Schwarz & Pucci

Is Your Child Support Correct?

Julia Pucci — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:57:13 +0000

Now that tax season is over (for most of us, except those in our office who procrastinated and shall remain unnamed) you should have a better understanding of your 2012 financial position, which means it is a smart time to assess your child support situation to determine whether you are receiving the correct amount or paying the correct amount.

If you are a custodial parent receiving child support, you should request copies of 2012 tax returns from the payor with all attendant documents (W2s, 1099s, K-1 statements, etc). Pucci | Pirtle’s standard Marital Settlement Agreements and Agreed Orders in paternity and parentage cases include language requiring the production of previous year’s returns by May 1^st of every year. If your settlement agreement or final judgment does not include this language, you can still request the documentation. If the payor is not willing to give it to you, you still have options. Whatever your situation is, give us a call today to ensure that you are receiving the appropriate amount of child support for your children.

If you are the payor of child support and the payee is requesting the above information from you, you may be facing a Petition to Increase Child Support – that is, if your income has increased since the last time child support was calculated. This can oftentimes be a confusing process, and you need to ensure that your net income is properly calculated because this is what your child support obligation is based upon. We have specific software that helps us make the appropriate calculations; call us today to discuss.

Meet Jordan!

Julia Pucci — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:04:29 +0000

And so you are able to match names with faces, we want to introduce Jordan, who has been with us for a few months. Jordan primarily works with Mr. Schwarz on his files, but I am sure many clients have talked to her regardless of attorney at this point. Jordan is a great addition to our team and came to us with more than ten years of experience in the legal field. She began her career in 2002 as a legal assistant for a medical malpractice firm in Chicago before moving to a law firm in Geneva focusing on criminal, traffic, DUI and family law as office manager/paralegal. Jordan devotes her free time to her children and grandchildren who are simply adorable!

Attorney Pirtle

Julia Pucci — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:05:29 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that Schwarz and Pucci is officially adding a third attorney; Julie Pirtle graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois College of Law in May of 2012. During law school, Ms. Pirtle was active in the Dooley Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, serving as the vice justice during her second year. Ms. Pirtle was also active in the Women’s Law Caucus and the Public Interest Law Society.

Ms. Pirtle began her career as an attorney with almost 10 years of family law experience. She has been employed in a family law firm since February, 2003. Ms. Pirtle worked for Schwarz & Pucci as Mr. Schwarz’s paralegal prior to attending law school and she also worked as a law clerk for Schwarz & Pucci during law school. Ms. Pirtle is proficient in legal research after having worked in the law library at NIU for two years. In addition, she worked as a 711 for the Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic in Rockford for a semester on various domestic violence and family law cases.

Please join us in welcoming Attorney Pirtle to the team – take my word for it, she is an extremely valuable addition and will without doubt positively affect our clients as she helps them through some of the toughest transitions they will face in their lives.

Local Tournament to Benefit St. Jude’s

Julia Pucci — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:46:22 +0000

Ben Pucci guards Taylor Colby during the tournament

Schwarz & Pucci, LLC was incredibly pleased to be able to support the annual Sean Toedman 3-on-3 Tournament to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital that took place this past weekend at Lion’s Park in East Dundee. Sean was a twelve-year old Elgin resident who ultimately lost his battle with brain cancer; the tournament was organized by Dundee residents Dave and Teresa Schultz and ultimately raised over $3000.00 for St. Jude’s. Not only was the play for a good cause, but the play was GOOD – with a lot of former local high-school standouts having teams. I encourage all local residents to come out and support this event next year, as I am sure each year it will become a larger event. For more on the event, check out the article in the Courier-News here http://couriernews.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/13312556-417/dundee-crown-trio-from-2009-state-placer-wins-3-on-3-charity-event.html.

Congratulations Julie on Your Law Degree!

Julia Pucci — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:30:24 +0000

(L-R) Attorney Pucci, Julie Pirtle, and Attorney Schwarz

We are excited to announce that our long-time staff member Julie Pirtle has graduated from Northern Illinois University Law School! Julie will be working part-time as a law clerk at the firm over the summer while she studies for and takes the Illinois Bar Exam in July. After July, she will be with us full-time and we could not be more pleased. Congratulations, again, Julie!

