When clients ask me how to prepare for divorce mediation, I always send them my crash course on IL law and Divorce.
Anyone seeking a divorce in IL should be well versed on the basic statutes governing an IL Petition for Dissolution (Divorce), and/or Allocation Agreement (Parenting Plan). Goals and expectations for any type of divorce strategy should be based on whether it is statutory, or it deviates from the statutes.
Now, if you actually refer to Il Marriage and Marriage Dissolution Act, you will need a translator to decipher the “legalese”, so I am outlining the main areas of focus in plain old english. Here we go:
Calculating Support with the Illinois Child Support Guidelines and Maintenance Reform Act
Did you know that Illinois relies on formulas for child support and alimony that are based on the gross, pretax earnings of each spouse in a divorce? For child support, the Illinois Child Support Guidelines control. Determining the gross weekly pretax income is often as simple as looking at a W2 and dividing by 52. Armed with this info, as well as the average weekly costs of medical insurance is enough to generate a number from a Illinois Child Support Estimator.
Similarly, maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is calculated based on gross weekly income. Using a Illinois Maintenance Calculator, you can estimate maintenance in your case based on you and your spouse’s respective gross incomes. Determining a final
maintenance figure also requires a determination of a recipient’s economic needs, but the calculator offers a strong baseline for starting the alimony discussion. Of course, child support and alimony involve complex questions that cannot be resolved with an online calculator, but for those involved in mediation, it often makes sense to start with the basics – like understanding how to use online calculators – before moving on to
more advanced issues.
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