The best interest of the child includes what the court can learn from all available resources — including the child’s wishes (considered when the child is old enough and it is appropriate). Courts use a child representative or a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) to investigate and represent the child’s interests, which is often how a child’s voice reaches the judge.

The child is not usually “testifying” in court the way a party does — the child representative or GAL gathers that input far more safely and without putting your child in the middle.

When there is a final parenting plan in place and the parents continue to have day-to-day conflicts, a parenting coordinator may be appointed to help resolve disagreements and educate parents as about the parenting plan. If the parents cannot agree, the coordinator can make formal recommendations to the court. It keeps small conflicts out of the courtroom.

Unless you have an active family law case, there aren’t many documents needed — this is a first consultation.

If you have an active case, bring:

• Your last court order (if you have it)
• Any documents that have been served upon you
• Contact information for the other party

For new cases, it helps to bring basic financial information (roughly what you own, owe, earn, and spend) — it makes the conversation about your goals more concrete.

Mediation is often a very good first step. It’s an alternative dispute resolution process that is frequently helpful in divorce and family law matters. If there is any dispute about decisions for the children, mediation may even be required.

What mediation does: a neutral mediator helps both of you work through the concerns together, saving you from litigation — and a mediator never succeeds by deciding for you, but by helping you two agree.

No. A prenuptial (or postnuptial) agreement is a legal contract between two parties with conflicting interests. It is advisable — in many cases, required — that each of you has your own representation, so you each clearly understand the terms of the agreement and can negotiate on your own behalf.

Yes. If one or both of you are located in Illinois, the divorce can proceed. Incarceration does not block a divorce. Your spouse can participate remotely where allowed, or the case can proceed based on service and response rules.

Practical tip: the process can take longer because responses and court dates have to support a schedule, but it is absolutely possible.

Yes, in the right circumstances. The court may award interim attorney’s fees to balance the scales when there is a large financial disparity between the parties.

Even if you earn less, half the battle is a court understanding the financial picture (financial disclosures, discovery). Ask us early — fee requests have procedural deadlines.

Don’t delay. You have come to the right place — we highly recommend you speak with an attorney to review the documents served on you and discuss your options in responding.

The response deadline starts the day after you were served. Missing it can result in a default judgment — meaning the other side’s requests may be granted simply because you did not respond in time. Response timing is very sensitive. Bring the served papers, and it in time. Call today — don’t wait to see us first.

Yes. In Illinois, either party can file for divorce regardless of whether the other party agrees. Illinois is a no-fault state — you do not need to prove that your spouse did something wrong.

What this means in plain terms: your spouse cannot keep you in a marriage you do not want to be in. If you have made the decision, the process is yours to begin — with or without their agreement.

For a divorce in Illinois, one party must have lived in the state for at least 90 days before filing for dissolution.

Immigration status does not matter: you can get divorced in Illinois as long as you meet the residency requirement. “Here” also includes locations within Illinois — the 90-day rule is about living in Illinois, not in a specific county.

Immediately contact our office. There may be remedies available to you — such as a motion to vacate the default judgment — but this is extremely time sensitive. Courts can set aside a default in some circumstances, but delays usually make it harder.

Yes — there are ways. If your spouse cannot be located, the court can allow service by publication (a notice in the newspaper) or another substitute method instead of personal service. The case can then proceed — often as a uncontested/default case if your spouse never responds.

It depends — and that’s honest. The length of the dissolution depends on the parties, the assets and debts to be divided, and the decisions regarding the child or children.

In our practice we have seen divorces completed in less than a month, and we have seen divorces take several years — including contested custody matters that run until the children turn 18. The single biggest lever you control: how much both spouses are willing to compromise (settlement vs. litigation).

Maintenance is not automatic. In Illinois, the court compares the income and financial resources of both spouses, considers the length of the marriage, and standard of living during the marriage, plus a number of other factors, and then decides whether maintenance should be paid — and for how long.

There are today statutory guidelines used in many cases, but the outcome is always individualized. The key is having a complete, honest picture of both spouses’ finances before the court decides.

Child support is based on both parents’ incomes under Illinois guidelines: parents combine their incomes and the state sets a percentage based on the number of children and the parenting arrangement. In most cases the parent with more parenting time and less income receives support from the other.

