After two parties are divorced and a judgment, settlement agreement and/or joint parenting agreement has been finalized, issues may still arise.
These issues often relate to enforcement of an agreement, in which a spouse fails to perform a certain act, such as paying maintenance, child support, or abiding by a parenting allocation agreement. Post-decree cases also arise where one or both parties seek to modify a part of their judgment due to changed circumstances.
The need to modify decision making, parenting time, child support, or maintenance generally arises when one party’s circumstances have significantly changed. This can follow life events like unemployment, a new job, medical hardship, remarriage, relocation, or incarceration.
Life changes, and the needs of a family change with it. At Beermann, we stand ready to help you through those changes and help you secure an outcome that reflects your new needs.
Grandparents taking on child care duties is a more common occurrence as the concept of a family unit evolves.
Illinois law allows for visitation rights for non-parents such as grandparents, subject to a certain conditions and a parent’s right to object.
The court has the discretion to grant visitation if a grandparent can show they are being denied access to the child and establish that such a denial is damaging to the child’s well being.
A grandparent can petition for visitation after a divorce, the death of a parent, or if a parent gets incarcerated.
When parents of young children divorce, the payment of college tuition and related costs may be the last thing on their minds. If college expenses were not part of the initial settlement agreement or divorce judgment, then the couple will have to negotiate or, if an agreement can not be reached, litigate responsibilities for those expenses in a post-judgment proceedng. Even if those expenses were agreed upon in the initial proceedings, circumstances can change. Employment changes, unforeseen medical issues, and financial hardships can impact one parent’s ability to pay a previously agreed-upon amount. Also, non-decision-making parents may file a post-judgment motion on the grounds that they had no choice in what college the child attends, and the decision made is beyond what they can afford per the terms of the agreement.
If an ex-spouse is not complying with any element of the divorce decree, such as child support, maintenance, or parenting allocation agreements, Beermann’s attorneys will help you take the measures needed to petition the court to address the matter.
Often, a party who fails to comply with a provision of the court’s order is liable to the other party for his or her attorneys’ fees incurred in enforcing the provisions of the Judgment.