your retirement. The financial aspects of a Chicago, Illinois divorce are determined by two factors: 1) the assets of the parties and 2) the incomes of the parties. When one of the…
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