DuPage County Family Law Blog

When people think of January they often think of cold weather, snow and New Year's Day. Apparently, however, January also brings thoughts of divorce to many couples. According to several studies, January is the most popular month for couples to choose to divorce, earning it the nickname "Divorce Month".

There are several theories as to why couples select the month of January to split. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season may put many divorces on hold during November and December. Those couples with children in particular may choose to stick it out through the end of the year for the sake of family gatherings and celebrations.

Statistics from the Daily Herald show that the number of delinquent child support cases handled by the state, and also the amount of child support funds owed to parents are increasing in the Chicago suburbs. The increase is reflective of the challenges people are facing in the economic downtown, which has made it more difficult for parents to make and collect child support payments.

The Daily Herald reports that the number of Illinois child support cases tracked by the state for late payments has risen faster in the Chicagoland area than the rest of the state. In DuPage County, the number of cases in arrears rose 48 percent from 2008 to 2010, with 9,000 cases being tracked for delinquent child support. In the same time period, the total amount of back child support owed in DuPage County alone increased by 36 percent, to more than $110 million. McHenry County also saw a significant increase of 66 percent, while Kane County saw a 24 percent rise.

In what some analysts call a rising trend, several states have recently passed laws requiring casinos to check for back child support owed by gamblers before giving them their winnings - minus any child support owed - at the casino cage. Illinois does not have such a law or program in place to recover past due child support payments, but some legislators say they are intent on passing such legislation next year.

Currently, five states divert gambling winnings from people who owe child support to the other parent of their children. According to the Chicago Tribune, the programs have collected almost $3 million in child support while avoiding placing significant burdens on casinos.

In a first-of-its-kind report released by the Census Bureau titled Marital Events of Americans: 2009, an analysis was conducted around marriage, divorce and widowhood in the United States. The data revealed some rather unexpected trends around marriage rates, divorce rates and geography.

Nationally, 19.1 weddings occurred per every 1,000 men and 17.6 per every 1,000 women. The divorce rate was 9.2 per 1,000 men and 9.7 per 1,000 women. Perhaps surprisingly to some, the South, which also has one of the highest rates of marriage in the United States, leads the country in divorces. The divorce rate in the South was 10.2 for men and 11.1 for women.

In contrast, there were both fewer marriages and fewer divorces in the Northeast. Researchers suggest that this may be because of the tendency of people in that region to marry later in life, which may decrease the chance of future marital conflict.

The Illinois divorce rate was equivalent between men and women with an average of 8.0 divorces per 1,000. This was found to be a statistically significant downward deviation from the national average. With regard to marriages, Illinois was also below the national average with 17.9 marriages per 1,000 men and 16.3 marriages per 1,000 women.