CHICAGO DIVORCE LAWYER ARTICLES

“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

“[A]ll citizens are charged with knowledge of the law.” People v. Lander, 215 Ill. 2d 577, 588, 831 N.E.2d 596, 603 (2005)

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)

“Without legal authority, respondent’s argument is unconvincing.” Thomas v. Thomas, 2024 IL App (4th) 240289-U2

Search our extensive library of family law articles written for lawyers and non-lawyers alike:

Risky parenting and orders of protection in an Illinois divorce
Orders of Protection
Russell Knight

Does Bad Parenting Qualify As Abuse In An Illinois Divorce?

Some parents do really dumb things with their kids. It is possible that the dumb activity might be so dangerous or ill-conceived that the reckless activity may constitute abuse for the purpose of getting an order of protection against that parent. “In any proceeding to obtain an order of protection, the central inquiry is whether

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False Allegation to Illinois DCFS
Divorce

False Reports To DCFS In Illinois

Divorces are heated. Often, parents don’t agree on how to raise their children. Sometimes, parents, their relatives, and/or friends can even believe a child is in danger to the point where they call the authorities. In Illinois, the Department of Children And Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for investigating the possible endangerment of a child.

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Lies in an Illinois Order of Protection
Orders of Protection

False Statements In An Illinois Petition For Order Of Protection

Divorces in Illinois can often start with a bang. Specifically, one party can make horrible accusations about the other party in a Petition for Order of Protection. A Petition for Order of Protection can be granted on an emergency basis causing one spouse to be immediately awarded use of the marital home and physical custody

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When does child support end in Illinois
Child Support

Illinois Child Support Laws After Age 18

Child support is money to help support the care and raising of a child.  In Illinois, when does a child stop being a child and therefore stop needing support? What is a parent’s duty to a child as the child continues to age? What are the Illinois child support laws after age 18? The Illinois

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terminate parental rights in Illinois
Child Support

Signing Away Rights As A Parent In Illinois

Parents often come to me and ask if the other parent can simply “sign away their rights” and essentially have no further responsibility or right to their child. I’m not sure why they think a signature is all it takes to terminate a parent-child relationship…because that’s definitely not how it works in Illinois. There are

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Different kinds of attorney's fees in an Illinois divorce
Uncategorized

Defending A Petition For Attorney’s Fees In An Illinois Divorce

Divorce lawyers are expensive. What’s worse, you may have to pay for your spouse’s divorce lawyer via court order. You may be ordered to pay attorney’s fees if you are the spouse who controls the marital assets, is earning more or is just taking a principled stand that the court does not agree with. If

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Business partners including themselves in an Illinois divorce
Divorce

Fiduciary Duty And Divorce In Illinois

When you are married to someone you have a lot of mutual responsibilities to each other. It is up to you both to resolve those responsibilities. If you cannot resolve your mutual responsibilities, you file for divorce and, in Illinois, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act outlines what happens as you dissolve your

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Foreign Marriage And Divorce In Illinois
Divorce

Foreign Marriage and Divorce in Illinois

People get married all over the world and then come to Illinois to live.  Often, along the way, those same people try to get divorced.  So, if you’re married in a foreign country, can you get divorced in Illinois? How do foreign marriages get treated under Illinois divorce law? Firstly, you do not have to

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Assuming a mortgage after an Illinois divorce
Marital Property

Mortgage Assumption In An Illinois Divorce

For forty years it was simple to get your spouse off your mortgage so you could keep the marital home after an Illinois divorce. The spouse that kept the marital house would refinance the mortgage. Some of the debt would have been paid off and mortgage rates were typically lower than they were when the

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Can you force your spouse to see a psychiatrist?
Discovery

Mental Examinations In An Illinois Divorce

As a divorce attorney, I have been told many times by potential clients that “my spouse is crazy.” Are all these spouses really mentally ill? We can always find out if a spouse has mental health issues using Illinois law. “Information is obtainable as provided in these rules through any of the following discovery methods:

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Forcing The Sale Of An Asset In An Illinois Divorce
Marital Property

Forcing The Sale Of A Home, Business Or Asset In An Illinois Divorce

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 divorce, non-marital property automatically goes to the spouse who owns that property. “[T]he court shall assign each spouse’s non-marital property

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Motion to quash subpoena
Discovery

Quashing A Subpoena In An Illinois Divorce

A divorce represents a complete breakdown of trust between the two parties in a marriage. Due to this lack of trust, the parties involved in a divorce often need to verify information through third parties. The information requiring verification might include the parties’ income, assets, or even late-night activities. The requests for information are allowable

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Guardianship vs. Power of Attorney in Illinois
Uncategorized

Power Of Attorney vs. Guardianship In Illinois

Whether it’s medical treatment or managing their money, people who become disabled need someone to help them make big, complicated decisions. In Illinois, the concepts of Power of Attorney and guardianship allow a person to appoint or have appointed for them a person who can handle their affairs. Power of Attorney and guardianship are two

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Trial Separation preparation for divorce
Illinois Law

Trial Separation And Divorce In Illinois

Divorce is a big step. Many couples will separate with the explicit option that they may, in fact, get back together. A non-permanent separation is called a trial separation. Some therapists will recommend trial separation in order to allow each member of the marriage think clearly about the future of the relationship. Trial separations, by

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When Is Divorce Mediation Not Recommended?
Mediation

When is Divorce Mediation Not Recommended?

In a perfect world there would be no divorce lawyers. At the end of their relationship, people would simply go to a mediator who would calmly and rationally divide their assets, calculate support and determine parenting time. While some divorcing couples do use mediators to finalize the terms of their divorce, the majority of divorcing

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Birth certificates and paternity in Illinois
Paternity

Does The Birth Certificate Determine Who The Father Is In Illinois?

There is a lot of folk wisdom out there that people assume is true with little to no evidence beyond “it sounds true.” One presumption is that if a man is listed on a birth certificate as the child’s father, he will be deemed the father of that child. In Illinois, while the listing of

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Trust Accounts And Marital Assets In Illinois
Illinois Law

Trusts And Marital Assets In An Illinois Divorce

I recently saw an advertisement on Facebook that said, “Protect your assets in a divorce with a trust.” Hmm. I am a divorce lawyer who is obsessed with divorce law and strategy. Why had I not heard that a pending divorce could be resolved by simply transferring all of one’s property into a trust? What

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