Refreshing A Witness’s Recollection In An Illinois Divorce Trial
Divorce trials are high-pressure environments. No amount of practice will guarantee that a witness will say exactly the right thing. The court system is conscious
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
“The rules of court we have promulgated are not aspirational. They are not suggestions. They have the force of law, and the presumption must be that they will be obeyed and enforced as written.” Bright v. Dicke, 652 N.E.2d 275 (1995)
“[E]veryone is presumed to know the law and ignorance of the law excuses no one” Jones v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, 2013 IL App (1st) 122437
“Mere contentions, without argument or citation of authority, do not merit consideration…and are waived” First National Bank of LaGrange v. Lowrey, 375 Ill. App. 3d 181, 207, 872 N.E.2d 447, 473 (2007)
“If a party does not offer any argument or meaningful authority in support of an argument, the argument is forfeited. ” Abbinanti v. Presence Cent. & Suburban Hosps. Network, No. 2-21-0763, 8 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021)
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Divorce trials are high-pressure environments. No amount of practice will guarantee that a witness will say exactly the right thing. The court system is conscious
People get divorced because they cannot communicate and/or cannot rely upon each other. The family law system then expects those parties to come to a full agreement on all issues…and follow that agreement to a
Because of the portrayal of trials in movies, it is considered common for a witness to finally admit some horrible, damning fact in open court that resolves the case in its entirety (“You can’t handle
An Illinois divorce divides a couple’s property. Property is either deemed “marital” or “non-marital” by an Illinois court in order to determine whether a court can distribute that property between the parties. In an Illinois
The internet is full of chatter about divorce. The latest buzzword in the internet divorce community is the “silver bullet divorce” A silver bullet divorce is a divorce that starts with an emergency order of
Divorce is unpleasant. Most people put off divorce issues…even during the divorce. In fact, financial issues can be reserved to be addressed later should the parties agree or the court determines that reserving a financial
Everything matters in an Illinois divorce…until it does not. Divorce courts deal with issues brought forward by the parties and the courts do their best to eliminate those issues via temporary orders and settlements between
After a divorce, people move on. After a divorce, former spouses date and marry other people. Sometimes, they move very, very far away to date or marry other people. Good luck to those who have
There is probably no more thankless job than being a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in an Illinois divorce. “A GAL is the ‘eyes and ears’ of the court.” In re Marriage of Wycoff, 266 Ill.
In Illinois, a prenuptial agreement, also known as a premarital contract, is a contract between two soon-to-be-married people. “’Premarital agreement’ means an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective
The point of going to court is to get orders. The parties are then bound by those orders. The future is then as predictable as the orders are clear. If the instructions on the court
Even the best Marital Settlement Agreement will leave a divorced spouse wondering “was there something missing?” To temper that doubt, good divorce attorneys put a “finders keepers clause” in their Marital Settlement Agreements. A finders
95% of divorces are finalized by agreement. Those agreements are memorialized by contracts between the parties called a Marital Settlement Agreement and/or an Allocation of Parenting Time and Parental Responsibilities. Divorce Agreements Are Contracts In
Lawyers love legal buzzwords. I know I do. Perhaps no buzzword is as frequently misused as “judicial economy” in Illinois’ divorce court proceedings. If you are ever in an Illinois divorce court and you hear
Divorce lawyers are expensive. Divorce lawyers are expensive because the stakes are so high that expertise in the substantive law and those laws’ procedures are necessary in order to get a favorable outcome. The alternative
People who are married support each other. People who are divorced in Illinois end up supporting each other as well. Divorced people support each other via court order. “In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage…the
All parents say they want time with their children. But not all parents actually spend the time they are court ordered to have with their children. What happens when a parent skips the parenting time
Divorce lawyers are there to advise their clients. A lawyer should kindly walk their client through the divorce case with strong opinions about what the client should do. In the end, the decision to settle
At the end of an Illinois divorce, the two divorced parties will have a variety of obligations to each other. A Marital Settlement Agreement may specify a transfer of deeds, car titles, support payments and
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