Over my many years of specializing in family law I have handled thousands of divorces. These have run from very simple, uncontested matters to complicated cases. Many involve custody and other disputes regarding children. I have also had divorces where people have fought over millions of dollars in [...]
Are you stuck in a bitter divorce fight?
Couples often get caught up with their perceived injustices in the divorce settlement negotiations. The disdain that they personally have for each other usually just adds fuel to the fire when negotiating.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we believe to be right that we [...]
As a divorce lawyer for the past 17 years, I get to meet and speak to dozens of people every week regarding their relationships and the problems they encounter in their marriages. Having counseled thousands of people, I am privy to both the underbelly of marriage and divorce. In the same [...]
In my almost 28 years on the bench — most of which I spent presiding over family matters in the Circuit Court of Lake County in Waukegan — I had a front-row seat for an amazing display of human nature. I met families in crisis, parents in stress, and children in trouble. They [...]
In today’s economic environment, it is a very difficult decision to opt for a divorce and end a dysfunctional relationship. Today there can be enough stress in people’s lives to make them hesitant to compound that problem by adding the stress of a divorce. However, there is a proven and slowly [...]
Myth: Mediation allows one spouse to dominate another.
Fact: A good mediator pays close attention to the power balance between the spouses and uses specific techniques to address any imbalance. If one spouse persists in dominating behavior, the mediator will call a stop to the mediation rather than allowing it to continue. One caveat: [...]
Q: My lawyer keeps talking to me about “temporary orders.” I have no idea what she is talking about, and her explanation makes less sense each time we talk. Can you tell me what these are?
A: If she cannot explain “temporary orders,” you have a serious communication issue. Unfortunately, many lawyers forget that “lawyerspeak” is [...]
Some divorced individuals become depressed at the holidays and start to look for love, sometimes in the wrong places. Ed Housewright, an author and twice divorced dad says the holidays as a single person, even with kids in tow, are far better single than dealing with stress. His stress [...]
The word “divorce” does not conjure up positive thoughts of family wellness, but emotionally fit parents can strengthen family relationships even during the legal process and later as a divorced family. Typically, parents are so trapped in their own emotional chaos, not to mention the arduous divorce procedure, that they involve [...]
Just as no two divorces are alike, no two divorce proceedings are alike. Most people know someone who has gone through a divorce or has heard about someone else’s experience but going through one yourself is a different experience. Here are four basic guidelines of what you might be able to [...]