Defense of Marriage Act Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court

Julia Pucci — Thu, 31 May 2012 15:42:23 +0000

A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court. See the full article from MSNBC.com here.

Meet Kelly!

Julia Pucci — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:16:39 +0000

We had a photo shoot at the firm recently so that we could update our website pictures; our clients have heavy contact with almost all of the staff at Schwarz & Pucci, so we find it very important for them to be able to pair faces with those individuals whom they exchange frequent emails with or talk to over the phone.

First up is Kelly Zabran! Kelly came to us with twenty-eight years of extensive experience in the legal field. She began her career in 1984 as bookkeeper for a general practice law firm, and was an office manager before earning her paralegal certificate in 1992. She has worked in all areas of the law and has concentrated specifically in personal injury, worker’s compensation, small claims/collections, and family law. Kelly dedicates her free time to her family and attending her son’s many sporting events.

We are very lucky to have Kelly as an integral part of our framework here at Schwarz & Pucci!

Congratulations to Attorney Pucci on Being Appointed to the Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Section Council!

Julia Pucci — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:33:39 +0000

The staff at Schwarz & Pucci, LLC would like to announce that Julia A. Pucci has been appointed to serve on the Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Section Council for the 2012-2013 period. Per the website for the Illinois State Bar Association, the mission of the ISBA Family Law Section is as follows:

to encourage and support a high level of professional and ethical commitment and expertise among those who practice family law in all its substantive branches;
to remain sensitive to the changing needs and mores of families and individual family members in our society; and
to respond, through reasoned efforts directed toward the appropriate branch of government, and bar and/or the public;
to accomplish understanding of the law as it exists and is applied, or change of that law, where it is needed.

Serving on the Council is quite an honor, as committee members help to create seminars for continuing legal education, draft and review proposed and pending legislation, contribute to the Section newsletters and, overall, attempt to affect a positive difference in the overall legal community.

Congratulations again to Attorney Pucci!

- Julie Pirtle

Defense of Marriage Act Being Challenged…

Julia Pucci — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:59:43 +0000

In line (somewhat) with the topic of my last post, I came across this article today: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/03/11004440-gay-couples-where-spouse-is-a-foreigner-sue-over-doma

The current prediction is that this case is very likely to make it to the Supreme Court, bringing with it the hot-button issue of gay marriage.

Dissolution of a Civil Union in Kane, McHenry and DuPage Counties in Illinois

Julia Pucci — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:42:41 +0000

The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act is a short statute that creates a “civil union,” which is not a marriage in Illinois, but a status that is very much like a marriage. The statute makes no reference to gender, and in fact, opposite-sex couples can also obtain a civil union. The benefits of a civil union are like those of a marriage, and the requirements for obtaining one are few. So, if a civil union confers all of the benefits of marriage, the question (at least in our practice) then becomes: how do you dissolve one? Do you get a divorce? Well, no. But you must enter into a process very much like a divorce: a dissolution of a civil union. Just as in a marriage, parties to a civil union can move to dissolve the union in Illinois, or in another statute with the express consent of the jurisdiction of Illinois courts. And the procedure is generally the same. The process is started with an action entitled “In re the Civil Union of ___ and ___”. There are few differences between a dissolution of a civil union and a divorce; one issue is federal taxes. It is well-settled that the division of the marital estate incident to a divorce is not taxable to either party. However, the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage under federal law by defining marriage as between a husband and a wife. Further the DOMA allows states to enact legislation specifically denouncing same-sex marriages from other states. So what does this mean? Well, federal law is, obviously, far-reaching. Recent estimates state that over 1,138 federal rules or benefits use the word “spouse.” A Guide to the New Civil Union Law, Richard A. Wilson, IBJ May 2011. Therefore, upon a dissolution of a civil union, the “divorce is not a taxable event” rule under federal law does not apply. And under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, maintenance is taxable to the payee under Illinois and Federal law. But this benefit is not available to the payor of spousal support pursuant to a Judgment for Dissolution of a Civil Union. And, one more issue when dealing with a dissolution of a civil union should be mentioned: children. If parties to a civil union choose to have a child, by any means, the question of parentage remains unclear. Thus, it is wise to consult an attorney and obtain a determination of parentage in order to protect both parents’ rights.