New maintenance formula fast approaching

Lawyers' Forum

By Margaret A. Bennett and Nancy C. Shafer

Margaret A. Bennett co-chairs the Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Section Council Maintenance and Child Support Committee and is a member and past chair of the Illinois Child Support Advisory Committee. She is a principal in Bennett Law Firm LLC in Oak Brook where she concentrates in family law. Nancy Chausow Shafer of Highland Park concentrates in matrimonial law, including litigation, mediation and collaboration. A frequent presenter and organizer at Continuing Legal Education programs, she is also the sales rep for Family Law Software, familylawsoftware.com.

Posted November 20, 2018 4:08 PM

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminates the “alimony deduction” effective Jan. 1. The loss of the deduction and the resulting favorable tax treatment afforded divorcing couples will now make divorce cases more difficult to settle.This was the only deduction elimination in the new act for which implementation was delayed.Attorney Matthew A. Kirsh of Kirsch & Associates said, “The loss of the alimony deduction will hurt divorcing families by making maintenance an after-tax payment, meaning there are …

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Judge offers guidance for avoiding federal ‘trap’ in med-mal case

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“The law that applies to this case is stated in these instructions, and it is your duty to follow all of them.” So states Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction 1.01(2), which the judge reads to the jurors in every criminal case before the jury begins its deliberations. If we expect jurors to follow the law, we surely must expect judges to lead by example and do the same thing.
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