A good parent’s worst nightmare might be dying and leaving the children to an absent, neglectful or even abusive parent. The saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink”. The same can be said of some parents. The biology of becoming a parent is easy, but biology does not make…
One of the primary sources of conflict in marriage is money. Two people who are used to controlling and managing their own spending decisions do not always see eye to eye. It takes some real effort to learn to trust each other and to find the balance and compromise. One spouse may be overly controlling.…
“For most people who go through divorce, it’s not easy to get along for the sake of the children, because if it were easy, they might not have gotten a divorce in the first place. Yet, I’m convinced that the couples who divorce who make a conscious decision to be amicable partners in co-parenting have…
Choosing a lawyer for divorce is a significant undertaking. The practice of medicine and the practice of law are two of the three original professions dating back to medieval times (along with divinity). The professional ideals include a high degree of public trust, integrity and learning. It only makes sense that those hallmarks that should be…
Tax time is a wonderful time of year. You gather up all of your W-2’s and 1099s. Your box of receipts gets dumped out, and you start to sort through what can be deducted and what cannot be deducted. As you start to complete your tax return, you are thankful for the deductions your children…
Like a car engine, child support determination in Illinois is often a mechanical process, but not everyone understands how a car engine runs. Although I am the son of a mechanic, I know very little about cars. In the same way, not everyone understands how child support is calculated in Illinois. The purpose of this…
In today’s society, it is not unusual to find children living with grandparents, aunts, uncles or even friends. Sometime the children’s biological parents are in and out of the children’s lives, maybe even more out then in. These circumstances can be temporary, but they are often permanent or grow into permanent arrangements. In these situations, the natural…
The amount and/or percentage of a parent’s obligation for contribution to their children’s college expenses is a matter often left undetermined in a divorce settlement or judgment for dissolution of marriage. Unless the parties have agreed in advance to the allocation of the expenses, one of three situations is present: 1) the settlement agreement or…
Every new year brings new laws and amendments to old laws. One law that has gone through many changes over the years is the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). Beginning January 1, 2014, the State Legislature has forged a new tool that is now available to protect the best interests of children and to encourage…
Most people have a picture of the court process in their minds that is a composite of all of the courtroom dramas watched on the big screen and the little screen, from “To Kill a Mockingbird” to “Boston Legal”. Most people understand that picture is a caricature but do not understand what the real court…