There are many situations in which one of the spouses in a divorce case needs assistance from an experienced lawyer but cannot afford the same type of attorney or firm that his or her spouse will likely be able to afford. In many cases, this situation arises when one of the spouses was the primary breadwinner or earner in the family and the other spouse was a stay-at-home parent or has a job that pays significantly less money. Yet when issues of property division and child custody are at stake, we know how critical it is to have an experienced DuPage County family law attorney on your side who can represent you and your interests. Accordingly, we know that there are many DuPage County residents who are anticipating a divorce but cannot afford a divorce lawyer and are wondering whether they can require their spouse to pay for their attorney.

Although it might not immediately seem logical that one spouse could ask the other spouse to pay for his or her DuPage County divorce attorney, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) does in fact allow a spouse to seek what are known as “interim attorney’s fees” in a divorce case. We want to provide you with more information about how this process works.

When Can I Seek Interim Attorney’s Fees?

If your spouse was the primary earner in your marriage or is a higher earner than you, it can be difficult to figure out how you will pay for an experienced family lawyer to represent you in the divorce case. Depending upon the specific facts of your situation, you may be able to ask the court for interim attorney’s fees. Divorce cases can get expensive and lengthy, especially when the parties are anticipating a contested divorce.

When you go through a difficult divorce involving minor children from your marriage, the prospect of needing to go back to court in order to modify an order can feel daunting. However, parents and children can experience significant changes in circumstances that require a modification of an existing allocation judgment or child support order. In particular, if you lose your job or if you suddenly are required to take a substantial pay cut, you may be concerned about meeting your child support obligation. Under such circumstances, it may be possible to ask the court to modify the child support order. When you are seeking a modification, you should always work with an experienced DuPage County family law attorney.

How DuPage County Courts Determine Child Support

Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), courts in DuPage County and throughout Illinois determine child support obligations based on guidelines and the “income shares” model for calculating child support. This method is streamlined based on the total income of both parents. In using the income shares model, the court will combine both parents’ incomes to determine the total income. Then, the court will look at the Illinois child support guidelines, which provide a specific monthly child support obligation based on the total income (of both parents) and the number of minor children in need of support.

The court determines each parent’s percentage of that obligation based on the parent’s individual income, number of overnights with the child, and other relevant factors. Yet a parent’s ability to pay his or her child support obligation can change over time.

If you are going through a complicated family law matter and it seems as though it will be difficult or even impossible to resolve the dispute without doing harm to your family, you might want to consider a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). More specifically, family mediation might be able to provide you with the necessary tools to resolve the dispute with your spouse or another family member while helping you to keep costs down. If you have questions or want to learn more about family mediation in DuPage County, you should seek advice from one of the Oakbrook Terrace family law attorneys at Farooqi & Husain Law Office. We are committed to serving the Muslim community and can discuss ADR options for your family law case.

What Is Mediation?

Under Illinois law, mediation is defined as a process in which a mediator facilitates communication between parties to assist them in reaching a voluntary agreement regarding their dispute. A neutral third party known as a mediator is the figure who facilitates dialogue between the parties and helps them to reach a decision that resolves their dispute. Mediation can be helpful in family law cases, but it is not limited to family law matters. To be sure, mediation can be used in an attempt to resolve a wide variety of legal disputes.

It is important to understand some key elements of mediation if you are considering it for your family law case. First, the mediator plays a role that is very different from a judge. Unlike a judge, who hears both parties’ sides and makes a decision, the mediator does not hear the disputing parties’ positions and does not issue any rulings or judgments. Instead, the mediator is there to help the parties engaged in discussion about the dispute, to negotiate, and ultimately to resolve the dispute. Next, and also importantly, if the parties do not reach an agreement in mediation, nothing that has been said or communicated is binding. Mediation only becomes binding if the parties voluntarily agree.

If you are in the process of filing for divorce in DuPage County, or you are planning to file for divorce, you may have questions about child support and college expenses after the divorce. In particular, if you and your spouse have one or more children who are nearing the age where they will attend college, the matter of paying for college expenses can become contentious, especially if you had college expenses plans in place that will be difficult to maintain after a divorce. You might want to know: can the court order one or both of the parents to pay for college expenses under Illinois law?

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA), in a divorce, educational expenses for a non-minor child can be awarded. The following information can help you to learn more about how this works. If you have additional questions or need assistance, you should reach out to an Oakbrook Terrace divorce lawyer. The advocates at Farooqi & Husain Law Office are committed to serving the Muslim community and can begin working with you on your case today.

What Are Educational Expenses for a Non-Minor Child?

Under the IMDMA, educational expenses for a non-minor child are essentially college expenses. In a divorce case, the court can award money out of the income or property of either spouse for the educational expenses of any child. The court can also require either or both parties to do or pay the following:

When you are considering divorce in Oakbrook Terrace, you may be wondering whether you should bring up issues that pertain to your spouse’s fault. In other words, if your spouse engaged in behaviors that led to the destruction of the marriage—such as adultery, family violence, or even behavior that runs counter to your cultural values—you may be pondering whether it will make sense to raise these issues when you file for divorce or respond to a divorce complaint. Some spouses assume that bringing to light matters of “fault” can be beneficial when it comes to spousal maintenance or child custody. While a history of family violence certainly can play a role in the court’s determination of how parental responsibilities should be allocated, you should know that Illinois is firmly a “no-fault” divorce state.

Accordingly, even if your spouse engaged in actions or behavior that are counter to Islamic law, or that are in clear violation of your family’s moral principles, these matters of “fault” typically will not be relevant in a secular divorce proceeding under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). We will provide you with more information about “no-fault” divorce in Illinois, but we want to emphasize that one of our experienced Oakbrook Terrace divorce lawyers can speak with you today if you have additional questions or need representation in your divorce case.

Shift from Fault-Based to No-Fault System for Divorce

Illinois did not always operate on a “no-fault” system for divorce. In recent years, Illinois law was amended to remove fault-based grounds for divorce. When legislators decided to make these changes, they recognized that fault-based divorce systems were largely based on unequal presumptions about marriage, and they reasoned that a “no-fault” system would be fairer to all parties involved. As such, nobody seeking a divorce in Illinois must or should supply fault-based grounds for divorce in seeking a dissolution of marriage.