Posted on July 31, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

There are times when quitting a job is less a choice and more the result of working conditions that no reasonable person could be expected to endure. In Illinois, when an employee resigns due to severe workplace sexual harassment, he or she may have a claim for constructive discharge.

Constructive discharge means the law treats a resignation as if the person were fired. While not every uncomfortable or inappropriate workplace qualifies, if you left your job because of sexual harassment, it is important to speak to a skilled Wheaton, IL sexual harassment lawyer.

What is Constructive Discharge?

Essentially, when an employer creates working conditions so intolerable that an employee is virtually compelled to resign, the courts may consider that resignation a termination for the purposes of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. The employee must demonstrate that the working conditions were so unbearable that they could not reasonably be expected to continue.

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 Posted on July 31, 2025 in Family Law

During a high-conflict custody dispute (known as allocation of parental responsibilities in Illinois), you may be tempted to place a GPS tracker in your child’s backpack or phone for peace of mind. While using GPS technology to keep tabs on your child’s location can make you feel more secure when he or she is with your ex-spouse, there may be legal concerns to consider.

In fact, using a GPS tracking device without the other parent’s knowledge could potentially impact your family court case adversely, or even lead to criminal charges. Before taking steps to track your child’s location, gathering accurate information is crucial. This is a subject that definitely should be discussed with your Wheaton, IL family law attorney before taking such a serious step.

Why Do Some Parents Turn to GPS Trackers During Parenting Time with the Other Parent?

There are several motivations that could prompt a parent to place a GPS tracker in their child’s backpack or on the child’s phone. In today’s uncertain and often unsafe world, safety concerns would certainly be at the top of the list.

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 Posted on July 31, 2025 in Divorce

Divorce is hard enough when both spouses are involved, even when that "involvement" includes arguments about splitting marital assets, child issues, and alimony. But what happens when a spouse cannot be found? Perhaps your spouse walked away from your marriage years ago. You have recently decided to make the split legal and file for divorce. Unfortunately, you are unable to locate your spouse.

Can you still obtain a divorce in Illinois when your spouse cannot be found? Fortunately, there is a legal path to divorce, even when one spouse cannot be located, although it does require extra steps. Your best course of action is to speak to a knowledgeable St. Charles, IL family law attorney, who can clearly lay out your options for what is known as a default divorce.

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 Posted on July 22, 2025 in Divorce

An Indiana couple split a collection of beehives during their divorce, while in 1999, a Nevada couple was locked in a contentious battle over a Beanie Baby collection. A Massachusetts couple fought over a "pet" catfish, named Pinky, and another couple included a clause in their divorce that obligated the husband to share half of any future Nobel Prize winnings with his ex-wife.

A Cambodian couple actually sawed their home in half when ending their 18-year marriage. Celebrities have even stranger stories of unusual marital asset divisions. Dennis Hopper’s estranged wife demanded items such as asparagus tongs and rosebushes during the divorce, while actor David Hasselhoff negotiated the exclusive use of his nickname "Hoff," along with the associated catchphrase "Don’t Hassle the Hoff."

As you might imagine, the emotional aspect of a divorce can lead couples to prioritize seemingly trivial items, even over more valuable assets. Couples may also include unusual clauses in their divorce settlements for no other reason than spite. For the "average" couple, the division of unusual assets usually includes frequent flyer miles, cryptocurrency, pets, season tickets, collectibles, intellectual property, hardcopy photos, and digital music collections.

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 Posted on July 22, 2025 in Divorce

If you are considering a divorce from your spouse who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or some other form of severe cognitive impairment, you have probably already experienced some of the emotional challenges. There are also legal challenges associated with divorcing a spouse with any form of severe cognitive impairment, as well as societal judgment.

While you may be dealing with a spouse who no longer recognizes you, or who has become angry and abusive as a result of the cognitive impairment, Illinois law (750 ILCS 5/ Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act) requires that certain standards be met in any divorce. One of these standards is that both parties must have the capacity to participate in the proceedings.

