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Definitions
(Marital) Settlement Agreement
A (marital) settlement agreement is a legally-binding court order made between two spouses when getting a divorce or two partners when dissolving a civil union. Settlement agreement can order one or both parties to make certain payments to the other, or to divide certain assets, including: alimony payments child support payments for minor children
An adjudication of parentage refers to a court order (or a legally equivalent administrative order) that establishes a parent-child relationship between the adjudicated parent and a child. A judge or the Department of Family Services (HFS) may adjudicate parentage on the basis of DNA testing, or because of the relevant facts of the situation. Pare
An affidavit is a written document that alleges a set of factual statements, and may be submitted as evidence as part of a court case. In other words, an affidavit is the written version of testifying in court under oath, and requires signing by a licensed public notary.
The process of getting a divorce will likely involve many hearings in court and the issuing of many different court orders. Some of the court orders or "judgements" made throughout a divorce case can be appealed or changed (modify) depending on the situation. Examples of court orders and judgements that can be appealed or modified may include:
A child support order is a legally-binding court order requiring a legal parent of a child, typically the child's non-custodial parent, to make a certain amount of child support payments on a regular basis. There are two types of child support orders: judicial child support orders, and administrative child support orders. The main difference betw
A civil union license, otherwise known as a civil union certificate, is a document that confirms that both partners have entered into a legally recognized civil union. In order to enter into a civil union in the state of Illinois, both parties must sign the civil union license, and pay a $60 USD filing fee. If you cannot pay the fee, you may be a
Being held in contempt of court is typically the result of a failure to follow the directions of a court order. It may also be the result of child support enforcement. If you are held in contempt or court, you may be subject to certain penalties, such as a fine or a short period of incarceration.
A court order is a written document issued by a judge in court. Court orders are given to both parties to a court case – called the petitioner and the respondent – each time your case is heard in front of a judge in court. The court order describes what events took place in court on the date it is issued, and it typically requires one or both par
Declaring the Non-Existence of a Parent-Child Relationship
Declaring the non-existence of a parent-child relationship means that a child's legal parent is NO LONGER recognized as that child's legal parent. This can be made based on the results of DNA testing or by acquiring knowledge of the relevant facts of the situation, but ONLY IF it has been less than TWO (2) YEARS since the petitioner to the declarat
In Illinois, every civil court case is filed with a unique docket number. Your cases's docket number will be written on every court order you receive. Additionally, each time you file a notice of motion, you will have to include the docket number for the case. For family law cases (Domestic Relations cases), every docket number will contain the
If you have failed to make child support payments on time, your driver's license can be suspended as part of a child support enforcement penalty. IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT A DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSION: If you believe that you have not fallen behind on your child support payments, you may be able to contest the suspension If you cannot work
A Certification for Exemption from E-Filing, if approved by the courts, allows you to file a petition or notice of motion on paper rather than doing so online (e-filing).You may qualify for an E-Filing exception if:You do NOT own or have access to a computer or a stable internet connectionYou have previously tried and were unable to e-file; orYou a
A fee waiver is an application open to those who cannot afford to pay court fees or any related legal fees, such as filing a petition or filing an appearance. You will need to have the following information to apply for a fee waiver: the public benefits you receive, such as LINK/SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, or SSI the amount income you earned last month,
Gestational surrogacy is the process through which a woman carries and gives birth to a child that was conceived through in vitro fertilization, with the intent to place said child in the care of another parent, referred to as the intended parent. In order to have a valid gestational surrogacy agreement, the intended parent must have made a geneti
A judicial child support order is a legally-binding child support order that is entered by a judge in court. This means that in order to modify, enforce, or terminate a judicial child support order, you will need to file a notice motion to the other parent and have your case heard by a judge.If you have a copy of your child support order, you can t
A marriage license is both the first step towards getting legally married in Illinois, as well as a document that confirms the legal marriage between two persons. In order to get married, you and your partner must first apply for a marriage license together at an approved location BEFORE solemnizing the marriage, which requires the following: pre
If a judge has ordered that you and your partner or spouse are legally separated, and you have experience a significant change in financial circumstances – such as a change in employment status or the additional presence of a mental or physical disability – you may be able to modify certain aspects of your legal separation agreement, including:temp
A parenting plan is a legally-binding document that orders the allocation of parental responsibilities (custody arrangement), parenting time (visitation rights), or both.The content of a parenting plan may include, but is not limited to the following information:which parent(s) has primary custody of the child(s)how much parenting time (visitation
Unallocated child support is a type of child support payment one can be ordered to pay or receive through a legally-binding child support order. If you are ordered to pay unallocated child support by a judge in court, all of your payments are tax-deductible.All other kinds of child support payments are NOT tax-deductible for the paying parent, nor