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Showing posts from August, 2014

New Divorce Statute Coming in 2015?

A law has been circulating through the hallowed halls of our state legislature for quite some time with a re-write of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Called House Bill 1452, it would change the divorce statute that is over 40 years old. It would, among other things,  eliminate the terms “joint” and “sole” custody eliminate the “grounds” or reasons for a divorce like adultery and mental cruelty and keep irreconcilable differences change the “removal” provisions of the divorce statute that deals with a custodial parent moving from Illinois without permission of the non-custodial parent.statute. Instead of "removal", the term would be "relocation” and instead of being triggered by leaving the state, it would be triggered by moving more than 25 miles from the non-custodial parent. This would eliminate the problem of the custodial parent who gets into trouble crossing the state line into Indiana (which borders Will County) but the custodial pa

A Divorce Lawyer's Commentary on Love and Marriage and Not Seeking My Services

This post is certainly out of the ordinary for me and some of my fellow divorce lawyers may not agree that I should even delve into this issue. Oh well... I often tell clients and prospective clients that my role is purely as a legal professional and that I am NOT a counselor, therapist or psychologist. While I will seek a resolution of the case when circumstances and spouses allow, my main job is to fight like hell for my client. But in divorce cases, the battle is waged between two parties who are so interconnected that in many ways, they each battle themselves and suffer the very same injuries they cause their spouse. It's not generally pretty and divorce is probably one of biggest decisions that come along in adulthood. But, if someone is emotionally unsure about whether they want to get a divorce, then a divorce lawyer is the last person to talk to about it. Some of the hardest cases I have handled have not been the nasty, mean-spirited divorces. In those cases, no matte