Posted on December 11, 2024 in Divorce

Your holiday decorations may or may not have much monetary value, but they probably have a lot of sentimental value, especially if you have children together. The kind of items you only bring out of storage around the holidays can be difficult to divide up during divorce, especially if you are getting divorced right around the time of a major holiday. If you are working towards an uncontested divorce, your Lisle, IL divorce attorney can help you work with your spouse to divide all your marital property, including your holiday items. Dividing the items you use for celebrating the holidays out of court is often preferable, as you can choose a much more personalized solution than the court might.

Consider Keeping Some Items With the Children 

If you plan on having your children for your family’s major holidays in alternating years, consider moving some items with the children. Having the same set of decorations up every year can be comforting to your children, especially while they are still getting used to the new arrangement. This will be more practical for spouses who live fairly close together and drive their children back and forth between households.

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 Posted on November 27, 2024 in Personal Injury

There is a pervasive myth that a driver who hits another car from behind is automatically liable. The police officer who comes to take a report may even assume you are liable if you rear-ended another vehicle. However, in Illinois, liability is not automatic in rear-end collision cases. This myth likely comes from the fact that drivers are legally obligated to use a safe following distance and are generally liable if they caused an accident by failing to do so. However, not all rear-end collisions are caused by the driver in the back failing to follow at an appropriate distance. There are cases where the driver in front was substantially at fault for causing the car accident. If you are being sued after rear-ending another vehicle, a DuPage County, IL car accident defense lawyer can help you fight back.

Negligence Per Se and Rear-End Collisions

In car accident law, there is a concept called negligence per se. It means that when a driver is breaking a law designed to keep people safe and causes the kind of injuries that law was meant to present, the driver is automatically deemed negligent. In the context of rear-end collisions, the safety law at issue is usually the law that requires drivers to use a safe following distance. The law is designed to prevent people from getting hurt in a rear-end collision. If a driver was following too closely and rear-ends someone, causing injury, his negligence is presumed.

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 Posted on November 14, 2024 in Family Law

Ordinarily, having a messy house is unlikely to affect your child custody proceedings. Parents - especially those with babies or toddlers - are certainly not expected to keep their homes looking magazine-worthy at all times. Having piles of clean laundry on the coffee table, a few dirty dishes in the sink overnight, or toys scattered around is the norm for most families. Typical clutter is not worth mentioning in court when you are fighting for custody of your child. However, if the home is so dirty that it poses a health hazard to children, or the clutter is so bad that it borders on a hoarding situation, this could impact a court’s child custody decision. If you are involved in a child custody battle, you need an experienced Lisle, IL child custody litigation attorney on your side.

A Messy Home and an Unsanitary Home Are Different Issues 

When a parent works full time and is newly single, letting the housework slide is normal. If a parent is behind on cleaning - perhaps the kitchen counters have not been wiped down in a few days, or the carpet has some crumbs on it - this is not the sort of mess a court would be concerned with. However, if the home is unsanitary and poses a health hazard, the court may be reluctant to allow children to visit the parent who lives there in the home. A dangerously unclean environment is not in a child’s best interests. Unsanitary messes the court might be concerned with include: 

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 Posted on October 27, 2024 in Insurance Defense & Coverage

Even a very skilled and attentive driver can get into a car accident. Anyone can be accused of causing an accident he or she was involved in. People who have been injured in a car crash often need to blame someone for a myriad of reasons. From a practical standpoint, the person suing you may not have good insurance and needs to find a way to pay his medical bills. Other people seem to believe they are perfect drivers and could only have gotten into an accident if the other person did something wrong. Some people simply cannot accept that the accident happened due to reasons beyond either party’s control. Just because you are being sued does not mean that you have to settle. An experienced DuPage County, IL car accident litigation attorney can help you fight back.

A Third Party Was at Fault

Say an SUV swerved out of its lane and bumped your rear tire, causing you to lose control and hit a car, injuring its driver. The SUV speeds off and disappears at the next exit. The car’s driver is suing you, claiming that you swerved because you were illegally texting. She did not see the SUV hit you. In this case, your lawyer can try to find evidence showing that the SUV did hit you and that you could not have prevented the collision.

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 Posted on October 10, 2024 in Divorce

A prenuptial agreement should not act as an insurmountable barrier to divorce. If the terms of your prenuptial or postnuptial agreement leave you with nothing, you might feel that you are trapped in your marriage because leaving would lead to financial ruin. However, courts can refuse to enforce marital contracts that are extremely unfair, or that one party was coerced into signing. If your prenuptial agreement is the main reason you have not filed for divorce even though you want to end your marriage, you should speak to an experienced Lisle, IL divorce lawyer about whether the court could set it aside.

When Will Courts Refuse to Enforce a Prenuptial Agreement?

