Ramsey v. Ramsey

Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided August 24, 2026·No. 5-25-0393·Unpublished

Opinion

NOTICE

2026 IL App (5th) 250393-U NOTICE

Decision filed 08/24/26. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-25-0393 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to not precedent except in the the filing of a Petition for IN THE limited circumstances allowed Rehearing or the disposition of under Rule 23(e)(1).

the same.

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT

MICHAEL L. RAMSEY, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of

Petitioner-Appellee, ) Madison County.

)

v. ) No. 12-F-263 )

KATHLEEN P. RAMSEY, ) Honorable ) Janet R. Heflin,

Respondent-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding.

JUSTICE McHANEY delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Boie and Vaughan concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in terminating petitioner’s child support obligation to respondent and enforcing the college expenses provision of the parties’ divorce decree. Additionally, the court did not abuse its discretion in awarding petitioner reimbursement for overpaid child support, respondent’s share of college expenses, and attorney fees. The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.

¶2 Respondent, Kathleen P. Ramsey, appeals pro se 1 from the Madison County circuit court’s order of April 9, 2024, terminating petitioner, Michael L. Ramsey’s child support obligation and enforcing the college expenses provision of the parties’ divorce decree. She further appeals from the circuit court’s April 29, 2025, order denying her motion to reconsider. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

1

Respondent was represented by counsel at times below, but she represented herself pro se when the circuit court entered its April 9, 2024, and April 29, 2025, orders.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 The parties were married on January 13, 2000. They had two children, Joseph Ramsey (born in 2002) and John Ramsey (born in 2005). On March 24, 2010, the Chancery Court of Madison County, Mississippi, entered a judgment of divorce, incorporating a divorce agreement between the parties dated June 29, 2009 (hereafter, divorce decree).

¶5 The divorce decree provided, inter alia, that the parties would share joint legal custody of the children and that respondent would have sole physical custody of them. Petitioner had to pay respondent $1,500 per month in child support until each child reached the age of 21 or otherwise became emancipated or self-supporting. Additionally, the parties had to equally share college education expenses “until each child graduate[d] from college upon the receipt of a bachelor’s degree, including semesters of enrollment after the child reache[d] the age of majority, but not more than the traditional four years tenure.” These expenses included registration fees, tuition, activity fees, laboratory fees, books, and reasonable travel costs. Meanwhile, the parties relocated to Illinois.

¶6 On May 10, 2012, petitioner filed a petition for registration of a foreign judgment in the circuit court, asserting he had been a resident of Madison County, Illinois, for more than 90 days and that neither party remained a resident of Madison County, Mississippi. Petitioner therefore asked the circuit court to register the parties’ divorce judgment in Illinois for purposes of modification and enforcement. Respondent did not object to the petition. Instead, she filed petitions to modify visitation and child support, respectively, on May 31, 2012. Respondent sought, among other things, an increase in monthly child support due to a substantial change in circumstances. Specifically, she alleged that petitioner was earning more money, that the

children’s expenses were greater, and that there had been a substantial increase in the cost of living since the parties’ divorce judgment was entered in 2010.

¶7 On January 11, 2013, the circuit court entered a modification order. In its order, the circuit court initially noted that respondent did not contest the jurisdiction of Madison County, Illinois, and that she had petitioned the court to modify visitation and child support. The court further noted that the parties had participated in mediation and reached an agreement on the outstanding issues. The court then ordered, as relevant here, petitioner to pay respondent “28% as per the Illinois guideline,” or $939.98 every two weeks, in child support.

¶8 On August 30, 2023, petitioner filed a motion to terminate child support, asserting that both children had reached the age of majority, 18 years old, under Illinois law, and they had graduated from high school. The same day, petitioner also filed a motion to enforce the parties’ divorce decree insofar as it required them to “pay equal shares” of the children’s college education costs. Petitioner asserted that respondent had not contributed to the costs associated with their eldest son’s college education at Lewis and Clark Community College, and she had not indicated whether she would contribute to their younger son’s college education at the University of Missouri, also known as Mizzou, which had already begun. Consequently, petitioner had to advance both parties’ portions of the college-related expenses since respondent had failed to contribute. Accordingly, he sought reimbursement from respondent for her share of the college education costs, as well as attorney fees that he incurred in filing the motion to enforce.

¶9 Respondent proceeded to file several pro se pleadings, including multiple motions “to Correct Clerical Error” where she claimed the circuit court incorrectly referred to her as a “pro se” litigant. Additionally, she filed a “Motion for Entry of Order Providing for Confidential Information Court Filing Financial Affidavit (Family & Divorse [sic] Cases) Pursuant to Supreme

Court Rule 138” where she sought to file certain documents confidentially. Respondent filed a “Motion to Dismiss Motion to Enforce,” asserting, inter alia, that pursuant to the divorce decree, petitioner had to pay child support until the children reached 21 years of age, along with increased child support “retroactive” to January of 2022. She further filed a “Motion to Request Oath of Office,” seeking a copy of the circuit court judge’s oath of office, as well as an “Updated Motion to Compel Enforcement of Agreement and Petition to Modification of Child Support,” seeking to enforce the divorce decree as it related to child support, among other things. Last, respondent filed a largely incoherent “Updated Motion to Compel Enforcement of Beneficiary Request to Trustee” wherein she sought $432,200 from a “Trustee” and/or the “Clerk of Court.”

¶ 10 A trial on the parties’ motions commenced on February 22, 2024. Briefly stated, petitioner testified that he was moving to terminate his child support obligation to respondent since their children were 18 years of age or older and had both graduated from high school. Additionally, he was seeking reimbursement for the child support he had paid since he filed his motion to terminate support. Petitioner further testified that he had paid college-related expenses for both children and was seeking reimbursement from respondent for her share of those expenses. Respondent testified that she could not afford the children’s college education costs since she was unemployed and living off her 401(k) and a home equity line of credit (HELOC). She also claimed that petitioner verbally agreed to pay for at least one of their son’s college expenses to date.

¶ 11 The circuit court entered a written order and judgment on April 9, 2024. 2 Initially, the court rejected respondent’s arguments that petitioner had to pay child support until the children reached the age of 21, as will be discussed more below. The court therefore effectively denied respondent’s

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