Illinois Divorce Laws

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act states that you have to establish at-fault or no-fault reasons for the divorce and fulfill pre-defined separation periods for a divorce to be finalized.

If both parties agree to an uncontested divorce, the divorce can be finalized under Illinois law if the spouses have lived separately for as little as six months.

Couples who file for a no-fault divorce do not have to declare any wrongdoing for the marriage to be dissolved. They can cite irreconcilable differences as the grounds for divorce.

However, a contested divorce—one in which you and your spouse cannot agree on the terms—cannot be finalized until you have lived apart for at least two years.

In most cases, the length of separation is easy to establish. There are times, nevertheless, when divorcing spouses cannot afford to live in two separate households, but they still desire to function as separated individuals. Although same-household separation is more difficult to prove in a contested divorce, there are some indicators accepted by the courts:
• You must each live your own lives—doing your own cooking, cleaning, laundry, home maintenance, and so on.
• You must each maintain separate banking accounts.
• You must not share the same bed.

At-fault Chicago divorce

In the case of wrongdoing in your marriage, you may have specific grounds upon which to file for a divorce. If you are unsure of what you should be filing under, consult with a Chicago divorce lawyer. Illinois family law lists eight grounds for divorce:
• Adultery
• Desertion
• Impotency
• Conviction of a felony crime
• Infection with a sexually transmitted disease
• A preexisting marriage
• Habitual drunkenness or drug abuse for at least two years
• Physical or mental abuse, or attempted murder

Proceeding with a divorce in Chicago

In order to begin work, your Chicago divorce attorney will need personal and financial information from you, including:
• The addresses and phone numbers of both spouses
• Full names, birth dates, and addresses of children of the marriage, the name and address of their school, and their grades in school
• Copies of any legal proceedings or domestic contracts related to your case—prenuptial agreement, separation agreement, marriage counseling records, divorce decree from a former marriage, etc.
• Income tax returns from the most recent two years
• A month’s worth of current pay stubs
• List of major assets and liabilities of you and your spouse
• Copies of loans, account statements, stock certificates, and insurance policies
• Most recent statements of all credit card accounts

Common areas of dispute in a Chicago divorce

Mediation is a meeting facilitated by an impartial third party mediator. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss and resolve the issues on which you and your spouse cannot agree. A Chicago divorce mediator listens to both sides and helps you communicate with each other in an effective way. The objective of mediation is to come up with mutually acceptable terms to complete your divorce.

Family and divorce law cases are among the most volatile in Chicago courtrooms. Common areas of disagreement include division of joint property, debt allocation, determination of spousal or child support, child custody, and visitation. If you and your spouse cannot agree, you may need to consider entering divorce mediation. Sphere: Related Content

Rememorable TV Criminal Defense Lawyers

Truth or Consequences

What do these characters have in common?

• Perry Mason
  
• Lennie Briscoe
  
• Della Street
  
• Jack McCoy
  
• Paul Drake
  
• Joe Friday

Depending on your age, you may recognize all, or just two, of these well-known players in long-running, well-loved television crime and courtroom dramas. Jack McCoy and Lennie Briscoe are just two of an outstanding ensemble cast of characters of the New York police drama, Law and Order, created by Dick Wolf.

Joe Friday is the terse, chain-smoking LAPD sergeant played by Jack Webb, who created and produced Dragnet, a well-known police drama televised in the 1950s and 60s.

Perry Mason is the famous criminal defense attorney penned by Erle Stanley Gardner. Della Street is his secretary, and stalwart Paul Drake is the indefatigable private investigator. In the 1960s, when Perry Mason originally aired on CBS, District Attorney Hamilton Burger routinely lost cases, usually due to surprise evidence or last-minute revelation provided by the quicker-witted criminal defense attorney, Perry Mason.

Times have changed. Owing to the popularity of crime dramas and reality television, most people understand Miranda warnings and a host of other police and courtroom procedures. Perry Mason would be hard-pressed to present surprise evidence in the television courtrooms of today.

Real life versus television fantasy

Television crime series dramatize the everyday occurrence of crime through the eyes of law enforcement—New York police, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney. Using Law and Order as an example, what are some of the liberties television dramas take when the pursuit of justice turns into pursuit of television ratings?

• All gore all the time: The camera pans in on a dead body or other gruesome discovery. Sure-fire attention grabbers, blood and brutal crime feature prominently in television shows, but offenses such as burglary, theft, and traffic violations are a much bigger mainstay of American crime.
  
• Fruits of the poisonous tree: Good criminal defense lawyers allow only evidence gathered legally to be admitted in a court of law. Although considered the fruit of the poisonous tree, evidence seized illegally in television dramas is often not excluded from presentation at court or as cause for criminal arrest.
  
• 60 Minutes: Police and prosecutors on television persuasively and dramatically solve criminal cases in 60 minutes (even less when taking commercials into account). Detectives rarely work on only one case or solve complicated crimes so quickly.
  

Television drama set in New York, Long Island, or elsewhere is compelling. Enjoy the show - but do not believe everything you see.

Experienced criminal defense lawyer in Long Island

Serving clients in Long Island and New York City, Kenneth S. Feraru, Esq. is a Long Island criminal defense attorney and traffic lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in criminal law, traffic violations, and accident litigation. Use our online form or call us in Mineola at (516) 535-3333 to set up a free consultation. Sphere: Related Content

How a New York Construction Accident Attorney Can Help

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 15 percent of incidental workplace deaths are caused by slips, trips and falls, second only to traffic accident fatalities.

Construction injuries are often serious and can have repercussions that last the rest of your life. Amidst the pain, stress, and confusion caused by a New York construction accident, knowing what to do or who to turn to can be difficult. Fortunately, the New York construction accident attorneys at Hach & Rose, L.L.P. are here to help you. Skilled litigators and negotiators, we look forward to aiding you in your search for justice.

