Posted on December 14, 2022 in Main

As anyone who has experienced it can testify, sexual harassment at work can make life miserable. In addition to the harassment itself, victims of such behavior often face an uphill battle to get their concerns taken seriously.

Clearly, when it comes to sexual harassment, the stakes are high. People who suffer from sexual harassment at work may be reluctant to take legal action against their employer, but doing so may be the only way to make the harassment stop or to take a stand against employers and coworkers engaging in such terrible behavior in the future. Concerns about the process of a sexual harassment lawsuit may also be intimidating for some people. At MKFM Law, we are here to answer your questions and to make sure you get the help you need. For an overview of how sexual harassment lawsuits work, read on and then contact one of our experienced attorneys for help with your case.

Steps in a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

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 Posted on December 13, 2022 in Kane

Asset division is one of the major issues that must be addressed in any Illinois divorce. Whether a couple already agrees how they will divide their marital property, or anticipate having to go through a long, drawn-out court battle to reach a settlement, the question of finances must be resolved before the divorce can be finalized.

Because asset division laws vary from state to state and the process of asset division is often dramatized or oversimplified in pop culture, misunderstandings about the process are common. Couples looking to get divorced in Illinois are often surprised by how much they do not know. In this blog, we will dive into common facts about asset division in Illinois, but be sure to contact a divorce attorney for answers to your fact specific questions.

Equitable v. Equal

Some states require divorcing spouses to divide their marital estate equally - that is, with both parties receiving equal shares of whatever property, investments, and cash were earned during the marriage. Illinois, however, requires divorcing spouses to divide their estate equitably. This means that couples will need to take into account each partner's financial and non-financial contributions to the marriage, as well as each partner's legitimate needs following the divorce.

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 Posted on December 06, 2022 in Main

While divorce is rarely a simple process, for couples who have a high net worth or ultra high net worth, it can be even more complicated. People often feel as though more money should reduce their problems, and yet this is rarely the case - especially if you have a spouse who intends to fight you over every penny. Furthermore, high-net-worth divorce cases often involve couples with at least one spouse who is in the public eye. If you are considering divorce, but are worried about the implications it could have for your reputation, estate, and children, having the help of an Illinois divorce lawyer with experience managing complex divorces with valuable family estates can make all the difference. Here are four potential problems your attorney will help you look out for during your divorce.

Estimating Property Value

An individual or couple with a high net worth typically has a wide variety of assets. Sometimes these assets can be hard to value because they are rare, complex, or have other part-owners. For example, ownership in a family business may mean not only valuing the business in its entirety, but valuing one spouse's ownership, plus the portion of that ownership that the other spouse is entitled to in a divorce.

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 Posted on November 30, 2022 in Main

Parents who are divorced, separated, or never married often struggle with the limited time they get to spend with their kids. Missed holidays and big chunks of summer vacations can be tough, but so can the basic, everyday interactions that parents miss out on when their children are with their other parent.

Illinois allows parents to potentially resolve this issue by putting a creative section in their parenting plan called “the right of first refusal.” If you and your spouse get along fairly well and you are hoping to spend more time with your children, read on to find out how having this clause could benefit you.

Right of First Refusal and Illinois Parenting Plans

The right of first refusal is a legal term that simply describes an arrangement wherein parents seek supplemental childcare from each other before they hire a babysitter or ask a family member. Parents who want the right of first refusal can make the clause as flexible as they want; if they live close to each other and can engage in frequent childcare transactions without conflict, they may want to require the right of first refusal every time a parent has to leave the children for more than a few hours. Parents who live several hours from each other or across the border in another state may only want to include the right of first refusal when a parent is gone overnight. Whatever the arrangement may be, as long as parents both agree to abide by the terms, a judge will likely approve it.

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 Posted on November 30, 2022 in Main

Nearly one in three women will be sexually harassed at work, and although workplace sexual harassment tends to affect women more often than men, men can be victims, too. Reporting sexual harassment is rarely easy and straightforward, and it can become even more complicated when power dynamics are at play. If you are being harassed at work, it is important to know your rights, as well as the potential consequences you could suffer if you do not take action to stop the sexual harassment.

How Are Victims of Sexual Harassment Affected?

