Posted on March 05, 2018 in Family Law

On January 1, 2018, a new law regarding pet custody in Illinois made its debut. In the past, pets were divided between the divorced couple like furniture or a vehicle. If a spouse acquired the pet before marriage, it would be awarded to them. In the event the pet was acquired during marriage, the judge would be required to award the pet to one spouse and reimburse the other for half the pet’s value.

Now, however, a judge will be able to take the well-being of the pet into consideration before granting custody. They can consider who spent more time cleaning out a fish tank or walks and feeds the dog on a regular basis and award pet custody based on this information. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of this new law.

Pros

Most people consider their pet as an important member of their family. In the past, spouses were hurt because pets were treated like furniture rather than a family member that deserves to be loved and cared for.

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 Posted on February 28, 2018 in Immigration

During 2017, many different experts saw fit to comment on an unusual trend— documented immigrants, such as green card holders, were becoming U.S. citizens at much higher rates than normal. This is a noteworthy trend for many different reasons—for many immigrants, full citizenship is simply not necessary for the aims they wish to carry out within the United States. For example, one does not have to be a citizen to work in the U.S., nor to study.

Another reason to comment on the citizenship trend is that obtaining full citizenship is actually difficult for many and takes quite a long time, contrary to popular perception and misinformation propagated by those not in the know.

Family-Based Applications

A large part of citizenship applications come from people who have familial reasons to want to claim it—either because they have married a U.S. citizen and want to ensure their children have no problems, or because they have a “derived” citizenship claim by virtue of one or both parents. The second category is the one used by children born to U.S. citizens located outside the country and its possessions. While it can get complex (for example, the validity of a claim sometimes hinges on whether a child’s parents were married at the time of their conception and birth), it is very possible to obtain citizenship by meeting these requirements.

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 Posted on February 28, 2018 in Family Law

The process of divorce can be expensive. In an attempt to save money, some adults decide to handle their divorce on their own. Although there are several resources that can help you file your own divorce, doing so without the guidance of an experienced divorce lawyer can lead to mistakes that can cost you a great deal of time, money, and headaches down the road. By seeking legal representation for your divorce case, you can avoid the following common mistakes that often occur in do-it-yourself divorce cases.

1. Missed Deadlines

Divorce involves filling out a significant amount of forms and attending a number of hearings. Since it can be confusing to determine what needs to be done when, you may miss deadlines that can dismiss your case or even invalidate it. An attorney can help you understand all of the specific deadlines and requirements associated with your divorce and ensure you know exactly what to do and where to be during the process.

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 Posted on February 27, 2018 in Personal Injury

One of the major causes of car accidents in DuPage County is aggressive driving. There are several different ways that aggressive driving can happen, from speeding and tailgating to incidents of serious road rage.

According to a news release from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, around 80 percent of all drivers on the road noted anger, aggression, or road rage behind the wheel at least once throughout the previous year. That information came out of a study conducted by AAA on aggressive driving and road rage, which also determined that approximately eight million U.S. drivers participated in extreme examples of road rage, such as "purposefully ramming another vehicle or getting out of the car to confront another driver."

To be clear, when aggressive driving causes an accident, the injury victim may be eligible to file a claim against the aggressive driver based on a theory of negligence.

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 Posted on February 21, 2018 in Immigration

In today’s fraught immigration climate, more and more immigrants who come to the U.S. want to be able to adjust from a nonimmigrant visa to an immigrant visa or status which will allow them to remain in the country. Normally, adjusting one’s immigration status is a fairly low-key affair. However, during the current administration, the procedure has become more intimidating. Understanding what is required can make it less so.

Are You in the U.S.?

It may seem like splitting hairs, but one important factor is that if you are not currently located in the United States, any attempt to change to an immigrant visa or green card is not called adjustment of status. Rather, it is called consular processing, because technically, a putative immigrant who is not in the United States has no status to change. Anyone abroad would simply go through normal consular processing, just for a much longer-term visa than the more common B1/B2.

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 Posted on February 21, 2018 in Family Law

Going through a divorce while raising a child with special needs can be a real challenge. Since alimony, child custody, and visitation are more complicated in divorce cases that involve special needs children, it is imperative that you make sure your divorce lawyer has a thorough understanding of your child’s needs and what your lifestyle is like with your child. Here are four tips on how to navigate divorce with a special needs child.

