Other Areas of Practice
There are several types of custody: joint, sole, shared and split custody. They are explained below. Following those explanations are some general words about custody trials.
Child support is generally expressed in a fixed dollar amount that may be increased or decreased until a child is age 18 or graduates high school, unless the child has special needs (e.g. autism), in which case support may be extended beyond age 18.
Maintenance is spousal support, formerly known as alimony. In certain cases, maintenance is neither sought nor awarded. For example, in a short-term marriage in which the earnings of both parties are substantially the same, it is doubtful maintenance would be awarded.
Vincent Ruggiero has represented mothers, fathers, grandparents and children in over a hundred paternity cases -- whether those cases have been contested or uncontested.
In Illinois, a legal separation is sometimes used when spouses wish to remain married, at least technically, but they also wish to financially and residentially be separated.
A premarital agreement sets forth the rights and obligations of each spouse in the event of a divorce and may protect the intended inheritance of children from a previous relationship. These agreements are becoming increasingly used and, if drafted properly, are almost always enforced.
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