In addition to the embarrassment and awkwardness of dealing with sexual harassment in the moment, sexually harassing actions can leave the victim feeling terrible for days, weeks, and even months afterward. Some of the physical and psychological side effects that victims report after being sexually harassed at work include, but are not limited to:

• Nausea
• Weight loss or gain

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 Posted on November 22, 2022 in Kane

If you are getting or have already gotten divorced in Illinois, chances are that you are receiving or paying spousal maintenance payments. Also known as alimony or spousal support, spousal maintenance is less common than it used to be but is still common enough that it is important to be aware of the laws that regulate this area of family law. One of the questions that spouses frequently have after divorce, whether they are making or receiving alimony, is whether certain actions or events could cause alimony to end. Like most legal issues, the answer in a specific case is, “It depends.” Read on to learn more.

What Can End Alimony Payments?

The most common reason that spousal maintenance payments terminate is that the court order requiring one spouse to make payments comes to an end. While the court order for spousal maintenance is renewable or fixed, it has a firm or potential end date. It is important to not stop making payments without a court's explicit permission.

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 Posted on November 18, 2022 in Main

Every child deserves to have a safe, comfortable home in which to grow up. When parents get divorced, one of the court's main duties is to make decisions that will benefit the children of the marriage. Often, this means that one of the spouses will be compelled to make child support payments to the other in order to help them raise the children.

When Is Child Support Awarded?

Child support is almost universally granted to one of the spouses during a divorce that involves the parents of minor children. Illinois courts base their child support decisions on an “income shares” model. This model considers both parents' incomes and the number of children, as well as the amount of parenting time each parent has. The amount of child support is based on an estimation of the total cost of raising the child. This cost is then equitably divided between the parents based on each of their respective net incomes. The parent with more parenting time will usually receive the support payments.

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 Posted on November 09, 2022 in Kane

On the whole, couples today are considering the potentially negative impacts of divorce more carefully than couples of the past, especially when there are children involved. This means fewer marriages end in divorce, and, when they do, couples are more conscious about the way they choose to separate. Many people are children of divorced parents themselves and have experienced the pain of high-conflict divorce first-hand. Others have simply read the research and know that divorce does not have to be a catastrophic experience when adults can work cooperatively together. Whatever the reasons may be for you, if you are considering collaborative divorce, the time to approach an attorney committed to helping you with the process is now.

Do Not Wait Until You File for Divorce

Some couples figure they will wait to file for divorce and then hire attorneys to finish representing them throughout the process. However, this is usually not a good idea; the way you file for divorce has the potential to impact the rest of the divorce proceedings. For example, if you and your spouse have not already resolved issues like child support, asset division, and alimony, you will not be able to finalize your divorce and may need to litigate these issues on a temporary basis.

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 Posted on November 07, 2022 in Main

Although students are often the focus of sexually harassing behavior on Illinois' university campuses, the truth is that employees of a university may be subject to sexually harassing behaviors as well. Studies on the subject show that universities tend not to screen applicants for histories of sexual harassment or prior misconduct, potentially leading to hiring employees with a clear tendency towards sexually predatory behavior. Such behaviors could come from fellow employees, department managers, or even bold students. Sex-based discrimination may also be more subtle, such as being passed up on a promotion because you are pregnant or might become pregnant.

University employees who are being sexually harassed or discriminated against because of their sex may wonder whether they should file a complaint under Illinois' laws or a Title IX complaint.

Illinois Has Laws Against Sexual Harassment

Although Title IX may be a valuable resource for students who are not protected under Illinois sexual harassment laws, Title IX investigations are not subject to the same rigorous, standardized procedural processes as criminal and civil procedures under Illinois law. You may not get the investigation or adjudication you want if a sexual harassment case is handled internally through a university's Title IX administrators. You may not necessarily be able to have an attorney, bring witnesses, or have other evidentiary rules to your advantage in a university's Title IX hearings.

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 Posted on October 31, 2022 in Main

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Illinois for nearly 10 years, letting Illinoisans of every orientation pursue a legally recognized relationship with the person they love, including the traditional financial and governmental benefits of marriage. Unfortunately, LGBTQ individuals' relationships are susceptible to the same shortcomings and downfalls as their heterosexual peers', meaning gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer spouses may need to dissolve their marriages through a divorce as well.

Fortunately, LGBTQ divorces are managed in nearly the same way as heterosexual marriages, meaning that the pathway through divorce is usually clear. Here are some answers to common questions about LGBTQ divorces in Illinois.

Can We Get Divorced in Illinois if We Got Married Somewhere Else? 

Yes. Marriages are federally recognized, and LGBTQ people can get divorced in any state as long as they meet that state's residency requirements and are legally married in any other state.

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