Posted on July 22, 2025 in Divorce

If you are considering a divorce from your spouse who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or some other form of severe cognitive impairment, you have probably already experienced some of the emotional challenges. There are also legal challenges associated with divorcing a spouse with any form of severe cognitive impairment, as well as societal judgment.

While you may be dealing with a spouse who no longer recognizes you, or who has become angry and abusive as a result of the cognitive impairment, Illinois law (750 ILCS 5/ Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act) requires that certain standards be met in any divorce. One of these standards is that both parties must have the capacity to participate in the proceedings.

This is a heartbreaking situation that can feel as though there are no good solutions. To better understand the legal steps and ethical considerations involved in divorcing a spouse with severe cognitive impairment, it is extremely important to consult with a St. Charles, IL divorce lawyer.

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 Posted on July 22, 2025 in Divorce

An Indiana couple split a collection of beehives during their divorce, while in 1999, a Nevada couple was locked in a contentious battle over a Beanie Baby collection. A Massachusetts couple fought over a "pet" catfish, named Pinky, and another couple included a clause in their divorce that obligated the husband to share half of any future Nobel Prize winnings with his ex-wife.

A Cambodian couple actually sawed their home in half when ending their 18-year marriage. Celebrities have even stranger stories of unusual marital asset divisions. Dennis Hopper’s estranged wife demanded items such as asparagus tongs and rosebushes during the divorce, while actor David Hasselhoff negotiated the exclusive use of his nickname "Hoff," along with the associated catchphrase "Don’t Hassle the Hoff."

As you might imagine, the emotional aspect of a divorce can lead couples to prioritize seemingly trivial items, even over more valuable assets. Couples may also include unusual clauses in their divorce settlements for no other reason than spite. For the "average" couple, the division of unusual assets usually includes frequent flyer miles, cryptocurrency, pets, season tickets, collectibles, intellectual property, hardcopy photos, and digital music collections.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Divorce

Suppose you were awarded spousal support during your divorce, but now, several years later, there has been a significant change in your circumstances. Or, perhaps you are the paying spouse, and you have had a significant change in your circumstances that prevents you from continuing to pay spousal support.

You may even have evidence that your ex-spouse’s circumstances have significantly changed since the spousal support was awarded. If the receiving spouse just won a sizeable amount of money in the lottery, this change could potentially warrant a modification.

Regardless of your situation, it is important that you understand the legalities of spousal support modifications before asking the court to grant you a modification. Consulting with an experienced Wheaton, IL divorce attorney can help you obtain the necessary assistance for a modification.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Family Law

Suppose a couple becomes pregnant while dating. The father has repeatedly stated that he does not want children and angrily confronts the pregnant mother. He tells her that he will just sign away his parental rights and then will legally have nothing to do with the child – or the mother. The mother is now worried about how she will support the child with no child support or other support from the father.

Can an Illinois father simply sign away his parental rights and escape all responsibility for a child? If you are on either side of a similar situation, it is important that you speak to an experienced St. Charles, IL family law attorney who can assess your unique facts and circumstances and help you determine what steps you need to take.

Understanding Illinois Parental Rights

First, Illinois courts expect both parents to provide for their child financially, physically, and emotionally. Parental rights are rarely terminated and usually only when another person wants to step into the parental role via adoption, or during involuntary termination, when the child’s parent abandons, chronically abuses, subjects a child to extreme or repeated cruelty, or sexually abuses the child.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

In 2024, union members accounted for 13.1 percent of wage and salary workers in Illinois, compared with 12.8 percent in 2023. The union membership rate for Illinois reached its peak in 1993, at 21 percent, and its lowest point in 2023. Across the nation, union members accounted for about 9.9 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2024. Illinois union membership rates are generally higher than the U.S. average.

On March 21, 2025, a partisan bill (HB1465) was introduced that would require trade unions in the state to provide the same level of sexual harassment prevention training to their workers as all other businesses in Illinois are required to do. Trade unions providing sexual harassment prevention training would be required to use the program created by the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), provide  sexual harassment prevention training at least once a year to all workers, and maintain a log that indicates each worker’s annual training status.

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

The number of employees who report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace is eye-opening, to say the least. Almost 60 percent of all women say they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the form of unwanted sexual attention, sexist comments, sexually crude conduct, or sexual coercion. Fourteen percent of all men say they have been sexually harassed while at work.

One in seven women and one in 17 men have sought a new job assignment, changed jobs, or quit a job as a result of sexual harassment. Some industries are worse than others, including the service industry. Unfortunately, more than 85 percent of those who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace will not file formal legal charges, while 70 percent never even make an internal complaint.  

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 in Divorce

The divorce rate has steadily declined over the past two decades, although many experts attribute that decline to the fact that fewer people are getting married and more people are living together. That said, across the United States, the national marriage rate is hovering near an all-time low. Arkansas and Wyoming have the highest divorce rates, and Vermont has the lowest rate of divorce. New Mexico takes top honors for the least number of people per capita getting married.  

Regardless of the number of people marrying or divorcing, when it happens to you, it becomes much more than a statistic. If you and your spouse are considering divorce, you may want to consider mediation. While mediation is not right for everyone (especially those whose marriage involves domestic abuse), it can be a good alternative to allowing a judge to make decisions that you will be bound to for many years to come.

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 in Divorce

While legal separation and divorce are both legal processes that share similar procedures, their outcomes are distinctly different. A divorce ends the marriage, while legal separation does not. A legal separation is more than just physical separation between a couple, although physical separation is certainly a part of it.

Some couples may choose legal separation over divorce for a number of reasons, but in many cases, a legal separation ultimately results in divorce. If you are contemplating legal separation in Illinois, discuss the matter with an experienced St. Charles, IL divorce lawyer before making your decision.  

What Are Some of the Most Common Reasons for Choosing Legal Separation?

Legal separation is a court-approved agreement between spouses to live separately from one another, financially and physically. Spouses are not free to remarry during a legal separation, and spousal inheritance laws remain intact during a legal separation. The most common reasons spouses choose legal separation include:

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 Posted on May 29, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

There is a shameful secret regarding sexual harassment in the workplace that few people want to address or even admit exists. In many cases, sexual harassment in the workplace is witnessed by others. This can be beneficial for the victim of sexual harassment because it can provide corroboration of the sexual harassment.

Unfortunately, in some cases, witnesses to sexual harassment in the workplace look the other way - and often feel shame about doing so. A   2019 study found that of the employees surveyed who directly witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace, 77 percent of them did not report the harassment to Human Resources or to a manager or superior, although 46 percent told other colleagues about the harassment, and 67 percent told their friends and family about the harassment.

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 Posted on May 29, 2025 in Family Law

Getting divorced is difficult under most circumstances, but when but when an infant is involved, the allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, and parenting plans becomes exponentially more complex. Not only are parents adjusting to a newborn and perhaps being parents for the first time, but they are also going through the stress of a divorce.

Determining parenting time will depend on many different factors, not the least of which is whether the mother is breastfeeding. Although an infant’s needs are relatively basic, they are equally critical to the health and well-being of the child. Developmental needs, consistency, and time with both parents must all be considerations when creating a parenting time schedule.

If you are divorcing your spouse soon after your child is born, it is important that you have compassionate, experienced legal counsel in the form of a Wheaton, IL family law attorney. Your attorney can help you craft a parenting time schedule and parenting plan that will change and adapt with your child.

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