People contact us when they are looking for an Illinois attorney. Some are considering or pursuing a divorce and want to hire an experienced and reputable attorney to represent them. A question we hear often in those situations is, “Who gets the house?”

It makes sense that this would be on the minds of people about to divorce. Often the house or condo that the couple owns is their largest or most expensive asset.

If both spouses are on the title or it was bought during the marriage, it’s a marital asset. There are three options the divorcing spouses need to consider:

• Sell the house
• Co-own the house
• Agree to a buyout

Sell the House

If neither spouse wants the house, or they would not be able to afford it on their own, they can sell the house and split the profit. To get to that payout, however, there is typically a lot of work to be done. Finding a real estate agent, making repairs, and sprucing up the property involves a lot of work and money. Can the two parties do that work together or will just one spouse take that on?

Another factor to consider is the state of the real estate market. Is it a sellers’ market or are properties being listed for months before they sell?

The two parties will have to pay off the mortgage and any home equity loans. They need to prepare for the capital gains tax on the proceeds.

Co-Own the House

This is probably the least common outcome. We see this with spouses who have children and believe it is best for the kids to stay in the family home and not have to go between two houses or apartments. The divorced spouses either have separate housing and take turns staying at the family house with the children, or they live in different bedrooms/parts of the house.

This can be a permanent or temporary solution (e.g., in place for 2 years before revisiting the situation). Either way, the spouses remain tied to each other financially.

Agree to a Buyout

In this situation, one spouse wants to keep the house and the other agrees to move out and accept a buyout. The tricky part is determining what the fair amount is for the buyout and how that value is given to the spouse.

Sometimes other money or assets are given in a buyout. Sometimes payments are made over time. Occasionally, the spouse keeps the home as a form of lump-sum alimony.

When you and your spouse can’t agree on one of these three options, a Judge may decide for you and usually that will mean forcing a sale of the house.

Going through a divorce is obviously stressful. But having an experienced advocate in your corner who will help you through the process, including the big issue of who gets the house, will make the process easier. And in the long run, you will likely be better off financially than if you didn’t hire an attorney or if you hire one who isn’t good at their job.

For the best divorce attorney for your situation, contact us at 312-346-5320. We help with divorces in Cook County and the neighboring counties of Lake, DuPage, Kane and Will.

You’ve heard the old saying that anything you say can and be used against you and that you have a right to remain silent? It’s great advice. And while I’m not saying you have to be a mute, there are clear answers you should give to the four most common questions a cop will ask you when you are pulled over in Illinois.

The first thing I’ll tell you is that you can and should be polite. Say hello, but then let them lead the conversation. The first question will usually be something like:

Do you know how fast you were going?

This is a trick question. If the speed limit is 55 and you were going 80, telling them that you were going 70 is still admitting to speeding. Also, the question implies that you were doing a certain speed the whole time. You can usually honestly say “I was going the speed limit.” It’s not your job or a good idea to confess to a violation. And you don’t know at what point they were referring to.

If they don’t ask how fast you were going, they might say something like:

Do you know why I pulled you over?

Again, it’s not your job to confess. The proper answer is “I do not.” You might admit to something they weren’t thinking of like a broken taillight or speeding.

It’s possible they will then ask you this:

Can I search you and your car?

They can’t do this unless you consent or they have probable cause such as seeing a weapon in the back seat or evidence of illegal drugs. Again, the right answer is a polite no.

Finally, they might ask you:

Where are you coming from and where are you going?

This is none of their business. Some lawyers will tell you to say “I don’t feel comfortable sharing that information with someone I don’t know.” Others would tell you the simple truth of “work” or “home” is fine. Either way, don’t over share.

The bottom line is that the less you say, the better in most situations. It’s not your job to admit guilty or prove innocence. It’s their job to prove you did something wrong.

For Illinois lawyers, no matter what area of law you focus on, it is your job to represent your clients based on what Illinois law is. While there are times when “new law” is created through the courts, the reality is that most law is settled even when it has a grey area.

In other words, lawyers aren’t law makers. We don’t make the law. We don’t usually change the law. We deal with the law as it is and advocate for clients based on what it is. If you come to us with good facts, we can help you. If you come with bad facts it will be much harder.

