Posted on February 21, 2025 in Family Law

Divorce is rarely easy, and when there are children, it tends to be even more difficult. Divorcing parents must – either separately or jointly – file a proposed parenting plan within 120 days after the petition for allocation of parental responsibilities is filed. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10(f), proposed parenting plans must address 15 specific issues and can address additional issues. If either or both parents do not file a parenting plan with the court, a hearing will be held, and the court will allocate parental responsibilities.

The court may also require the parents to attend mediation. The court is only interested in whether a proposed parenting plan reflects the child’s best interests. Courts usually believe joint custody is in the child’s best interests when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. This means parenting time is divided, but not necessarily equally. Many parents who have joint custody have a 2-2-3 plan, which allows the child to be with the first parent for two days, the other parent for two days, then the first parent for three days.

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 Posted on February 21, 2025 in Immigration

Immigration issues seem to be in a constant state of flux, which is putting those who need visas or renewals on their paperwork on edge. On January 17, 2025, a decision regarding the DACA final rule was issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The rule stated that no new initial DACA requests will be processed at this time.

DACA renewal requests and the accompanying applications for employment authorization will continue to be accepted and processed. While this may change, current DACA grants and employment authorizations remain valid. The majority of DACA requests for renewal will be processed within 120 days, in the order they are received.

During 2023, the average processing time for DACA renewals was about a month. Despite this, DACA recipients are asked to submit renewals between four and five months before their expiration—but not more than 150 days before expiration. Speaking to a highly skilled Lombard, IL immigration attorney can be a good first step for those with questions about DACA.   

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 Posted on February 10, 2025 in Immigration

Immigration laws in the U.S. seem to be constantly changing, making it difficult for those seeking citizenship, work permits, family-based visas, and more to know how to proceed. New H-2 regulations went into effect on January 17, 2025, giving USCIS the authority to deny H-2A petitions filed on or after that date.

The official line is that these new regulations "streamline" the approval process and "strengthen worker protections" by imposing new consequences on companies that violate labor laws or charge prohibited fees. Those who filed the H-2A petition through the mail will have the petition accepted if received prior to January 17th and rejected if received on or after January 17th.  

United States employers who properly meet all the necessary requirements for bringing foreign nationals to the U.S. to fill temporary or seasonal jobs in the agriculture industry can do so under the H-2A program. A Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) must be filed on behalf of a prospective worker.

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 Posted on February 10, 2025 in Personal Injury

The CDC reports that one in 25 adult drivers admit to falling asleep while driving, and many more admit to driving while they are sleep-deprived.  It is estimated that as many as 6,400 people die each year in auto collisions that are caused by drowsy driving. In fact, the reaction time of drivers who are sleep-deprived is similar to those who drive while impaired.

A driver who has gone more than 20 hours without sleep is just as impaired as a driver with a BAC of 0.08 percent – the legal limit across the United States and Illinois. Many drivers may experience short, four to five-second periods of "micro-sleep" but do not think they are being unsafe drivers. Yet at typical highway speeds, a vehicle can travel the length of a football field during those four to five seconds.   

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 Posted on February 10, 2025 in Family Law

Like many things in the United States right now, the stock market seems to be full of shocks and surprises on a daily basis. Financial gain in the stock market is never a given, but during a divorce, financial anxiety is already present, and a volatile stock market can increase that anxiety by leaps and bounds.

To come through your divorce with your financial security intact during a tumultuous stock market, you must be particularly strategic during the division of marital assets. This is also the time to have an experienced, highly skilled family law attorney from Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices by your side.

How Could the Market Affect the Division of a Marital Retirement Account?

Many working couples save for retirement by using IRAs or 401(k)s or by investing money in the stock market. A retirement account is known as a "qualified account." When funds are removed from an IRA, the money is taxed fully, and if you are under 59.5 years old, you could be hit with an additional 10 percent penalty.

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 Posted on January 22, 2025 in Personal Injury

According to the NHTSA, truck accidents made up 21 percent of all motor vehicle accidents in 2021 and were responsible for 13.4 percent of all auto accident deaths. These numbers are high when you consider that large semi-trucks only make up about 5 percent of the total number of registered vehicles.

