Gary R. Garretson

James M. Durkee

Attorneys at Law

1802 N. Division St., Suite 201, Morris, Illinois

(815) 941-2825

Fax: (815) 941-2840

E-Mail: ggarrets@hotmail.com.

DIVORCE INFORMATION

UNCONTESTED DIVORCE (Parties agreeable as to issues)               

          An agreement is reached and the attorney will produce the necessary paperwork for both parties to sign. We will have you divorced within 6 weeks upon the signing of agreement by the spouse. 

Issues to be agreed upon are: 

Which spouse gets custody and what type of custody 
Medical expenses of minor child(ren) 
Visitation schedule 
Child Support 
Maintenance a.k.a. Alimony (undefined by law). Many factors are taken into account before determining the maintenance amount such as age, employability, health, work status, etc. 
Division of property (marital and non-marital, including real estate) 
Any and all marital debts. 

        If your spouse is agreeable to all issues, it would save you money and the trauma of going through a bitter divorce. If the case is a Grundy County case you will be billed a flat fee for an uncontested divorce of $1300.00 which includes all attorney's fees and court costs.  If your spouse will not agree to all the issues, the case will be treated as a contested divorce;  we will provide you with an itemized bill that will account for every minute we work.

CONTESTED

         If there is no agreement between the parties or your spouse retains an attorney to represent him/her. An attempt to reach an agreement will be made. While a possible agreement is pending the parties wait in line for a trial date. If an agreement cannot be reached, the parties will proceed with the trial date assigned.  The minimum retainer for a contested divorce is $1500.00, but may be higher based on the number and type of contested issues.

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE

         If the parties are separated for a period of six (6) months, and sign an Affidavit that they they have made every attempt possible to reconcile their marriage and that they have failed to do so, they can obtain a divorce without having to allege any grounds on behalf of either spouse. Separated from the bedroom and living in the same house is sufficient to meet the six (6) month requirement. This six (6) month requirement is called IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES.

        Other grounds for divorce would be, Mental Cruelty, Adultery, and so forth. Mental Cruelty is probably the most used when Irreconcilable Differences cannot be used.

PROCEDURES

Procedures and Your Testimony

          After a Settlement Agreement is reached between the parties, the matter is set on the Judges Trial Call for a hearing date on a specific day. Only the spouse who has filed for divorce needs to appear. The spouse that has filed for the divorce will testify that the Agreement was fair and reasonable and will testify as to the highlights of the Agreement. The testimony would take normally no longer than ten (10) minutes. Most Judges will grant the divorce on that particular day. Parties can remarry immediately after they are divorced. There is no waiting 

CHILD CUSTODY 

         Joint Custody: means joint physical custody and joint legal custody.

         Joint Legal Custody means that both parents shall share the right and the responsibility to make the decisions relating to the health, education, and welfare of a child.

         Sole Legal Custody means that one parent shall have the right and the responsibility to make the decisions relating to the health, education and welfare of a child.

         Joint Physical Custody: means that each of the parents shall have significant periods of physical custody. Joint physical custody shall be shared by the parents in such a way so as to assure a child of frequent and continuing contact with both parents.

          Sole Physical Custody means that a child shall reside with and be under the supervision of one parent, subject to the power of the court to order visitation.

         Presumption of Equal Entitlement to Custody of the Child means the mother and the father are equally entitled to the custody of the child.

         Determination of Best Interest of the Child means that the court shall consider, among other factors it finds relevant, all of the following: (a) health, safety and welfare of the child; (b) history of abuse by one parent or any other person seeking custody against any of the following -- child, the other parent, and others as identified in the statute; (c) the nature and amount of contact with both parents; (d) habitual or continual drug use.

CHILD SUPPORT

        Illinois bases a non-custodial parent's child support on that  parent's income. The percentage amounts are:

                   Number of Children    Percentage of Supporting
                                                       Party's Net Income
     

                                1                            20%
                                                              
                                 2                            28%
                                                              
                                3                             32%
                                                              
                                4                             40%
                                                              
                                5                             45%
                                                               

                                6 or more                50%
                                                              
     The above guidelines were intended to be the minimum amount of support to be paid, but the courts routinely enforce the stated percentage amount with few variances. A variance from the guidelines -- greater or lesser -- is permitted under the law, but the court must make a specific finding that applying the guidelines would not be appropriate.

    In the above table, "net income" means gross income from all sources less taxes (federal, state and social security), required retirement contributions, union dues, health insurance premiums, prior obligations of support, and a few other specific deductions. The statute applies to "all income from all sources". 

THE DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION

        The Internal Revenue Code states that the dependency exemption for the minor children automatically goes by default to the custodial parent. This can be switched between the parties but only by agreement or order of the court. To do so, the custodial parent must complete and sign an IRS form 8332 and indicate on the form the duration of the assignment (usually "this year and all subsequent years").

DAY CARE EXPENSES

    Illinois has cases indicating that a non-custodial parent may be required to pay for a part of a child's day care expenses to enable the custodial parent to earn a living. Such payments are over and above regular child support payment.

HEALTH INSURANCE

    Non-custodial parents usually are required to provide health insurance for the minor children if the insurance can be obtained through the non-custodial parent's employment. If so, the cost of the health insurance may be deducted from the payor's gross income as a deduction (like taxes before making the child support calculation.

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 DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT DIVORCE PROPERTY SETTLEMENT?

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Garretson Law Office

Call Today

(815) 941-2825

or E-Mail Us at ggarrets@hotmail.com

  Evenings and Saturday Hours Available by Appointment 

  Members: Illinois Bar Association, Grundy County Bar Association

Our Attorneys are Admitted to Practice by: Illinois Supreme Court; United States District Court, Central District of Illinois, Northern District of  Illinois (Member Trial Bar); and United States Supreme Court

Disclaimer: The information provided here is to be used as general information only and is not intended to suffice as legal advice upon which you can rely for your particular situation. In the event you have specific questions, please call us or another qualified attorney.

Author: Gary R. Garretson.
Copyright © 2000, 2008 Gary R. Garretson. All rights reserved.
Revised: October 29, 2008