Divorces are heated. Often, parents don’t agree on how to raise their children. Sometimes, parents, their relatives, and/or friends can even believe a child is in danger to the point where they call the authorities. In Illinois, the Department of Children And Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for investigating the possible endangerment of a child. What happens if the report to DCFS is false? What are the consequences for the reporter and the reported parent? What Happens When DCFS Receives A Report? When DCFS receives a report they are obligated to investigate the allegations and, if necessary, act on those allegations. “The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services shall, upon receiving reports made under this Act, protect the health, safety, and best interests of the child in all situations in which the child is vulnerable to child abuse or neglect, offer protective services in order to prevent any further harm to the child and to other children in the same environment or family, stabilize the home environment, and preserve family life whenever possible.” 325 ILCS 5/2 Upon receipt of a report, “the Department shall determine whether to conduct a family assessment or an investigation as appropriate to prevent or provide a remedy for child abuse or neglect.” 325 ILCS 5/7.4(a-5) So, there are two courses of action DCFS can take upon receipt of a report: 1) family assessment and 2) investigation. ”[F]amily assessment” means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and needs that is applied to a child maltreatment report that does not allege substantial child endangerment. “Family assessment” does not include a determination as to whether child maltreatment occurred but does determine the need for services to address the safety of family members and the risk of subsequent maltreatment.” 325 ILCS 5/7.4(a-5) Family assessments are a former an offer of help to the parents of the child. In a family assessment, there are no findings of abuse or subsequent steps if that help is refused. An investigation is an inquiry, not just an offer of help. “”[I]nvestigation” means fact-gathering related to the current safety of a child and the risk of subsequent abuse or neglect that determines whether a report of suspected child abuse or neglect should be indicated or unfounded and whether child protective services are needed.” 325 ILCS 5/7.4 If abuse gets discovered after the investigation, that investigation’s findings […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/false-reports-to-dcfs-in-illinois/
Monday, January 13, 2025
False Statements In An Illinois Petition For Order Of Protection
Divorces in Illinois can often start with a bang. Specifically, one party can make horrible accusations about the other party in a Petition for Order of Protection. A Petition for Order of Protection can be granted on an emergency basis causing one spouse to be immediately awarded use of the marital home and physical custody of the children. Because the stakes are so high and the incentives so strong, parties to an Illinois divorce may be tempted to stretch the truth in the allegations listed in their Petition for Order of Protection. Lying in a Petition for an Illinois Order of Protection is a big problem. Not only will it cause the Petition for Order of Protection to be denied…it can also cause the party defending the Petition for Order of Protection to be awarded attorney’s fees as a punishment. “Untrue statements. Allegations and denials, made without reasonable cause and found to be untrue, shall subject the party pleading them to the payment of reasonable expenses actually incurred by the other party by reason of the untrue pleading, together with a reasonable attorney’s fee, to be summarily taxed by the court upon motion made within 30 days of the judgment or dismissal, as provided in Supreme Court Rule 137.” 750 ILCS 60/266 There are two elements to find liability for attorney’s fees for untrue statements in a Petition for Order Of Protection: 1) that they were “made without reasonable cause AND found to be untrue.” Just stating false allegations is not enough. The allegations also had to be unreasonable at the time they were made. The allegedly false alleger can simply say “I believed those allegations were true at the time. Here’s why I thought that.” The statute does not say whether the “reasonable cause” must be objectively or subjectively reasonable. Do any lawyers reading think we have a strict scrutiny vague statute? In addition to 750 ILCS 60/266, there is Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 which forbids false allegations in ANY pleading and allows attorney’s fees caused by said false signed allegations. “The signature of an attorney or party constitutes a certificate by him that he has read the pleading, motion or other document; that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good-faith argument for the extension, modification, or […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/false-statements-in-an-illinois-petition-for-order-of-protection/
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/false-statements-in-an-illinois-petition-for-order-of-protection/
Illinois Child Support Laws After Age 18
Child support is money to help support the care and raising of a child. In Illinois, when does a child stop being a child and therefore stop needing support? What is a parent’s duty to a child as the child continues to age? What are the Illinois child support laws after age 18? The Illinois statute defines a child for the purposes of child support. “[T]he term “child” shall include any child under age 18 and any child age 19 or younger who is still attending high school.” 750 ILCS 5/505(a) There’s the rule. Child support continues in Illinois until the child turns 18 and, if the child is still in high school until the child graduates from high school or turns 19, whichever comes first. Every child support order in Illinois even requires that the child support termination date be included in the that child support order. “An order for support shall include a date on which the current support obligation terminates. The termination date shall be no earlier than the date on which the child covered by the order will attain the age of 18. However, if the child will not graduate from high school until after attaining the age of 18, then the termination date shall be no earlier than the earlier of the date on which the child’s high school graduation will occur or the date on which the child will attain the age of 19.” 