Child-related expenses — healthcare, daycare, education — are generally a separate consideration on top of support. If your life changes (job loss, changed income), support can be modified — again, through the court.

The parenting-time schedule depends on many factors: the child’s schedule, each parent’s schedule (including work), where the parties live relative to the child, and the travel involved.

Courts are most interested in consistency and the least amount of disruption to the child’s routine — essentially what’s in the child’s best interests. A written parenting plan built with your goals in mind is the best place to start.

Yes. Illinois only requires that one party has resided in the state for at least 90 days before filing. Your spouse does not need to live in Illinois — or even in the US — for you to start the process here.

Serving notice on someone abroad takes a bit more work, but it is a procedure your attorney handles routinely. A foreign divorce (granted in another country) may or may not be recognized in Illinois — get advice before assuming it is final here.

In Illinois, the law no longer uses “custody” — it uses allocation of parental responsibilities — which means decision-making and parenting time.

A court decides whether one or both parents have the ability to make decisions for the children — healthcare, education, extra-curriculars, religion — and how the time is divided. Full decision-making by one parent is possible where the circumstances support it; the key phrase to remember is always the best interests of the child.

Yes. The marriage was lawful in the Philippines, that does not prevent you from filing for dissolution of marriage in Illinois. Illinois law only requires the Illinois residency requirement (90 days) for one party before filing the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.

The mechanics: your marriage certificate from the Philippines must be proven to the court — your attorney will guide you on how to present foreign marriage documents in your case.

To ensure there is a plan in place to provide continued care and support without interruption. Many estate plans name secondary and/or additional backup guardians — the “What if?” plan.

If the primary guardian becomes unable or unwilling to serve, the successor steps in — no gap in care, no emergency court application at a terrible moment. It is a few lines in a document that saves a family’s panic.

A guardianship of the estate allows a trusted individual to manage the finances and property of a person who can no longer safely handle those responsibilities — most commonly:

• an adult who can no longer manage money, or
• a minor who has received significant assets (inheritance, settlement, life insurance

proceeds) that require management until the child reaches adulthood

That role for an adult may include paying bills, managing bank accounts, protecting assets, and overseeing financial decisions. It exists to protect the person and their money — preventing waste, fraud, and loss while they cannot manage on their own.

A revocable living trust you can change, amend, or revoke at any time while alive and competent — you stay in control, which is why it’s the common choice for probate planning.

An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once created and funded — the assets are no longer “yours,” providing protection and planning benefits. General guidance: if a plan ever advertises “give up all control!” as a feature, ask why — these structures are only right for specific legal goals.

The core four pieces Illinois families actually use (in plain terms):

1. Will — who gets your property, who settles your affairs, who raises your minor children.
2. Power of attorney for healthcare — who speaks for you, medically, when you can’t.
3. Power of attorney for property — who handles your finances when you can’t.
4. Beneficiary designations checked — retirement accounts, life insurance, bank accounts.

Whether a trust makes sense is the next conversation — not everyone needs one, but for many families with property or children from prior marriages, it is worth examining.

A trustee’s job is to carry out the instructions in the trust — not create their own rules. Their duty is to follow the trust instrument and act in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

Where to start: request information and documentation from the trustee (beneficiaries are usually entitled to accounting). An attorney can help you understand your rights and determine whether court intervention may be necessary to protect the trust and its beneficiaries. Gather documents first — trustees respond well to being asked properly, and if they don’t, you have a record.

It means the bank is telling you it needs the legal authority — a court document — to deal with the deceased person’s money and financial affairs.

Even if you are a spouse, child, or other family member, the bank may require court documents before allowing access to certain accounts. This is normal, and there is a process. Contact us and we’ll tell you exactly how to accomplish your needs — from small estate affidavit (if it applies) to a full probate matter, depending on the estate’s size and assets. [VERIFY with firm]: Illinois small-estate threshold.

Probate is the legal process of settling a person’s estate after they pass away. During probate, the court helps ensure that debts are paid, assets are identified, and property is distributed to the appropriate heirs or beneficiaries.

What this means for you: if you are handling a loved one’s estate, probate is the court-supervised “official checklist” — and it takes time. That is why a well-planned estate (beneficiary designations, trusts, joint ownership) can allow assets to pass faster and often outside of probate.