Second to seeking medical attention, hiring a lawyer is the most important decision you can make if you are injured. Without New York construction accident attorneys, you may have tremendous difficulty in winning a settlement. An experienced construction accident lawyer in New York has handled cases like yours before and can offer you sound legal advice on how you should move forward.

Contact a New York Construction accident attorney at the personal injury law firm of Hach & Rose can represent you if you have been injured at work on a construction site.

Sphere: Related Content

NC car accident attorney

In 2006, there were 220,224 reported crashes throughout the state of North Carolina. These collisions resulted in 119,955 automobile accident injuries and 1,555 fatalities. These accidents cost individuals and insurance companies millions of dollars every year.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles documents and reports on motor vehicle accidents every year. According to the NCDOT, a motor vehicle crash is any event that results in death, injury, or property damage attributable directly to a motor vehicle or its load in transport but not involving aircraft or watercraft.

Herbert W. Auger, Esq., started as an attorney with a large law firm that represented personal injury victims of auto, bus and trucking accidents. He left that practice—an aggressive role in New York City—to focus on his own law firm. Mr. Auger started his private practice in 1990. Attorney Arlene P. Auger joined the firm in 1995.

The Law Firm of Auger & Auger has 3 locations throughout Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Auger a Charlotte auto accident lawyer believes in aggressive, high-impact representation for auto accident victims and manages his law firm so that he can get the highest awards for his clients possible. Contact Auger & Auger to obtain proper compensation for all personal injury cases.

Sphere: Related Content

New York Auto Accident Attorney Discusses Injuries From Car Crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that more than two million people were injured or killed in traffic accidents in 2009 in the United States. The NHTSA reported that in 2009 there were 1,156 auto accidents that resulted in fatalities in New York alone. Some common injuries from auto accidents include:

Whiplash
The most common injury resulting from a car accident is whiplash. Whiplash occurs when your neck is forced to move rapidly and uncontrollably. Whiplash can injure your spine, discs, ligaments and muscles in the neck. Whiplash can be short term or life long and can leave the neck forever vulnerable to injury. After a whiplash injury, your neck's natural curve may be reversed. This can distribute the weight of your head unevenly and cause vertebrae damage.

Head, Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries
Auto accidents are a leading cause of head injuries. However, head injuries do not only occur when your head hits the dashboard or the steering wheel; a head injury can occur when the brain experiences a sudden, rapid movement. Concussions are the most common types of head injuries resulting from car accidents. A concussion injury occurs when the brain is bruised by striking the cranium. The injury causes headaches, vomiting, dizziness and problems remembering or concentrating. Other head injuries may affect the brain more severely. Anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is unable to receive oxygen. Traumatic brain injuries may result from closed or open head injuries and often involves bruising of the brain or swelling of the brain within the skull. Spinal cord injuries can also be life-changing injuries and may result in full or partial paralysis, impaired motor skills, and loss of bowel and bladder functions.

Burn Injuries
Automobiles may ignite in a collision and cause severe burn injuries. Burn injuries may have long recovery periods in specialized burn units. Often, burn victims require multiple skin grafts and/or reconstructive surgery. Burn injuries resulting from car accidents.

If you have been injured in a car accident then contact a New York auto accident attorney at the law firm of Rich & Rich to discuss your case. Sphere: Related Content

NY Injury Attorney Is Committed To Clients Getting Best Compensation

The cost of a NY personal injury or wrongful death must be considered in both economic and non-economic terms: while there are costs associated with medical treatment and lost wages, there is also the emotional and psychological trauma suffered by accident victims and their families. At the law office of Weinstein, Chase, Messinger & Peters, our NY injury attorneys are committed to helping our clients restore both their financial and emotional health. We are dedicated exclusively to personal injury law. Instead of trying to be "all things to all people," our New York personal injury attorneys have chosen to cultivate an in-depth understanding of the insurance industry and the scientific and technical issues involved in accidental injury and medical malpractice cases.

Whether we work together on a construction or workplace accident, wrongful death or medical malpractice claim, truck accident or other NY injury case, our experienced attorneys have extensive experieence that we put to work for you. Our in house legal team consists of NY personal injury attorneys physicians and a physician assistant. We regularly work with medical professionals, accident investigators, design engineers, economists, and life care planners in determining the cause, scope, and financial impact of an injury. Our goal is always to obtain the maximum award to compensate for your financial losses, as well as your physical and emotional suffering.

Marc Chase is a NY injury attorney who represents personal injury cases at the law firm of Weinstein, Chase, Messinger & Peters, P.C.

Weinstein, Chase, Messinger & Peters, P.C.
26 Court Street
Suite 2100
Brooklyn, NY 11242
718-858-3100 Sphere: Related Content

Georgia medical malpractice lawyers discuss healthcare mistakes

Just about everyone experiences doubt about the competence of doctors after a loved one has suffered or died while in treatment. It is important to remember that not all bad outcomes result from medical malpractice. However, if you believe a case exists, the best way to confirm that belief is by consulting with an experienced lawyer. A medical malpractice attorney in Georgia from Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. can discover if the two components of a valid medical malpractice claim exist in your case:

Failure to meet the applicable standard of care—medical professionals are expected to provide a certain level of care depending on the patient's condition.
The existence of a direct link between the medical treatment given (or not given) and the resulting injury or death must also be proven.

Proving standard care was not met and a direct link therefore exists between treatment and outcome is very difficult. Georgia medical malpractice lawyers at the law firm of Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. who work with medical experts, investigators, and others are experienced in doing just that. Sphere: Related Content