Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

My wife left me and took my kids. She was a stay at home. I don't make a ton of money, but it was enough to support our family. She left me for another man and hopped on a plane with our kids and flew 1200 miles away to be with the new guy. I had no recourse but to file for divorce and emergency return of the kids (My son has a chronic illness, so he needs to be with the doctors he's had for the past 3 years). The judge granted this and she was forced to return with them. Since then she has dragged her feed, filed new things and overall attempted to cost me as much possible. She also made allegations against me that I molested my daughter. This was disproven by a medical exam by a number of doctors and specialists as well as interviews by detectives. She's out to cause me the greatest possible destruction.

I had to drop my lawyer a few weeks ago because it's just SOO expensive. I just got my final bill from them and I'm now $20,000 in the hole. Early on in this process I told her I wanted to go to mediation to save money but she refused.

What are the odds that my debt can be assessed against her when we finalize the divorce? She is the cause of the debt. She forced me into filing or I wouldn't be able to see my kids, then she subsequently dragged things out and filed all sorts of extra stuff against me. Am I SOL? That's a lot of money and it's hard to face that amount plus child support now and my regular bills. At this rate I'll be paying that off for the next decade or two.

Please tell me she can be held responsible for some of it!!


Asked on 1/10/11, 2:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Shimberg Shimberg and Crohn, P.C.

Judges are hesitant to penalize a litigant for the positions they take during a case. However, if the judge believes that a party's positions and actions have been unreasonable and not based upon facts, then fees may be assessed against them. However, if she has no income or assets, it is a meaningless assessment.

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Answered on 1/16/11, 7:29 am


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