Posted on February 14, 2008 by John Steele

What a wonderful time of the year for those of us who are not married, almost married, or with someone we might want to marry.  (Sarcasm alert)  Of all the Hallmark holidays, this is the one I think is most unfair, both to those who build it up to impossible expectations and to those who have to pay for the expensive dinner and gifts. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted on January 1, 2008 by John Steele

This time of year is very stressful for relationships. Traditionally, more divorces are filed around this time. I think people put unrealistic expectations on the holidays. Also, having to see in-laws is oftentimes not fun. In England, the first monday of the new year is called national divorce day (or something like that) because its rude to ask for a divorce in England so everyone waits until the new year.  For my firm, I have seen a large increase in calls and clients since Christmas, and am sure America is following its cousins across the Atlantic.  Just a merry thought I had this New Years. Posted on January 1, 2008 by John Steele

This time of year is very stressful for relationships. Traditionally, more divorces are filed around this time. I think people put unrealistic expectations on the holidays. Also, having to see in-laws is oftentimes not fun. In England, the first monday of the new year is called national divorce day (or something like that) because its rude to ask for a divorce in England so everyone waits until the new year. For my firm, I have seen a large increase in calls and clients since Christmas, and am sure America is following its cousins across the Atlantic. Just a merry thought I had this New Years.

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Thanks to our mobile society and the fact that family law is state specific, many people are confused about where to go if they want to change custody or some other post decree need. Generally, the state that the original divorce was filed is the correct place to file such post decree motions such as change of custody, modifications, etc.  This remains true if the child remains in that state, or at least one parent.  If there is no one affected by the final divorce decree left in the original state, the new state where the affected parties live is the correct forum. There are situations (beyond the scope of this post) when the issue is murky and lawyers basically can argue one way or another.  Courts like to look at where the children reside when determining which state has the strongest interest in deciding the matter. Posted on December 10, 2007 by John Steele

Thanks to our mobile society and the fact that family law is state specific, many people are confused about where to go if they want to change custody or some other post decree need. Generally, the state that the original divorce was filed is the correct place to file such post decree motions such as change of custody, modifications, etc. This remains true if the child remains in that state, or at least one parent. If there is no one affected by the final divorce decree left in the original state, the new state where the affected parties live is the correct forum. There are situations (beyond the scope of this post) when the issue is murky and lawyers basically can argue one way or another. Courts like to look at where the children reside when determining which state has the strongest interest in deciding the matter.

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Posted on November 2, 2007 by John Steele

Many people describe Illinois as a no-fault state in terms of divorce. It’s not. It’s a hybrid where a petitioner may choose either no-fault, or claim one of the statutorily available “faults” to claim the other party guilty of. For strategic reasons, I shall not discuss here (otherwise I would not be very strategic!). However, know that there are still several possibly useful grounds to cite. In fact, many divorces plead in the alternative anyway, citing both fault and no-fault grounds. Posted on November 2, 2007 by John Steele

Many people describe Illinois as a no-fault state in terms of divorce. It's not. It's a hybrid where a petitioner may choose either no-fault, or claim one of the statutorily available "faults" to claim the other party guilty of. For strategic reasons, I shall not discuss here (otherwise I would not be very strategic!). However, know that there are still several possibly useful grounds to cite. In fact, many divorces plead in the alternative anyway, citing both fault and no-fault grounds.

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