Bloomington Illinois Family Lawyer

Office: (309) 319-6206

Cell:(309) 433-5034

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Be Careful with Settlement Agreements

Settling your Bloomington Illinois Divorce is almost always better than litigating. But, if you sign a Marital Settlement Agreement in Illinois, you had better be very careful as to what is, and is not, in that agreement, as this recent case from the Illinois Appellate Court points out:

In re Marriage of Chez

Court properly found that joint property provision of parties' premarital agreement (PMA) was clear and unambiguous, even though it was silent on how to apportion costs in distribution upon dissolution. Parties, through PMA, agreed to opt out of coverage under Marriage Act and to set their own rules as to property. Court properly distributed two joint tenancy properties equally, and made no order of reimbursement of costs spent on one property, as PMA did not provide for it. Testimony of parties as to oral agreements is not relevant to interpretation of PMA, as PMA provides that any agreements as to real property must be written. (QUINN and PIERCE, concurring.)

Best Regards,

Jon D. McLaughlin

Bloomington Law Group LLC

Flanagan State Bank Building

2401 East Washington Street

Bloomington Illinois 61704

Skype: jmclaug2

facetime: jondwainmclaughlin@gmail.com

Office: (309) 319-6206

Cell:(309) 433-5034

McLean County Courthouse child-care room cuts hours

January 29, 2014 6:00 am • By Paul Swiech | pswiech@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON — Less funding will mean reduced hours of operation for a service that helps to protect children while their parents are in court.

The Children’s Room, operated by Children’s Home + Aid in the McLean County Law and Justice Center, will be closed on Wednesdays and will close at 3 p.m. rather than 5 p.m. on the other weekdays, Tiffanny Powell, the agency’s family support services program manager, said Tuesday.

The cut will take effect next week.

“It’s really devastating to me to have to do this,” Powell said. “There will be children in the Law and Justice Center who will hear things that they shouldn’t.”

Judge Elizabeth Robb, chief judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit, noted that court proceedings can be long and harsh.

“Having a safe and child-friendly environment for children to play during court proceedings has been extremely beneficial to the children and to their parents and family members,” Robb said in a prepared statement. “We are very distressed to hear that, due to funding cuts, the hours of operation will have to be curtailed.”

The service includes three rooms for children up to age 12 whose parents have courthouse business, including those involved in domestic violence and child custody cases, Powell said. The service, staffed by an outreach worker, includes a nursery, toys and a computer station. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 550 children used the service.

The service is supported by $5 from each civil case filed in McLean County as well as private donations. The service received $14,000 less from court filing fees last year because fewer civil cases were filed.

In addition, so far this fiscal year, private donations have dropped $3,000, said Angie Fulton of Children’s Home + Aid. The Children’s Room has an annual budget of $47,000.

Fulton hopes private donors can make up the difference.

“This is an unduplicated, needed service in our community,” she said.

Best Regards,

Jon D. McLaughlin

Bloomington Law Group LLC

Flanagan State Bank Building

2401 East Washington Street

Bloomington Illinois 61704

Skype: jmclaug2

facetime: jondwainmclaughlin@gmail.com

Office: (309) 319-6206

Cell:(309) 433-5034

Friday, January 24, 2014

Right of First Refusal

The right of first refusal is now the law in Illinois for family law cases. House Bill 2992 that went into effect January 1, 2014, amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The new 750 ILCS 5/602.3 specifically states that if the court awards joint custody or visitation rights, the court may consider, consistent with the best interest of the child, whether to award one or both parents the right of first refusal to provide child care for the child during the other party's parenting time.

For purposes of this statute, "right of first refusal," unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties, means that if a party intends to leave the minor child or children with a substitute child-care provider for a significant period of time, that party must first offer the other party an opportunity to personally care for the minor child or children.

If you have been following this act you will have noticed that the final language is actually different than how it was originally introduced in the Illinois legislature. Originally, the proposed change would have been mandatory on the court and spelled out that the time frame had to be more than four hours before the act was triggered. The statute that is now in effect at least leaves it up to the judge's discretion as the final arbiter of the best interest of the child in a custody dispute, but it leaves the "significant period of time" in which this child care would take place open to interpretation.

Best Regards,

Jon D. McLaughlin

Bloomington Law Group LLC

Flanagan State Bank Building

2401 East Washington Street

Bloomington Illinois 61704

Skype: jmclaug2

facetime: jondwainmclaughlin@gmail.com

http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/index.aspx?nid=137

Office: (309) 319-6206

Cell:(309) 433-5034

Monday, January 20, 2014

Bloomington Illinois (McLean County) – Online Access

McLean County – Online Access

The McLean County Circuit Clerk and Circuit Court are pleased to announce that McLean County is now offering information on all open civil, traffic and criminal cases through their public access system. The link to the public access system is:

Please forward any questions or comments regarding on-line access to either Don Everhart, Circuit Clerk, or William Scanlon, Trial Court Administrator

Best Regards,

Jon D. McLaughlin

Bloomington Law Group LLC

Flanagan State Bank Building

2401 East Washington Street

Bloomington Illinois 61704

Skype: jmclaug2

facetime: jondwainmclaughlin@gmail.com