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Showing posts from March, 2020

Loss of Employment During the Coronavirus - COVID-19 Epidemic

As the unemployment numbers begin to roll in, the picture is pretty sad. The drastic downturn in the economy caused by the Corona virus (COVID-19) has caused massive lay-offs and job losses – particularly in the food service, travel and hotel industries. If you or someone you love has obligations to pay child support or spousal maintenance, it incredibly important to file a motion to reduce the child support or maintenance as soon as possible. The reason for this is that child support cannot be reduced prior to the date you file a motion. The good news with that is the actual filing of the motion should cover you even though there will be lots of delays with getting your case in front of a judge. Courthouses are running on very limited basis right now and most are only open for true emergencies. Financial matters such as a job loss are not emergencies ifor the time being. There is also good news that with electronic filing (e-filing) across the state, you can file your motion fro...

Visitation and Parenting Time During the Coronavirus - COVID-19 Pandemic

The phone calls have started coming into the office.... What do I do about parenting time (visitation) with the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic coming down on us?  Fear and anxiety are at an all-time high in these dark days and we are all in uncharted territory about this. Everyone is trying to get a handle on how to move forward and family law courts and lawyers are no exception. Here is what we know so far... As of Saturday, March 21, 2020, the Governor of Illinois declared a "Stay in Place Order". You can review a whole copy of the order here . When it discusses travel restrictions in Paragraph 14, it also addresses the issue of children's visitation. There are actually two specific provisions stating that an exception to the travel ban are:    1) transporting minors and dependents to care for them and,    2) allowing travel required by a custody agreement. So in most instances that's it...you must allow Parenting Time and Visitation to continue during...