The sheer size of a loaded semi-truck (about 80,000 pounds) virtually ensures that in a collision between a semi-truck and a 3,000-pound passenger vehicle, those in the passenger vehicle will suffer severe or fatal injuries. There are many causes of large truck accidents  – including driver carelessness and distracted driving, improper loading, poor maintenance, fatigued driving, and impaired driving.

In some cases, the cause of a semi-truck accident can be traced back to the trucking company that hired the driver. Trucking companies can be held liable following an accident if their truck driver was not properly vetted. If you are the victim of a large truck accident caused by the negligence of the truck driver, speaking to a Bloomingdale, IL truck accident lawyer can be extremely beneficial.  

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 Posted on January 22, 2025 in Immigration

Less than a week before the new administration took office, the Department of Homeland Security, under President Biden’s orders, extended temporary deportation protections to about one million U.S. immigrants. The action was intended to bring some measure of stability to immigrant households across the nation. Those included in these protections are those who are part of a program known as Temporary Protected Status, which allows recipients to secure work permits.

Those in the program are already in the United States and are from Sudan, Ukraine, El Salvador, and Venezuela. The legal status of those in the TPS program was set to lapse in the spring but will now remain in effect for an additional 18 months – after those in the program go through the re-registration process. If you are an immigrant who is under the TPS program, or you have other immigration issues that you need legal assistance with, an experienced Lombard, IL immigration attorney can help.  

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 Posted on January 22, 2025 in Family Law

Divorce is virtually always difficult, even in the friendliest divorce. Since most divorces are less than friendly, this means the allocation of parental responsibilities may be equally unfriendly. Even so, most parents learn to work together and find a way to co-parent their child, regardless of the difficulties involved.

Unfortunately, even parents who generally get along well after the divorce and have done a good job as co-parents while the children were younger may be left reeling from a teenager whose only goal seems to be to divide and conquer. In the context of parenting, the divide and conquer approach refers to a teen’s ability to play his or her parents against one another in an attempt to get exactly what he or she wants.

Parents who are not one hundred percent in sync can hit some serious bumps in the parenting roadway when a teenager is involved. Now more than ever, it is essential that parents work together to ensure they are always on the same page and, hopefully, one step ahead of their teen. If you and your ex are having difficulties parenting your teen, speaking to an experienced Bloomingdale, IL family law attorney can be helpful.

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 Posted on January 09, 2025 in Immigration

If it feels like our government is on the verge of a shutdown every time you turn around, you are not wrong. Over the last two decades, the government has shut down three times, but the number of times a shutdown has been threatened is far more, despite the fact that 75 percent of Americans find it unacceptable for Congress to threaten these shutdowns.

Few Americans may ever consider how a government shutdown impacts immigration issues. Since another potential shutdown battle is expected in March, knowing how this might affect employers and immigrants can be helpful. If a government shutdown might affect you, your business, or your employees, having an experienced Bloomingdale, IL immigration attorney can be extremely beneficial.

Necessary Employer Actions During a Government Shutdown

During an actual government shutdown, all but "essential" personnel are furloughed. Key immigration-related agencies may face shutdowns, and employers who employ immigrants may see processing times significantly affected. If this is true for your business, you should consider the following tips:

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 Posted on January 09, 2025 in Family Law

As many as a third of all divorces are triggered by financial issues. This could mean there is not enough money to pay normal monthly expenses, which creates friction, or that one partner has vastly different spending habits than the other. In some cases, financial issues in a marriage stem from one partner refusing to let the other in on financial decisions. When money creates problems in a marriage, those problems often continue into divorce.

Although Illinois is an equitable distribution state – meaning marital assets are split fairly, not necessarily 50/50 – things like retirement funds and executive compensation can make the division of marital assets much more complex. If you are facing complex financial issues in your divorce, you can benefit from speaking to an experienced Bloomingdale, IL family law attorney.

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