Removal of a Minor Child from the State of Illinois

Whether in a divorce proceeding or in a parentage action, the parent with whom the child resides on a daily basis (residential custody) may want to move to another state. Under Illinois law 750 ILCS (Illinois Compiled Statutes) 5/609, a party having residential custody of the minor children must obtain permission of the court to move to another state.

If the custodial parent wants to move within the state of Illinois, that parent does not have to seek court permission to move. If the custodial parent moves to another location within Illinois, then the other parent (non-custodial) parent will have to go to court and obtain a new visitation schedule if a custodial parent has moved a long distance making the existing visitation schedule not appropriate.

There are two major Illinois Supreme Court decisions that define the current law in Illinois on the issue of removal: In Re Marriage of Echert, 518 N.E.2d 1041 (1988) and In Re Marriage of Collingbourne, 791 N.E.2d 532 (2003).

The primary issue that courts are trying to decide in removal cases is whether the contemplated move by the custodial parent is in the best interest of the child

The primary factors that courts consider in deciding whether to grant the request to remove the child to another state are as follows:

1. The likelihood that the proposed move will enhance the quality of life for both the parent and child;
2. The motives of the noncustodial parent in resisting removal;
3. The existing visitation schedule between the noncustodial parent and the minor child; and
4. Whether the visitation schedule can be reached if removal is allowed that will foster the relationship between the minor child and the noncustodial parent.

The decision by the court is not limited to those facts.

The burden of proving that removal is in the best interests of the child is on the parent seeking removal.

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the law office of Arlington Heights attorney Robert S. Thomas. 

LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT S THOMAS

1655 N Arlington Heights Rd, Suite 300West

Arlington Heights IL 60004

847-392-5893 phone
info@attorneyrobertthomas.com

Se Habla Español

Parentage Issues in Illinois

Parentage means a legal proceeding in which a child is born and the natural mother and natural father of that child have not married. This is also known as a child out of “wedlock.” The statute that governs parentage proceedings in Illinois is known as the Illinois Act of 1984 (750 Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) 40/1 et seq.)

Because the mother and father have never been married, there are no property issues in a parentage proceeding. The only issues in parentage are the rights and the obligations of both parents for the child they conceived.

Most of the issues in a parentage proceeding are governed by the provisions in the divorce statute that deal with the child (Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act 750 ILCS 5/101 et seq). Thus, in a parentage proceeding the obligations of the parents for their child are determined the same way as are the obligations of parents for their child in a divorce.

The following are the issues that must be settled in a parentage proceeding: 
1.       Residential custody means which parent the child will live with on a daily basis; 
2.       Joint vs. sole custody - joint custody simply means both the mother and father will jointly discuss and jointly decide all major issues involving their child. Sole custody means the parent with whom the child lives (residential custody) will unilaterally make all of the decisions for issues affecting the child. The issues of residential custody and joint sole custody in parentage are governed by the divorce statute in 750 ILCS 5/602 – 5/602.1. 
3.       Child support - the parent that has residential custody of the child receives child support payments from the parent that does not have residential custody. The parent making the child support payments is known as the “obligor” and the parent receiving the child support payments is known as the “obligee.” The child support payments in parentage are governed by the child support provisions in the divorce statute sections found in 750 ILCS 5/505. 
4.       Visitation – the visitation schedule between the minor child and the parent that does not have custody is governed by the divorce statute in 750 ILCS 5/607. 
5.       Removal means whether the parent having residential custody can move to another state with the minor child. This issue is governed under 750 ILCS 5/609, which is in the divorce statute. 
6.        In addition to child support payment obligations, the obligor is also responsible for paying for before school care/after school care/day care expenses as well as costs of the extracurricular activities of the minor child. The obligee is also responsible for a portion of these costs, which is generally shared equally between the obligor and obligee. 
7.       Medical insurance – one parent must provide medical insurance for the minor child and both parents will share in the cost of the minor child’s medical premium costs, co-payments, and uncovered medical expenses. Medical insurance is governed by the divorce statute sections 750 ILCS 5/505 and 5/505.2. 
8.       Dependency exemption - a parent can claim the child as a tax deduction. Generally, if both parents are employed, the parents will alternate years. The dependency exemption is governed by Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code.

These are the primary issues that the parties must settle in a parentage proceeding, if the parties cannot settle all of the issues, then the judge will decide those issues on which the parties cannot agree.   

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the law office of Arlington Heights attorney Robert S. Thomas. 

LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT S THOMAS

1655 N Arlington Heights Rd, Suite 300West

Arlington Heights IL 60004

847-392-5893 phone
info@attorneyrobertthomas.com

Se Habla Español

United States Bankruptcy Laws

As a bankruptcy attorney, I know there are a lot of questions about bankruptcy, I hope this blog will answer your questions. 

The Bankruptcy laws are found in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code which is Title 11 of the United States Code (USC)

Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress to enact uniform laws on Bankruptcy. Under this grant of authority Congress passed the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, which was amended later by the Chandler Act of 1938. The 1898 Act established the bankruptcy court systems. The 1978 Bankruptcy Reform Act repealed the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 and the 1978 Act created the Bankruptcy Code. In 1986 the Bankruptcy Code was amended to add the bankruptcy trustee system to undertake the administrative responsibilities of the Federal Bankruptcy courts. In addition the 1986 amendments added Chapter 12 to the Bankruptcy Code, which deals with bankruptcies for family farmers. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994 made substantial changes in the ways mortgages are handled in the bankruptcy system. The Bankruptcy Abuse, Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 established the “means tests” or thresholds that determine whether debtors qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or whether debtors are required to pursue a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. In addition, the 2005 Act extended Chapter 12 protections to family fishermen and enacted Chapter 15 to deal with international bankruptcies.

Title 11 of the United States Code contains the following Chapters:

       1.     Chapters 1, 3 and 5 are the administrative rules for bankruptcy cases.

       2.     Chapter 7 is the liquidation provisions of the bankruptcy code. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is sometimes referred to as a “straight bankruptcy” or “liquidation.” It is called a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy because the laws and procedures governing this type of bankruptcy are found in Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy takes approximately five months to complete and in the end debtors’ “unsecured debts,” or credit card and medical bills are discharged which means the debtor no longer has a legal obligation to pay for those debts.

       3.     Chapter 9 involves bankruptcies for municipal governments.

       4.     Chapter 11 is for commercial debtors that desire to continue to operate a business and to repay creditors concurrently through an acceptable plan of reorganization.

       5.     Chapter 12 is for family farmers and family fishermen.

       6.     Chapter 13 provides the method by which an individual with regular income may repay all or a portion of the debts over a period of 36 – 60 months. It is called a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy because the laws are detailed in Chapter 13 of Title 11 of the United States Code (USC). The debtor’s payments are made under the supervision of the bankruptcy trustee. When the payment plan of the 36 – 60 months is completed, the balance of the unsecured debts are discharged.

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the law office of Arlington Heights attorney Robert S. Thomas. 

LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT S THOMAS

1655 N Arlington Heights Rd, Suite 300West

Arlington Heights IL 60004

847-392-5893 phone
info@attorneyrobertthomas.com

Se Habla Español