750 ILCS 5/505(g) Without a termination date on some orders, child support continues until a motion to modify support is filed. “An order for child support may be modified as follows: (1) upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances” 750 ILCS 5/510(a) The child reaching the age of majority and/or graduating from high school is certainly a substantial change in circumstances. Is Child Support Ever Extended Beyond Age 18 or 19 in Illinois? Yes. If your child is significantly disabled you will have an obligation until that child overcomes their disability. “The court may award sums of money out of the property and income of either or both parties or the estate of a deceased parent, as equity may require, for the support of a child of the parties who has attained majority when the child is mentally or physically disabled and not otherwise emancipated. *** An application for support for a non-minor disabled child may be […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/illinois-child-support-laws-after-age-18/
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/illinois-child-support-laws-after-age-18/
Signing Away Rights As A Parent In Illinois
Parents often come to me and ask if the other parent can simply “sign away their rights” and essentially have no further responsibility or right to their child. I’m not sure why they think a signature is all it takes to terminate a parent-child relationship…because that’s definitely not how it works in Illinois. There are many different ways to relieve a parent of their obligations and rights to their children. Some of those ways are permanent, some of those ways are temporary. Signing Away Visitation Rights And Child Support In Illinois By far the simplest way to eliminate duties and visitation with a child is to simply sign an Allocation of Parental Responsibilities where one parent has no decision-making authority in regards to the child and has no time with the child. In addition, the parents can further sever the parent-child relationship by “reserving child support.” Both of these options are temporary in nature. The non-custodial parent can allege a substantial change in circumstances at any time claiming that it would be in the child’s best interests to begin or resume parenting time with the child. This won’t be granted automatically…but after a request for parenting time even the most absent parent will eventually have some kind of parenting time granted. Child support can be reserved by agreement only if the judge allows for it. Some judges are so concerned for the well-being of the child that they insist on setting child support. Those judges need to be reminded that while there is a “duty of child support” under the Illinois statute, it is not mandatory to set child support in Illinois. “[T]he court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child of the marriage or civil union to pay an amount reasonable and necessary for support.” 750 ILCS 5/505(a) (emphasis is mine) Judges still must approve any reservation. You cannot just tell the judge, “This is our agreement. Stamp the order!” “[P]arents may create an enforceable agreement for modification of child support only by petitioning the court for support modification and then establishing, to the satisfaction of the court, that an agreement reached between the parents is in accord with the best interests of the children” Blisset v. Blisset, 526 NE 2d 125 – Ill: Supreme Court 1988 Something that is reserved can be quickly un-reserved by either party. If child support is […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/signing-away-rights-as-a-parent-in-illinois/
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/signing-away-rights-as-a-parent-in-illinois/
Tenants In Common, Joint Tenants, and Tenants In The Entirety In An Illinois Divorce
Being married means starting a life together. For most people, that means owning property together in furtherance of building a home and a family. That real estate can be held in a variety of ways based on how the deed to the real estate is conveyed to the married couple. In Illinois, property can be held as tenants in common, joint tenants and tenants by the entirety. These labels on the jointly held property impact what happens to the property in life, death and (sometimes) divorce. Deeds determine how property is held. What is written on the deed will matter, not what the parties intended. “The deed was unambiguous and its legal effect cannot be changed by parol evidence that it was intended to have a legal operation different from that which would be imported by its terms.” Jackson v. O’CONNELL, 177 NE 2d 194 – Ill: Supreme Court 1961 Tenants In Common In Illinois If a property is owned by two or more people, property will be held as “tenants in common” unless otherwise stated. All lands “held or claimed under any grant, legacy or conveyance” are held in tenancy in common unless the premises are expressly declared to pass “not in tenancy in common but in joint tenancy” 765 ILCS 1005/1c Holding a property together only lasts as long as both parties want to hold the property together. “In Illinois…the owner of property has an absolute right to dispose of his property during his lifetime in any manner he sees fit” Johnson v. La Grange State Bank, 383 NE 2d 185 – Ill: Supreme Court 1978 When one party dies and the property was held as tenants in common, that party’s share of the property will go to whomever the deceased’s will bequeaths the property to. Joint Tenancy In Illinois Holding a property in joint tenancy allows the property to remain with the surviving joint tenant after the death of the other party without any fear of the deceased’s share being given away. “A joint tenancy is an estate that two or more individuals hold jointly with equal rights.” Gayton v. Kovanda, 857 NE 2d 929 – Ill: Appellate Court, 1st Dist., 3rd Div. 2006 “[A]n intrinsic feature of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, which entitles the last surviving tenant to take the entire estate” Sathoff v. Sutterer, 869 NE 2d 354 – Ill: Appellate Court, […]
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/tenants-in-common-joint-tenants-and-tenants-in-the-entirety-in-an-illinois-divorce/
from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/tenants-in-common-joint-tenants-and-tenants-in-the-entirety-in-an-illinois-divorce/
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