Courts might refuse to enforce premarital contracts in cases of: 

• Coercion - If your spouse created a situation where you felt that you had to sign the agreement he or she wanted you to, you might have been coerced. For example, if your spouse hired his attorney to draft a prenuptial agreement without your input and then presented you with the agreement the morning of the wedding, threatening to call off the marriage unless you signed, this might be coercion. 

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 Posted on September 30, 2024 in Personal Injury

It can be understandably upsetting for family members of a nursing home resident to find out that their loved one has fallen. However, few people other than those who have experience working in skilled nursing facilities have an accurate understanding of the measures preventing 100 percent of falls would involve - and why some of those steps would be outright illegal. 

Nursing home residents have what is commonly referred to as the "right to fall." What this actually means is that nursing home staff generally cannot restrain a resident to such a degree that he or she would never have an opportunity to fall. If you or your skilled nursing facility is being sued because a resident fell, an experienced DuPage County litigation defense attorney can help. 

What The "Right to Fall" Means

Nursing home residents have certain rights under Illinois law. While the "right to fall," is, of course, not an actual legal right, what residents do have is the right to be free from constant restraint and the right to refuse assistance when getting up from bed. Elderly people who are disoriented may forget that they need help to walk or use a wheelchair, but this does not mean that staff can physically restrain them to their beds at all times. The use of restraints in nursing homes is tightly restricted. Nursing home staff also cannot always physically grab a resident who is insisting on walking unaided despite being a fall risk. 

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 Posted on September 23, 2024 in Family Law

Getting an Order of Protection can help keep you and your children safe from an abuser. When you have a protection order in place, you do not need to wait for your abuser to commit another crime against you to call the police. Because an Illinois Order of Protection can bar the abuser from going to your home, workplace, or children’s schools, you can call the police as soon as you see him or her in one of these locations, even if he is not doing anything that would normally be considered a crime. The police can arrest your abuser just for being in a location where he or she is not supposed to be present. To get the order, you will need to prove that you have been abused by the person you are seeking protection from. A Lisle, IL family law attorney can help you prepare the evidence you will need.

The Standard of Proof for an Order of Protection 

To get a civil protection order, you only need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the abuse you are alleging occurred. This means that you only need to convince the court that it is more than 50 percent likely that the respondent abused you. You do not need incredibly strong evidence like a neutral witness or a video of the respondent threatening you. Your attorney can help you gather any evidence you do have, like pictures of bruising on your body or damage to property caused by the abuser throwing something at you. In many cases, your testimony is enough.

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 Posted on September 06, 2024 in Civil Litigation

Many people believe that having a will is enough to protect their interests and manage their affairs. However, a will and a power of attorney serve different purposes in estate planning. An Illinois estate planning lawyer can explain why you might need both documents and how they work together to protect your future.

What to Consider About Wills and Powers of Attorney

A will is a legally binding document that states how your assets should be divided once you are no longer alive. It becomes effective only after you pass away. On the other hand, a power of attorney (POA) is a document that authorizes someone to make decisions on your behalf while you are still alive. There are two main types of POAs:

• Healthcare power of attorney: This enables your agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot do so yourself.

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 Posted on August 29, 2024 in Family Law

When it comes to caring for a child who is not biologically yours, two legal options are commonly on the mind, which are guardianship and adoption. While both arrangements involve taking responsibility for a child, they differ significantly regarding legal implications, duration, and parental rights. An Illinois lawyer can help you understand these differences as you consider both options.

Differences Between Guardianship and Adoption

The difference between adoption and guardianship is within the legal status and the parental rights they involve. It is helpful to understand each option.

Adoption is a Permanent Solution

Adoption is a permanent legal process that creates a new parent-child relationship. When you adopt a child, you become their legal parent, assuming all the rights and responsibilities of parenthood. This process permanently terminates the biological parents’ rights, transferring them to you as the adoptive parent. As a result, the child gains inheritance rights from you, and you have full authority to make all decisions regarding their upbringing.

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 Posted on July 29, 2024 in Civil Litigation

A boundary dispute between neighbors can quickly escalate from minor disagreements to complicated legal battles. These conflicts often stem from misunderstandings about property lines, encroachments, or disagreements over land use. As a property owner, understanding how to handle these disputes effectively helps maintain both your property rights and neighborly relationships. An Illinois lawyer can guide you in the right direction.

First, Make Sure You Understand Your Property Boundaries

The first step in addressing a boundary dispute is to gain a clear understanding of your property’s legal boundaries. Review your property documents, including your deed, property survey, and title insurance policy. These documents should provide detailed descriptions of your property lines and any existing easements. If you cannot locate these documents or find them unclear, contact your local county recorder’s office for assistance.

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