During a divorce, a couple's marital property is divided—property which may include retirement accounts and pensions. In order to allocate retirement accounts and pensions, documents called Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) are necessary to divide a couple's retirement assets. However, most people are strangers to these documents until they require one. Therefore, familiarizing yourself with a QDRO, before your divorce proceeding gets off the ground, can be helpful.

Before a civil action of any kind can be mounted in Illinois, it must be determined if this state has the right to hear it. This concept is called jurisdiction, and a court must have jurisdiction before any suit you file is permitted to move forward. In most situations, it is fairly easy to ensure a court has jurisdiction over your suit; however, the laws are quite specific.

At MKFM Law, we have clients from all walks of life, with all types of families, or with none at all. In this day and age, those who are parents have to begin thinking about university costs and other school expenses much earlier than in previous years. It is in this spirit that our firm wants to Give Back—help our clients and their children move toward a quality education, as a show of appreciation for choosing us to help them through difficult situations.

A questions asked by some divorcing parents is whether or not they are able to terminate the parental rights of their ex-spouse for various reasons. The answer is usually no; however, in unusual situations where a series of events have occurred, the answer may be yes. Either way, it is in your best interests to ensure that you understand your options.