2003 Articles

Adoption: “Due and diligent” inquiry By Don C. Hammer September 2003 Your client wants to adopt his new wife's child. The wife says she has not heard from the child's father for many years and she doesn't know where he is

The application of child support interest—more than just a sharp pencil By Donald Ray June 2003 By now we should all be aware that child support accrues interest at nine percent a year, as stated at 750 ILCS 45/20.7 and 5/505(b) Interest on support obligations:.

Chair’s column By Laura Kern December 2003 If we speak, act and talk with pride of our profession, it follows that our actions with our clients will reflect we, as Family Law practitioners, have earned and deserve the respect of the public and the Bar.

Chair’s column By Laura Urbik-Kern September 2003 The Family Law Section Council is to be representative of the body of family lawyers as a whole; and to develop and enable our practices to best serve the public, while providing a decent living for each of us.

Deadbeat Parents’ Act By Barbara E. Hardin September 2003 Is the Deadbeat Parents' Act unconstitutional? A father convicted under the Deadbeat Parents Act (DPPA) for his willful failure to pay child support challenged his conviction all the way to the United States Court of Appeals.

Defending against maintenance claims—Illinois Supreme Court Rule 215 to the rescue By David C. Ainley December 2003 The use of expert witnesses in divorce litigation is fast becoming common practice.

Eckert revisited: The Supreme Court’s review of Collingbourne and the Second District Appellate Court’s application of the law of removal By Steven N. Peskind February 2003 Recently the Illinois Supreme Court granted a petition for leave to appeal filed by Soryia Collingbourne, seeking to review the reversal by the Second District Appellate Court of an order granting her leave to remove her son Tyler to the State of Massachusetts.

Editorial April 2003 The Illinois State Bar Association's Family Law Section Council believes that our current custody and visitation provisions do not go far enough to prevent the damage the Dissolution process causes to families, and particularly, the children.

Editors’ column December 2003 We hope you enjoy this issue of the Family Law newsletter and encourage our readers to contact us with any ideas or issues you may want to address or have addressed in future issues.

Editor’s column By Ross S. Levey & Robert Segal September 2003 As newly appointed newsletter editors, we would like to take this opportunity to ask for your help in making the upcoming year a successful one.

Editor’s column By Ross Levey June 2003 A word of thanks to all of you who have submitted articles for this and prior newsletters.

Editor’s column By Ross S. Levey April 2003 Following the opening statement/preamble to the proposed revised custody provisions of the IMDMA, you will find an article on the Hague Convention written by Burt Gross and a primer on the "in contemplation of marriage" rule.

Editor’s column By Ross Levey February 2003 This newsletter contains a Letter to the Editor in response to Scott Colky's article in the last issue, concerning the constitutionality of the Children's Representative section of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

Family Law case update By Adrienne W. Albrecht April 2003 Cases issued between July, 2002 - February, 2003 and of interest to family law practitioners.

Letter to the editor February 2003 I am responding to Scott Colky's article entitled "The Child Representative Statute is Unconstitutional."

Marital property acquired before marriage: The purchased “in contemplation of marriage” rule By Thomas J. Kasper April 2003 During the pre-nuptial bliss, one or both of the parties to be married may not be concerned with how title is held to the residence they purchased before the marriage.

Message from the Chair By Frank V. Ariano June 2003 As I write my last "message" as Chair of the Family Law Section Council, I am amazed at how quickly this year has past.

Message from the chair By Frank V. Ariano April 2003 Since our last newsletter, the Family Law Section Council has not only had meetings of all of its committees (many more than once), reviewed and taken a position on well over 50 bills affecting family law (with many more coming daily), had its commentary on new concepts in custody proceedings approved by the ISBA Board of Governors for submission to the Supreme Court Special Committee on Child Custody, but also conducted an excellent seminar in Las Vegas!

Message from the chair By Frank V. Ariano February 2003 Happy New Year everyone! With the holidays behind us, the busiest time of the Council's year is now in full swing.

“My kid is gone” April 2003 There you are, sitting in your office trying to understand why anyone could possibly reject the very realistic and reasonable settlement proposal you have made in a case, when your mental meanderings are interrupted by a hysterical (potential) client telling you that their child has been snatched by the other parent, and taken out of the country.

Net income for the purpose of calculating child support By Nancy Ann Ward & Darla A. Foulker December 2003 Family law attorneys have all read and re-read the statutory guidelines regarding the calculation of child support found in Section 505 of the Marriage and Dissolution Act.

Opening statement April 2003 One of the most contentious areas of practice is in the determination of the custodian for children in dissolution proceedings.

Personal versus enterprise goodwill in Illinois marital dissolution law: How can they be separated? By Christopher P. Casey February 2003 Originating with the In re Marriage of Zells (1991) decision, the personal versus enterprise goodwill issue has steadily evolved through subsequent cases.

Privileged communications under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act and family law issues By Scott C. Colky December 2003 Many attorneys, and more commonly child representatives, may not understand the implications in re-disclosing information they learn from a child’s therapist.

The Richman Report: Summary of new tax law changes By Bruce L. Richman September 2003 President Bush recently signed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA).

When to file a notice of appeal in post-dissolution proceedings By Adrienne W. Albrecht June 2003 Family law attorneys have long complained that the Supreme Court's new discovery rules fit poorly, if at all, in the context of The Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.