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Between 40 and 50 percent of married partners in the U.S. end up in divorce. Unfortunately, not only is divorce a legal technicality, it’s also an emotional roller coaster. You may find your soon-to-be-ex is more difficult to work with than you thought. This is not uncommon and there are tools to make divorce as smooth as possible.   Put Your Feelings Aside An emotional state can diminish your capacity to think clearly, impair your judgment and make rational decision making difficult or i...   Read more ...  

Even though Illinois law changed in 2016 to no longer use the word “custody,” including the phrase “sole custody” and “joint custody,” Illinois courts still have the authority to grant one parent sole decision-making responsibilities, if necessary. If you intend to petition the court as the parent responsible for making the sole decisions with your child, in Illinois, the court will only choose this arrangement if it serves the best interest of your child. Sole legal custody is idea...   Read more ...  

If you are thinking of mediating during your divorce, I often recommend it — but that was the topic of a previous post. During this article, I will explain what mediation is in the context of divorce disputes. I will also provide some procedural details from Lake County and Cook County, IL. This is general information, not legal advice. You would need to look at the specifics of your situation to know how to proceed in any legal matter. What Is Mediation? There is an Illinois Supreme Court rul...   Read more ...  

Summer break: that unstructured stretch of the year. Without proper planning, it has the potential to become a parenting debacle. In this article, I will discuss how an upcoming divorce might change current plans and set future guidelines for summer vacation custody, even if you and your spouse will no longer live close to each other. While reading, please keep in mind that this information is not intended as advice to apply to any specific case. Your final custody agreement should be the result...   Read more ...  

Divorces aren’t easy in the most straight-forward of circumstances, but they become significantly more complex when minor children are involved. That complexity increases when one parent seeks to relocate with the child. While there are steps that must be taken, under Illinois family law, there is recourse for divorced parents who need to relocate with their children. Under Illinois family law, relocating with children after a divorce is called removal, and it is a common issue in divorce case...   Read more ...  

  Published in the Wednesday, March 13, 2019 edition of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin   Recently, I attended a lecture before seeing the play “How to Catch Creation” at The Goodman Theatre. The lecturer discussed the history of child custody over the course of the last four centuries.   He illustrated how custody laws have shifted over time along with the prevailing attitudes in society about the roles we play as parents. The child custody laws from several hundred years ago...   Read more ...