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Last year’s calendar might help in divorce court

On Behalf of | Jan 7, 2020 | Child Custody |

As January begins, many people in Illinois throw away their old calendars without a second thought. If a person is involved in a child custody case, however, last year’s calendar can be a key piece of evidence that shouldn’t be discarded. Calendars contain evidence of a child’s schedule, which may include vacations, sports trips, appointments and birthday parties.

Custody cases can be stressful for divorced parents. They often require assembling a lot of hard-to-quantify information. However, a calendar can help a parent to jog their memory if they are experiencing brain fog. Notes on a calendar that might seem like small details could become very important when trying to show how much child support is needed and how a custody schedule should be arranged.

Information written on a calendar could be crucial for child support negotiations that involve debates over expenses. For example, if the custodial parent can show that the child requires hotel stays for sports trips or has regular appointments with a medical specialist, the noncustodial parent may be ordered to pay more child support. Lifestyle expenses, like birthday parties and visits to expensive restaurants, can also be proven with a calendar.

Remembering dates/expenses and gathering evidence to prove these things can be stressful for a divorcing parent. An attorney may be able to help a divorcing parent make sure that they are fully prepared with evidence before each child custody hearing. If a parent is pursuing child support, an attorney could help the parent present evidence of all of the child’s expenses.