For example, if you are charged with speeding 27 miles an hour over the limit, a good lawyer can usually make it so that ticket either goes away or doesn’t cause you to lose your license. But if you are like the teenager who called me recently and was going 120 in a 55, those are bad facts and getting a Judge to let that kid keep his license would be a big challenge for any law firm.

When you call us (312-346-5320) to speak with an attorney for free, one thing we promise is straight talk, even if that means telling you that you don’t have a case. So about once a week we’ll hear from someone that can’t be helped and they’ll respond by telling us the law stinks and it needs to be changed. They will often ask for our help in changing it.

For example, a woman called me who sadly lost her husband due to what she believes is medical malpractice. The problem is that case needs to be filed as a wrongful death lawsuit. There’s, generally speaking, a very strict two year time limit for suing. She called me about three years after the death. There’s no way for me or anyone to help her.

She didn’t like the answer and I get it. Her explanation as to why she waited so long was that she was grieving. That makes perfect sense to me, but unfortunately the law doesn’t carve out an exception to the time limits for people who aren’t emotionally ready to sue. I wish they did.

It’s not our job to tell you what the law should be or even agree with you on what you think it should be. It’s our job to offer a legal analysis based on what the law is. That’s all we can do.

This woman said to me, “Someone really needs to change that law.” I hear a version of that once a week or so. I often agree with it. So what can you do if you want a law changed?

You have to go to the legislature. Illinois State Senators and Representatives write and make laws. They often do so after hearing from concerned citizens like yourself. Often they aren’t thinking about how an existing law can have unintended consequences.

Does that mean that if you go to them the law will be changed? No. But it is the logical first step and how many laws get change or come into existence in the first place.

The Paris Olympics were awesome. Steph Curry’s gold medal heroics and Simone Biles comeback win were some of the greatest sporting achievements I’ve ever seen. I didn’t watch any boxing, but like many I heard about the manufactured controversy around female boxer Imane Khelif.

The gist is that she’s very muscular and not traditionally feminine looking. She beat a Russian boxer last year and the IBA disqualified her saying she failed some non-specified eligibility test that reportedly they won’t disclose to anyone. Bottom line is she was born a female and is a female. She actually boxed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and it was a non-issue.

A lot of well known people including Elon Musk, JK Rowling, Trump and others posted things online that said or implied Khelif is a man. It led to a lot of harassment toward her, but fortunately didn’t stop her from winning gold.

I read this week an article that Khelif filed a cyberbullying lawsuit, but from what I can tell, that is some sort of criminal complaint as it’s being led by prosecutors. I’m an Illinois lawyer and of course not familiar with French law.

No matter what she’s doing over there, Khelif should consider filing a lawsuit here in the States against anyone based here who defamed/slandered her. There wouldn’t be any criminal charges from that, but certainly could be very significant, as in seven figures, civil remedies available.

Generally speaking these are very hard cases to bring and win. There’s a high standard to show harm, especially when you are a public figure as she is. But when people state blatant and provable lies about you that damage you and are widespread, you have big financial damages and actual winning facts.

Hopefully her lawyers are telling her about this. We see probably ten winning cases of significant value for defamation/libel/slander a year just because most of the times it’s not this egregious or wide spread. There’s a big difference between saying “she looks like a man” which is an opinion and protected speech and stating as a matter of fact that she actually is a man.

So I do hope she sues because it’s a great way to stop people from being reckless online and searching for rage engagement.

I stumbled across this old tweet and article that basically lays out the problem with health care in the United States.

Basically, many of the worst doctors are leaving medicine and making sometimes life-altering decisions as to whether or not you can get the treatment that your reputable doctor thinks you need. These decision makers include doctors who were sued many times for botching treatment and have essentially been forced out of the profession.

The bigger question of course is why should an insurance company get to question this at all? They really shouldn’t. And while opposition to universal health care has included scare tactics of socialism, higher taxes, etc. the reality is that study after study shows that your individual yearly cost for healthcare would be much, much less if you weren’t paying insurance premiums, co-pays, out of pocket costs, etc.

Legally this leads to so many troubles. Most individual bankruptcies have medical bills as a part of them. I’ve seen people lose their life savings in order to pay for an operation. Even in cases where medical coverage shouldn’t be an issue, like workers’ compensation, we see doctors doing “record reviews” to try and help an insurance company avoid care. This happens often with doctors who are actually either very old, out of state or both. It’s a joke.

