Posted on October 22, 2013 in Divorce

Property settlements tend to be one of the most complex areas of Illinois divorces. The division of marital assets is often highly emotional and has long-lasting consequences for the partners involved.

The division of marital property is typically controlled by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

The Act generally carves out property acquired before marriage from the marital estate. This means that things which you owned before the marriage cannot be taken by your spouse during a divorce.

That is, unless these items have been "transmuted."

When Illinois Property is Transmuted into a Marital Estate

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "transmuted" means "to completely change the form, appearance, or nature of something."

Under Illinois law, property that who acquired prior to a marriage can be transmuted, or changed, into marital property under certain circumstances.

Generally nonmarital property is transmuted when it is comingled or otherwise mixed into a marital estate for the purposes of reimbursement or there other evidence that of an intention that the nonmarital property was intended to be gifted to the marital estate.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on October 15, 2013 in DUI

The village of Skokie is being sued by a Chicago woman who claims she was brutalized by police officers after her DUI arrest last winter.

The Chicago Tribune reports that 47-year-old Cassandra Feuerstein had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery after she was shoved headfirst into a jail cell bench by a police officer who arrested her for DUI.

The woman's attorney says that the entire incident was caught on the jail's video surveillance system.

"The video speaks for itself," attorney Torreya Hamilton said. "She does nothing to justify what this male police officer does."

The village of Skokie characterizes this as an isolated incident and says that all officers who were present during the time of the incident were interviewed.

"The Village of Skokie is committed to reaching a full resolution in this matter," village officials said.

The woman pleaded guilty to DUI and is suing the Skokie of an unspecified amount in damages.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on October 09, 2013 in Divorce

A Cook County divorce is similar to the dissolution of a business relationship. Aside from the issues of child and spousal support, the division of property can be one of the most complex and time-consuming aspects of the divorce process.

Generally items that are purchased prior to marriage, but in contemplation of marriage are considered marital property.

When determining whether something acquired before marriage is marital property, courts look at the "totality of the circumstances" and consider factors such as:

• The proximity of time between the acquisition of the property and the marriage.
• Whether the equity in the property was acquired with joint money (marital funds).
• Evidence that the couple tended to use the property jointly (such as a marital home)
• Whether both of the spouse's names appear on the offer sheet or title of the property.

The way that courts weigh and consider these factors can be heavily influenced by the persuasiveness of your attorney, so it is important to consult with an experienced Cook County divorce attorney as early in the divorce and asset division process as possible.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on October 02, 2013 in Child Custody

It is possible to appeal a family court's modification of a child support order in Illinois. Typically an appeals court will not reverse a family court's factual findings used to make a child support modification unless they are against the "manifest weight" of the evidence.

In addition to not typically disturbing a trial court's factual findings, a Cook County appeals court will usually not change a child support modification unless it constitutes an abuse of discretion.

Courts have wide range of latitude in deciding child support cases, so it is rare that an appeals court will find that a family court abused its discretion.

There have been cases however where Illinois court have terminated a noncustodial parent's obligation to pay child support on appeal. These cases typically involve "extreme and unusual" allegation concerning the custodial parent's behavior.

These allegations have to go further than alleging that a parent merely violated the terms of visitation. Parents have typically had to show that the custodial parent has actively interfered with the relationship that the noncustodial parent has with his or her children.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 28, 2013 in Child Custody

The termination of a Cook County parent's rights is one of the most extreme family law measures that a court can take. Generally the termination of a parent's rights is done outside of the context of a divorce and is based on the best interests of a child.

When a petition to terminate parental rights is initiated, a court follows a two-step process outlined in the Juvenile Court Act.

Step one is for the court to consider whether there is "clear and convincing evidence" that a parent is an unfit person as defined in the Illinois Adoption Act.

The second step to terminating parental rights is for the court to consider whether such a drastic move would be in the best interests of a child.

