Category Archives: Illinois Family Law Attorneys

Valuing & Dividing the Family Business

When a couple is going through a divorce, one of the most difficult parts of the process is often asset division especially if a family business is involved,. The intricacies of evaluating a business can make the process of property division quite complex. If possible, having clauses in your business agreement to deal with this can help avoid problems down the road. However, if itContinue reading

The Dangers of an Over-Aggressive Lawyer in Divorce

When you are faced with the possibility of divorce, you will need to choose a lawyer to help you through the process. While there is nothing in the law that requires you to hire legal counsel, navigating a divorce on your own is almost never a good idea. Selecting the right attorney, for most people, means finding a capable professional with whom they share values andContinue reading

Drafting Your Own Divorce Settlement

For many couples, divorce is not the acrimonious war so often depicted in television and movies. That is not to say, of course, that contentious divorces do not exist; there are just many more amicable situations than most people would probably expect. In a large number of situations, especially with the proliferation of no-fault divorce, in which both spouses fully agree that divorce is the right optionContinue reading

Cohabitation Can End a Spousal Maintenance Requirement

After a divorce, one party may be required to make spousal maintenance payments to the other for a designated period of time. Sometimes called alimony, spousal maintenance is intended to help offset the financial impact of divorce to a spouse who, in many cases, seeking to regain independence and self-sufficiency. Most court-ordered support awards include a provision regarding the duration of payments, either for a limited numberContinue reading

Back to School for Children of Divorced Parents: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Summer has come to an end and the new school year is underway. This time of year can be challenging for any parent, as you will probably need to adjust to a new schedule, work through school-related stresses with your child, and get used to simply getting your child out of bed earlier in the morning. If you are a divorced or single parent, however,Continue reading

Understanding Your Child Support Responsibilities

If you are in in the process of getting divorced or separating from your child’s other parent, you probably realize that an order for child support is probably forthcoming. It is especially likely if the other parent has been granted primary residential custody. While, under Illinois law, both parents can potentially ordered to pay support, the vast majority of cases see the non-custodial parent paying support toContinue reading

U.S. Continues to Work Through Issues Regarding Same-Sex Marriage

In the state of Illinois, same-sex marriage was officially legalized last year. Legislative efforts and the resulting Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act have allowed same-sex partners to marry since June 2014 in Illinois, but the rest of the nation has not been so quick to follow suit. Even following the landmark U.S Supreme Court decision this past summer which struck down same-sex marriage bans, some partsContinue reading

New Law Ends At-Fault Divorce and Reduces Separation Periods

A few weeks ago, a post on this blog discussed a newly signed law that promises to bring sweeping changes to the application of family law provisions in the state of Illinois. In addition to the major updates regarding parental relocation and child removal, as covered in that post, the new law—originally introduced as Senate Bill 57—also revamps the existing statutes related to divorce. Set to take effectContinue reading

Noted Author’s Case Brings Attention to Problem of Elder Abuse

Earlier this year, the literary world was abuzz with the news that, after more than a half century, author Harper Lee was set to release her second book. Unfortunately, however, public excitement was tempered by rumors and allegations of elder abuse against the aging writer by those who stood to profit from the book’s release. Exciting Announcement  According to reports, the manuscript for Go Set a Watchman was writtenContinue reading

Forensic Accountants and the Divorce Process

In today’s media-driven society, the word “forensic” probably brings to mind episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or mini-documentaries like The FBI Files. Of course, forensic investigations certainly include the white-coated technicians equipped with blacklights, microscopes, and DNA-analyzing technology, but forensic science encompasses much more than crime scenes and lab work. Forensic scientists are trained to gather, analyze, and categorize pieces of evidence or information related to theContinue reading