If you believe an executor is not following the terms of a will, you may have legal options. Executors owe a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries. They are generally required to:

• follow the instructions in the will
• manage estate assets responsibly
• keep beneficiaries reasonably informed about the probate process

If the executor is mismanaging assets, failing to distribute property, refusing to communicate, or acting against the will’s terms, you may be able to ask the probate court to review their actions — and, in appropriate cases, remove and replace them. Court intervention is a step, but that is exactly what it is for.

Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it is worth looking into. Elder abuse and financial exploitation can happen within families — and often go unnoticed until significant harm has occurred.

The sooner concerns are addressed, the more options may be available to protect your loved one and their assets. That can mean powers of attorney review, a guardianship petition, or reporting to the appropriate agency — depending on what is happening. Don’t wait, and don’t handle it alone: we can guide you through what you should do first.

No — they are two different legal documents with two different jobs:

• Power of attorney lets someone you trust make financial, legal, or healthcare

decisions for you while you are alive — if you are unable or unavailable to make those decisions yourself.

• Will directs what happens to your property and assets after you pass away.

Most plans need both: a POA covers you during life; a will covers your estate after death.

A Special Power of Attorney is the standard tool when you cannot be physically present to sign documents — for example, to sell property, settle a bank account, or transact with a government agency in the Philippines.

The “special” part matters: because the SPA limits the agent’s power to only the tasks you write down, it protects you from giving someone control over all your financial or personal decisions. You decide the exact scope; the document says only that.

You need an apostille when you want a foreign document recognized in a country that is a member of the Apostille Convention — specifically when the receiving country (e.g., the Philippines) requires proof the document is genuine.

Common documents that require an apostille:

• birth certificates
• special power of attorney documents
• wills / trusts / grant-of-property documents
• court decrees and final judgments

The apostille attaches to the document, certifying the notary’s (or official’s) signature and seal so the receiving country accepts it.

Likely both, in different forms. A US will generally does not smoothly control Philippine real estate — Philippine property is governed by Philippine law, and courts there will treat foreign wills (and foreign probate) on their own terms. An SPA is often the practical tool for selling or managing the property while you are abroad, and Philippine estate planning (including paying the Philippine estate tax) is handled separately.

Talk to us before locking in a plan — this is an area where “thinking it can’t be that different” is exactly what causes problems later.

Yes. Before the SPA can be used in the Philippines, the principal has two options:

1. Notarization before the Philippine Consulate — the consular route, or
2. Apostille — notarize the document with a local notary, then have it apostilled by

the competent authority (in the US: the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned; in Illinois, the Illinois Secretary of State).

Both make the SPA valid in the Philippines. Which one to use depends on the transaction and the institution involved — ask us so you pick the right one the first time.

The Secretary of State’s office handles it — typically few days to a few weeks, depending on the state, volume, and whether you pay for expedited service. Plan ahead: for time-sensitive matters (closings, deadlines), start the apostille process early — and remember: the document must be notarized first, so the chain is notary → apostille. [VERIFY with firm]: current Illinois Secretary of State apostille fees/turnaround.

Yes, in most cases. An SPA executed in Illinois needs an apostille to be recognized by institutions in the Philippines.

Good news: since 2019, the Philippines is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention — so an apostilled document from a member country (including the US) is recognized in the Philippines without further authentication by the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Philippine consulate. That saved an entire layer of red tape for Filipino-American families.

Usually, yes — with the right document: a Special Power of Attorney naming that relative (or anyone you trust) as your attorney-in-fact for the specific transactions needed. The document must be properly notarized (and, for Philippine use, typically apostilled, or notarized through the consulate).

The other side: the bank, agency, or notary in the Philippines will check the document — make sure the SPA is for exactly those tasks, names the right person, and is dated. Items the Philippine institution accepts vary; it’s worth running your documents past us first.

Philippine documents (e.g., a birth certificate from the PSA/NSO) can be apostilled in the Philippines by the DFA for use in the US. Since the Philippines joined the Hague Convention, this process is simpler than it used to be. If you need to use a Philippine document in a US court or agency, start with the apostille from the Philippine authorities.