Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Disclosing change in children's health care costs

First of all, you stated you have an attorney. That attorney is in the best position to evaluate the facts. In general, as long as the children are covered by insurance, there should be not trouble. However, if your new insurance has a higher deductible or copayment, you could run into trouble.

You should also read the decree. Some divorce decrees include language which requires notification of insurance changes within X days or Y weeks.

If there is no such language, or other order of court requiring the disclosure of the change in insurance, you would likely only face a decrease in his payments towards insurance from the time he petitions the court for the information.

On another note, if his gambling debts are now paid off, you may be entitled to petition for an increase in support without proof of a raise.

If he is at all behind on his support, you can begin proceedings to catch him up on his arrearage, and in a backhanded way, find if he received a raise.

Again, you should consult your attorney for a definitive answer.

Disclosing change in children's health care costs

I notice that another attorney has responded to your question. His advice is sound. Please permit me to offer additional thoughts.

Your question raises many issues which you did not ask about, such as, why this father got a break the standard percentage of child support just because he has gambling debts. The kids get less so a casino can get more? Huh?

Your lawyer is right that seeking disclosure from the ex over and over again might be more costly than it�s worth. One the other hand, if the ex gets a big raise and you don�t learn about it for a couple of years, you lose the increased support for the period. (Absent a special exception, orders modifying child support cannot go back beyond the date the petition to modify was served on the obligor.)

There is a procedure called a �Citation to Discover Assets� which can be used to make a judgment debtor show up in court with relevant documents to testify about his financial situation. Each installment of child support is a judgment, so, if an obligor falls behind in a payment, the procedure is available to learn about his finances.

Oh, and the next time you file in court regarding child support, pray for an order of court requiring the ex to make appropriate periodic disclosures with any further request. I have seen orders which required the obligor to timely tender his tax returns, or required the obligor to notify the other parent withing ## days of any change of employment (or change of income of more than ##%).

With regard to your question about the insurance cost, I do not know the particular language of the order/decree/settlement-agreement so I am not certain about how his obligation to pay arises. For example, if the amount the ex pays for insurance was simply added to the total child support obligation, and he was ordered to pay this larger amount as child support, disclosure probably isn�t necessary. It�s more likely, however, that the controlling instrument says something like �obligor shall pay 50% of healthcare costs.� In such a case, it would be fraud to fail to tell him that healthcare costs had declined and take my than the court required.

The decree might also contain provisions regarding the disclosure of healthcare cost information before the obligation to contribute a percentage is operative.

This might be a good opportunity to cut a side-deal with the ex. Tell him that, in return for a court order requiring his periodic disclosure of income/employment, you will act to reduce the amount (not the percentage) of his obligation to pay healthcare. It he agrees, your lawyer could draft what is called an �agreed order� which is commonly entered by the court when both sides agree and the children are not negatively affected.