1. Consider a Specialized Visitation Schedule

Due to the fact that children with special needs usually require structure and consistency, a regular visitation schedule may not work for your family. You should think about how your child will travel to spend time with both you and your ex-spouse and whether they will need to bring any special equipment with them during their visits. In addition, you may need to ensure your visitation schedule is flexible because of your child’s health issues and their necessity to see familiar medical personnel.

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 Posted on February 19, 2018 in Personal Injury

A new form of technology known as the “textalyzer” has been developed to help law enforcement officials catch individuals who are illegally texting while driving. This is particularly significant news for residents of DuPage County who regularly commute into Chicago.

According to a recent report from ABC News 7, “Chicago may become the first city in the U.S. to arm its police officers with devices that will tell them immediately if motorists were texting when they got into a traffic accident.” Indeed, members of the Chicago Police Department may soon begin using textalyzers to determine whether a driver violated Illinois’s texting-while-driving law, which prohibits the use of electronic devices for texting if you are behind the wheel.

What is the textalyzer and how does it work? Can such a device actually deter drivers from texting in order to prevent motor vehicle accidents? And is such a device lawful?

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 Posted on February 15, 2018 in Immigration

After the December 11 attack in New York City that was perpetrated by a Bangladeshi immigrant, the president and current administration have gone on the offensive, arguing loudly about the evils of what is being called “chain migration.” They allege that chain migration, also called ‘extended chain migration,’ is a lax policy that permits too many immigrants into the U.S. without proper vetting.

While numerous experts have debunked such claims as manifestly paranoid, it is important to understand the legal arguments surrounding this issue, especially since the authority of the Oval Office may be turned arbitrarily on this aspect of U.S. immigration policy if nothing changes.

A Long and Complex Path

The perpetrator of the December attack in New York was a Bangladeshi immigrant who is not a U.S. citizen, but attained permanent residency after entering the country on an F43 visa. This is a visa granted to a child of an F1 visa holder, who is in turn the adult brother or sister of a U.S. citizen. This led the president to argue that ‘extended family chain migration,’ which is a term that had no meaning until a December 12 statement gave it one, “is incompatible with national security.” This is alleged because one family member who achieves U.S. citizen status can, in theory, sponsor several family members to come to the United States as well.

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 Posted on February 13, 2018 in Family Law

If you are going through a divorce, you should make sure your children are at the top of your priority list. After all, this is a time where your children may feel anxious and confused and will need to be cared for and reassured more than ever before. Here are five tips for parenting when going through a divorce:

1. Avoid Talking About Your Soon to Be Ex in Front of Your Children.

Although it is easier said than done, you should avoid talking about your soon to be ex in front of your children. If you are experiencing feelings of anger or betrayal, you can vent to a trustworthy sibling, friend, or therapist. Your children do not need to know about your emotions during this difficult time.

2. Ensure Your Children Are Not Messengers.

If you do not want to contact your ex, you may be tempted to ask your children to become the messengers. They may feel stressed and put into an uncomfortable situation if you do so. If you do not want to speak to your ex in person or even call them, you can communicate via text or email.

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 Posted on February 13, 2018 in Personal Injury

The weather in Lombard and throughout the Chicago area has been especially cold. Indeed, in late December, a report from ABC News 7 indicated that wind chills were pushing temperatures in and around the city well below zero, causing “dangerously cold” temperatures. When it snows in the winter, and when the temperatures drop rapidly, roads and highways throughout DuPage County can become especially hazardous.

An article from The Weather Channel emphasizes that black ice—which is a thin coat of ice on the road that is usually transparent—can appear, causing cars to slip and crash into one another. When inclement weather, from black ice to a snowstorm, causes a car crash in DuPage County, who is liable?

Negligence and Inclement Weather

If a car hits a patch of black ice and crashes into another vehicle, is the driver in that car (the car that hit the black ice) responsible for the crash? Liability in winter weather accidents in Illinois depends largely upon whether the driver was negligent. The Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions define negligence as “the failure to do something which a reasonably careful person would do, or the doing of something which a reasonably careful person would not, under circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence.” In other words, if a person does not act reasonably in winter weather, he or she could be liable for a resulting car accident.

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