Child support provides crucial financial assistance to Illinois parents who are raising children, often with very little help from their child’s other parent. When one parent refuses to pay child support or hides income to try to lower the amount of support they owe, it can cause enormous difficulties. The parent who needs to make up the financial difference suffers, but, perhaps more importantly, the child can suffer a diminished quality of life through no fault of her own. 

If you are getting divorced and have a hunch that your spouse may be hiding or manipulating their income to avoid paying child support, an experienced Illinois family law attorney may be able to help. Here are some signs to watch out for that may indicate warning signs of hidden income, as well as steps you may be able to take to find hidden income. 

Teaching public school is one of the most difficult jobs someone can make a career out of. Fortunately, government employees have excellent benefits, and one of these is a generous pension that is meant to last a hard-working educator throughout their retirement. 

Because pensions are considered marital assets and must be divided in a divorce, many teachers rightfully fear the consequences that getting divorced could have on their retirement plan. Does the whole thing get divided, even if you were teaching before you got married? How is the value of a fund determined? For answers to these questions, read on. 

How Will the Value of My Pension Be Determined? 

Knowing your pension’s exact value can be challenging, but there are several common methods used for determining a pension’s present worth. These include: 

One of the most important things divorcing parents must do is arrange a suitable parenting agreement. Although it can be challenging to make the necessary compromises, a good parenting agreement can serve the entire family for many years. 

Of course, if a child is ever in danger or a parent passes away, there will necessarily be a change in arrangements. But most parenting plans are modified for more innocuous reasons - children get older, people remarry, and parents sometimes have to move to a new home or change their work schedule. When there is a significant change in circumstances, it may be time to update the parenting agreement. Here are three common reasons a parenting plan may be modified in Illinois. 

Physical Relocation

Illinois sets strict limitations around when a parent with majority parenting time can relocate with a child. Depending on the area he or she lives in, if the new home is more than 25 or 50 miles away from their current home, the relocating parent will need to get permission from the child’s other parent or the court. Moving may also necessitate a rearrangement in parenting time because a greater or lesser distance could change the effort it takes to move a child between households. 

Even when both spouses are employed during a marriage, it is not uncommon for only one spouse to manage the family finances. Although this can make things more streamlined while the marriage lasts, it can also make it easier for the spouse who manages the money to hide marital assets that should be divided in a divorce. 

Hiding marital assets is illegal and unethical, and fundamentally violates the principles of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which places great importance on ensuring marital assets are divided fairly. If you are worried that your spouse may be trying to hide assets in your Illinois divorce, here are five places you might want to look. 

Common Methods of Hiding Assets During Divorce

Although the strategies that people come up with are seemingly endless, here are some of the most common places hidden marital assets are found: 

Learning to manage shared parenting time and parental responsibilities during and after divorce can be difficult, especially when parents live in different states. Illinois shares a border with no less than five states and divorced parents frequently find themselves trying to manage their parenting schedule across state lines. This can lead to many frustrations and legal complexities, which, if left unaddressed, can get in the way of having a happy relationship with your child and a productive relationship with their other parent. If you are facing the prospect of co-parenting across state lines, here are three tips to help the experience go more smoothly. 

Follow Your Home State Jurisdiction’s Laws

Whichever state court originally heard your divorce or child custody modification case typically has home state jurisdiction. If you move out of Illinois to a neighboring state, the terms of the original custody order must still be followed. If the children are still residents of Illinois, even if they spend time in another state, then modifications to the parenting agreement must usually be made in the home state as long as one parent still lives there. Failing to follow the terms of your parenting agreement can lead to legal repercussions.

Stay in Close Contact with Your Child

Parents who live across state lines often live long distances from each other - after all, Illinois is 390 miles from top to bottom. When parents are managing a co-parenting schedule, long periods of time may pass in-between visits. It is important to stay in close contact with your child when you are away from them. Phone calls, video chats, and even snail mail letters are great ways to connect even from a distance.