If you are paying or receiving child support, you know that the circumstances of your life and the life of your child may have changed dramatically since the original child support order was approved by the court. In Illinois, your child support order is eligible to be reviewed for a modification every three years. However, there are qualifying events that may allow you to modify the order between the normal review cycle.

Steps in the Modification Review Process

Either parent can ask the Illinois Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) to review the child support order for possible modification. The parent must demonstrate in their modification request that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred or that the other spouse has agreed to the change. Situations that may allow a child support modification include:

• The parent who is making the cild support payments has had a substantial decrease in income. This could be due to a job loss, an involuntary cut in pay, or a serious injury or disability. They could petition to have the monthly payments decreased.

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Planning ahead for your future medical needs can feel like a daunting proposition and a difficult subject to consider. Nobody wants to think about a time when their own care may be out of their control. However, it is beneficial to ensure that important decisions about your own medical care are in the hands of someone you trust and who knows your wishes. An experienced estate planning lawyer can help you establish a power of attorney for health care and remove some of the uncertainty about your future care.

What a Power of Attorney for Health Care Can Cover

A health care power of attorney allows you to choose an agent, who should be a close family member or trusted friend, who will have the authority to make decisions about your care on your behalf. They will also have access to your medical information to allow for informed decision-making. It will typically take effect if you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions about your own care.

The agent will have the legal power to make important decisions about the type of treatment that you will receive, and your admission or transfer to a hospital, a hospice facility, or other health care location. After your death, the agent would have the power to carry out your wishes about how your remains will be treated, including burial, cremation, and whether to donate your organs.

You finally finished getting your divorce, and you are ready to move on with your life. The terms of your divorce decree were fair and reasonable. Both you and your spouse are legally bound by these terms. That should be the end of it. However, after a few weeks or months you are starting to realize that your ex-spouse has no intention of obeying the terms of your divorce decree. They do not drop off your children when they are supposed to. They have not turned over property that you won in the divorce. You are not getting the spousal support you are entitled to. In this case, you may need to go back to court to ask the judge to enforce the terms of the divorce decree. It is in your best interest to enlist the help of an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Enforcing a divorce decree against an uncooperative ex-spouse can be an uphill battle - but it can be done. 

How Can a Court Enforce a Divorce Decree?

Depending on the situation, it may be worth it to try working it out without judicial involvement. Your attorney may suggest that you start by talking to your ex-spouse, or your attorney may want to try sending a letter before going back to court. However, if this type of solution is not going to work, your lawyer may need to file a petition to enforce the divorce decree. The court may use the following means to enforce the original order: 

• Ordering backpay - If the issue is that your ex-spouse has not been making child support or spousal support payments, the court could order them to promptly pay you the sum that they owe. Many courts will also order that you be paid back with interest to make up for the time you had to go without the money you were entitled to. 

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 Child custody proceedings can be incredibly stressful, even when both parents are fit and amicable with one another. When the case gets a bit more contentious, or certain other circumstances are present, the court may appoint a special attorney or social worker called a Guardian ad Litem. It can feel alarming to learn that a Guardian ad Litem has been appointed for your children during your custody case, but there is generally nothing for you to worry about. When the judge appoints a Guardian ad Litem, it is not because they do not think that you are a good parent. Rather, the role of a Guardian ad Litem is simply to help the court understand what course of action might be best for your children. An attorney can help you better understand what the Guardian ad Litem’s role will be in your particular case.

When do Courts Consider Bringing in a Guardian ad Litem?

Guardian ad Litems are not automatically appointed in every child custody proceeding. It is more likely that the court will bring one in if: 

• Suspected abuse - If there is any allegation or suspicion that either you or your child’s other parent has abused or neglected the children or would otherwise be harmful to them, it is very likely that a Guardian ad Litem will be asked to investigate. If you are getting a divorce or separating from an abusive co-parent, a Guardian ad Litem can actually help you quite a bit. 

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Estate contests can be messy. When a will or trust is questioned and challenged, it affects every beneficiary. These conflicts have been known to precipitate rifts between family members that may never heal. You probably want estate administration to be easy for your beneficiaries so that they can accept their gifts and remember you fondly. When someone calls the validity of your estate plan into question, the dispute can take years to resolve in some cases. This type of litigation can also become extremely costly for all involved. Fortunately, there are ways to substantially reduce the odds of an estate contest. If you suspect that there may be any conflict, you should alert your estate planning lawyer so they can take additional steps to prevent a challenge. 

Ways to Prevent Potential Future Challenges to Your Estate Plan 

Even if you think that your intended beneficiaries will get along and administer your estate in good faith, you cannot predict what could happen after you have become incapacitated or passed away. Some tips for creating a strong estate plan include: 

• Explain yourself - If there is a family member who you wish to disinherit, simply omitting their name from your estate plan may not be good enough. It could open the door for them to allege that there was an accidental omission or that you must not have had the capacity to make an estate plan given that you forgot someone. Your lawyer may advise you to explicitly state in your estate planning documents that you are disinheriting that person and why. 

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