Generally the "best interests" analysis is the most subjective and complex part of court proceedings. Illinois courts consider 10 factors in determining whether terminating a parent's parental rights is in a child's best interests:

1. The child's welfare and physical safety.

   Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 16, 2013 in Family Law

Child support modification can be extremely tricky to navigate. In general, a parent attempting to change child support payments must show a "substantial change in circumstances" in order to modify a child support payment schedule.

Cook County courts have a extremely broad latitude in determining whether there is a substantial change in circumstances to support the modification of child support.

Traditionally, to establish a change in circumstances, a support-paying parent would have to show that there was a significant change in their income and also an increase in the needs of the children involved.

Illinois courts are more flexible in modifying child support however, and modifications are possible even when a noncustodial parent's income hasn't changed.

Substantial changes in circumstances can include:

• Remarriage of either parents
• Child reaching the age of 18
• Medical issues or other special needs that a child develops

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 10, 2013 in Divorce

Experienced legal representation is important if you are filing for divorce in Cook County. Many spouses attempt to file for divorce without legal help (also known as pro se) and end up having their claims dismissed because of technicalities.

This is exactly what happened to one Burbank woman. The woman's marriage broke down in spring of 2009 and she filed for divorce in May of that year.

During the divorce proceedings the woman represented herself and received an unfavorable distribution of the marital assets. The woman alleges that court considered inaccurate figures to evaluate her husband's stock holding and failed to take taxes into consideration when awarding her their Chicago home.

A number of filing errors prevented an appeals court from reviewing the substantive issues raised by the woman's appeal. Specifically the woman failed to provide the appeals court with a record of the trial court proceedings as required by Supreme Court Rule 321. Ill. S.Ct. R. 321. She also failed to properly serve her husband with attachments that she wanted included on her appellate record.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 10, 2013 in Criminal Defense

A homeless Chicago man may find some mental health help after causing a scene with Chicago Police Officers in Uptown last week. Huffington Post reports that the 41-year-old man was arrested on the North Side last Wednesday.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the homeless man was attempting to sleep when someone reported him as trespassing. When police officers attempted to move him, he allegedly threw items at the officers.

Several media outlets report that in addition to allegedly pepper spraying the officers, the homeless man also tossed bottles of bodily waste at the officers.

The man faces several charges including aggravated battery, resisting a peace officer and criminal trespass.

James Cappleman, the 46 Ward Alderman, expressed relief on his Facebook page that the homeless man may finally get some mental health help.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on September 02, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Last week we extensively covered a case involving a Chicago man named Gary who was challenging his conviction of aggravated battery against his neighbor's girlfriend. Ultimately the problem is that sufficiency of evidence appeals are notoriously hard to win in cases that hinge on the testimony of witnesses rather than hard physical evidence.

In reviewing a case based on sufficiency of evidence, a Cook County appeals court asks whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution and makes all reasonable inference in the prosecution's favor.

This means that that even if the appeals court judge would have decided the case differently, the court will uphold a verdict if it is possible that any reasonable trial court or jury could have decided in favor of the prosecution.

This makes it easy to see why the court could not overturn the Gary's aggravated battery conviction. Although it's highly likely that his neighbors were more intoxicated and hostile than they admitted to, it is also likely that Gary had ill-will toward his neighbor and hit Tara in the heat of the argument.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on August 29, 2013 in Assault and Battery

During the past week we have followed a case involving a fight between two Chicago neighbors named Gary and Ken. During the fight Gary punched Tara in the face. Gary alleges that this happened because Ken swung at him, and then used Tara as a shield when Gary attempted to return his blow.

No one contested the fact that Gary hit Tara and that she was severely injured as a result. Gary argued that he lacked the requisite intent to harm Tara as he was attempting to return Ken's punch.

The trial court rejected the defense's version of events and said that it was unlikely that Ken would be able to pull Tara in front of him during the short time it would have taken Gary to return Ken's punch.

Gary also argued the fact that Ken and Tara had been drinking prevented them from being able to accurately remember the incident. The trial court noted that although intoxication is relative to the value of a person's testimony, it did not preclude the trial court from accepting their version of events.

Continue Reading ››