This is a heartbreaking situation that can feel as though there are no good solutions. To better understand the legal steps and ethical considerations involved in divorcing a spouse with severe cognitive impairment, it is extremely important to consult with a St. Charles, IL divorce lawyer.

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 Posted on July 22, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

If you have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, you may have reported the harassment to HR or a supervisor. In some cases, this can resolve the issue, and life can continue as normal. In other cases, the harasser may continue sexually harassing you despite your complaints. You can certainly seek legal action against your employer for failing to stop the sexually harassing behavior, but can you sue the co-worker responsible for the behavior?

Under certain circumstances, you can sue a co-worker for sexual harassment in the workplace, but there are several issues to consider before you take that route. Typically, employers are sued in workplace sexual harassment cases, although the individual harasser may be named in the lawsuit. Under both Title VII and the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), only employers are responsible for maintaining a workplace free from sexual harassment. Generally, co-workers do not fall under the broad definition of an employer under either state or federal laws, unless they are an owner of the company.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Divorce

Suppose you were awarded spousal support during your divorce, but now, several years later, there has been a significant change in your circumstances. Or, perhaps you are the paying spouse, and you have had a significant change in your circumstances that prevents you from continuing to pay spousal support.

You may even have evidence that your ex-spouse’s circumstances have significantly changed since the spousal support was awarded. If the receiving spouse just won a sizeable amount of money in the lottery, this change could potentially warrant a modification.

Regardless of your situation, it is important that you understand the legalities of spousal support modifications before asking the court to grant you a modification. Consulting with an experienced Wheaton, IL divorce attorney can help you obtain the necessary assistance for a modification.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Family Law

Suppose a couple becomes pregnant while dating. The father has repeatedly stated that he does not want children and angrily confronts the pregnant mother. He tells her that he will just sign away his parental rights and then will legally have nothing to do with the child – or the mother. The mother is now worried about how she will support the child with no child support or other support from the father.

Can an Illinois father simply sign away his parental rights and escape all responsibility for a child? If you are on either side of a similar situation, it is important that you speak to an experienced St. Charles, IL family law attorney who can assess your unique facts and circumstances and help you determine what steps you need to take.

Understanding Illinois Parental Rights

First, Illinois courts expect both parents to provide for their child financially, physically, and emotionally. Parental rights are rarely terminated and usually only when another person wants to step into the parental role via adoption, or during involuntary termination, when the child’s parent abandons, chronically abuses, subjects a child to extreme or repeated cruelty, or sexually abuses the child.

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 Posted on June 27, 2025 in Sexual Harassment

In 2024, union members accounted for 13.1 percent of wage and salary workers in Illinois, compared with 12.8 percent in 2023. The union membership rate for Illinois reached its peak in 1993, at 21 percent, and its lowest point in 2023. Across the nation, union members accounted for about 9.9 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2024. Illinois union membership rates are generally higher than the U.S. average.

On March 21, 2025, a partisan bill (HB1465) was introduced that would require trade unions in the state to provide the same level of sexual harassment prevention training to their workers as all other businesses in Illinois are required to do. Trade unions providing sexual harassment prevention training would be required to use the program created by the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), provide  sexual harassment prevention training at least once a year to all workers, and maintain a log that indicates each worker’s annual training status.

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 Posted on June 11, 2025 in Divorce

While legal separation and divorce are both legal processes that share similar procedures, their outcomes are distinctly different. A divorce ends the marriage, while legal separation does not. A legal separation is more than just physical separation between a couple, although physical separation is certainly a part of it.

Some couples may choose legal separation over divorce for a number of reasons, but in many cases, a legal separation ultimately results in divorce. If you are contemplating legal separation in Illinois, discuss the matter with an experienced St. Charles, IL divorce lawyer before making your decision.  

What Are Some of the Most Common Reasons for Choosing Legal Separation?

Legal separation is a court-approved agreement between spouses to live separately from one another, financially and physically. Spouses are not free to remarry during a legal separation, and spousal inheritance laws remain intact during a legal separation. The most common reasons spouses choose legal separation include:

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