Section Newsletters

Articles From Hon. Arnold F. Blockman

The Impact of In Re Marriage of Tronsrue on the Equitable Division of Certain Federal Pensions and Payments By Judge Arnold F. Blockman, (ret.) Family Law, June 2026 There are certain federal pension and other payments that by federal statute and federal law are not divisible by state courts in family law proceedings, including military disability retirement payments, V.A. disability pensions, social security benefits, certain railroad retirement benefits, and other payments. However, the Illinois Supreme Court analyzes this issue in In re Marriage of Tronsrue, 2025 IL 130596.
Automatic Substitution of Judges: A Closer Look By Judge Arnold F. Blockman, (ret.) Family Law, July 2024 An analysis of the common practice of taking a substitution as of right to the assigned family law judge in a given case.
In re Marriage of Bostrom: Is It Something or Nothing? By Hon. Arnold F. Blockman, (ret.) Family Law, June 2023 A summary and analysis of In re Marriage of Bostrom.
Illinois Supreme Court reaffirms the continued viability of Eckert in relocation cases after the 2016 statutory amendments By Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, June 2019 In In re Marriage of Fatkin, the Illinois Supreme Court dealt for the first time with the parameters of relocation under the January 1, 2016, rewrite of the Dissolution Act.
In re Marriage of Hodges: Equitable estoppel revisited By Arnold F. Blockman General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, December 2018 A summary of In re Marriage of Hodges, in which the court found equitable estoppel to be a valid defense to an enforcement proceeding to collect a child support arrearage.
In re Marriage of Hodges: Equitable estoppel revisited By Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, September 2018 A summary of In re Marriage of Hodges, in which the court found equitable estoppel to be a valid defense to an enforcement proceeding to collect a child support arrearage.
Dissipation: Thinking outside the box By Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, June 2017 Let’s think outside the box and consider a number of areas where dissipation claims have been successfully asserted beyond the commonly accepted situations.
The perils of joint custody revisited under a new Act: Is it something or nothing? By Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, August 2016 A new Act went into effect January 1, 2017 abolishing joint custody (750 ILCS 5/600-5/611). This article will focus on the consequences of that Act as it pertains to what is now similar provisions to the old joint custody language.
1 comment (Most recent August 9, 2016)
In Re Marriage Of Perez: The perils of joint custody revisited By Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, June 2015 The bottom line from a reading of the Perez opinion is that just because a certain decision is not an abuse of discretion does not mean that it is a right decision or that the decision is in the best interest of the minor child.
The practical implications of In Re Marriage Of Mathis: A view from the battlefield By Hon. Arnold F. Blockman Family Law, June 2014 A look at the practical difficulties created by the Mathis decision for both lawyers and trial courts.

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