Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Post- decree modifications

I see other lawyers have answered your question. Their advice is sound. Please permit me to add:

Questions such as those you ask often depend upon the language of your divorce decree (with a marital settlement and/or joint parenting agreement incorporated therein) including post-decree orders relating to custody. Your question about health insurance expenses is one of those types of questions. I am inclined to think that you would be responsible for �co-payments� in the same way you would be for �deductible� coverage, but the language of your decree could require a different result.

You can fix the state-of-visitation problem by petitioning the court for a modification to prior visitation provisions. See a lawyer on this.

The airline ticket question may turn on the language of prior court orders and agreement between the parties. There is no magic age for when a child can be deemed old enough to fly without a parent (or other personal adult attendant). Much depends upon the child�s needs and capacities, much depends on the nature of the air-connections (and who will drop off and/or pick-up, and at what points), and much depends upon the use of the airlines� unattended-child policies and their ability to care for unattended kids.

Re: Military

You must examine your divorce/custody decree to determine what your current position is regarding these issues.

1. Yes, you may file for modification of the decree to reflect your new situation and the court should adjust appropriately to reflect this.

2. Again you must look to your original decree to understand your exact position on this issue. This can also be addressed in a modification - to reflect any changes in your financial affairs which may include medical/dental costs.

3. Again, this can be addressed in the modification and brought before a judge who may make the ultimate decision. As for the age limit, individual airlines have policies regarding minors travelling.

Re: Military

The Illinois Marriage & Dissolution of Marriage Act allows for the modification of visitation privileges whenever there is a substantial change in circumstances and the modification is shown to be in the best interests of the children. Clearly relocating outside of the State of Illinois will automatically justify an adjustment in your visitation privileges. A petition must be filed with the Circuit Court in the same county which granted your dissolution of marriage requesting that relief.

In response to your second question, a substantial change in the financial circumstances of the parties will justify a modification in your child support obligation which would include a modification of your obligation to contribute to the medical and dental expenses for your child. By changing the insurance plan, a substantial change in circumstances may have been created which might justify a modification in the medical expense formula. However, once you open that door, you must produce evidence of your income and if your income has increased, your former spouse might be eligible to increase your child support obligation. My advice is to proceed with great caution on that issue.

Your third question deals with the transportation expense for exercising your summer visitation with your son. That would be governed by the terms of your Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage. If there is no provision covering transportation expenses, the usual result is that the court would weigh the financial hardships of both parties and would have the discretion to allocate transportation expenses between the parties. It is impossible for me to predict how that would come out without me knowing details regarding the relative financial circumstances between the parties. You must check with the airline to determine whether your son is old enough to fly on his own without a companion.

Best regards,

Michael T. Mahoney