Of course if there was universal health care, we’d remove so much costly red tape. Many insurance executives would be out of a job and wouldn’t have income to buy their 4th home. Boo hoo. I as a lawyer would be affected as I’d lose out on many great cases and nothing would make me happier. We don’t want people to suffer and our current system does that.

If you are “pro-living” this should be your stance. Sadly, it doesn’t appear we will ever have enough politicians courageous enough to make this change.

Yeah, I know it’s not really called Comiskey any more, but if you grew up in the 80’s like I did, you are going to still call it Comiskey. I’m a Cubs fan, but my most memorable White Sox moment is when a father and son were arrested for storming the field and assaulting a Kansas City Royals coach. It was disgusting and they fortunately were criminally charged. It does make for good fun when I tease my White Sox fan friends.

Since that happened, it seems not a major sporting event goes by where a fan doesn’t try to run on the field. Some do it as a goof. Some do it because they want to meet a player. I can’t even count how many have run to Messi and Ronaldo over the years. Some are drunk idiots. And some, of course, have bad intentions.

Since that wonderful White Sox event, a law was passed that makes running onto the field at a sporting event in Illinois a felony. These events mostly take place in Chicago, of course. I can’t recall one time that anyone has been charged with a felony since. That all changed Saturday night.

During the Cubs-White Sox game, two “fans” stormed the field in the 9th inning. One appears to have hurt himself and both of them got arrested. It seems to be separate events and who knows if one inspired the other.

The reason these events are felonies is to discourage anyone else from doing the same thing. But much like our gun laws, if prosecutors don’t enforce the laws, people won’t be deterred because they think nothing will happen.

We are a long ways from the funny days of Morgana The Kissing Bandit. People shouldn’t run on the field at sporting events. Until the general public is aware of what the consequences are it will keep happening. This is the best way to stop it.

Imagine this happens to you. And it won’t be hard to imagine as it happens to thousands of people every year.

You live out of state and are looking for a new job. You interview with an Illinois based company (could be anywhere though) and eventually they offer you the job. The job requires relocation so you and your spouse sell your home, pack up your stuff and move to Illinois. You spent thousands on movers and just signed a lease for an apartment in a city where you don’t know anyone. But you are optimistic the job is going to work out and things will be great.

A week into the new job, your boss pulls you aside and lets you know that there has been a change of plans and they have to let you go. Maybe it’s because they realized you aren’t qualified. Maybe they don’t think you fit in or you did something that was a red flag. Perhaps the company had a financial downturn or found a better candidate. Now you have a lease, no friends or family around and no job.

A caller who had this exact scenario wanted us to sue because he felt that there was an implied contract that he’d have a job. Unfortunately for him there wasn’t a written contract that actually would have shown a meeting of the minds. Illinois is an “at will” employment state which means you can be let go at any time for any reason. And this is true even when you’ve up rooted your life to move here.

While an argument can be made that the employer should reimburse some moving expenses as he relied on their promises, even that is a stretch. But beyond that, it’s really hard to prove an implied contract exists. That’s because those types of situations don’t lay out an actual agreement, actual terms, how to resolve disputes or anything else that an actual written agreement does.

This situation sucks for this worker and it’s why we recommend that before you make this type of move, you ask for some guarantee as to compensation and/or employment length. Your new employer may not give it, but it’s worth at least asking the question.

Now this isn’t to say that implied contracts could never exist. They do. For example if someone tells you they want you to mow their yard every Monday and will pay you $100 a week to do it, if you mow the lawn four times and they won’t pay, they probably owe you $400. Or if a boss tells you that you’ll always have a job if the company exists. But generally speaking, if it’s not in writing you are looking at a battle to win your case.

A guy contacted us recently. His daughter was at Grandma and Grandpa’s house (his parents) when she was very badly injured in an accident. She needed and received significant medical care. She should make a recovery, but has needed multiple surgeries and a lot of physical therapy.

The accident occurred because the grandparents let their grandchild do an activity that wasn’t safe for such a young girl. They feel terrible about it, and of course, didn’t want it to happen. The father wanted advice. Is there any way to get his daughter’s medical bills and future physical therapy sessions paid for without suing the grandparents?

He was surprised that the answer is yes, but also no. Does that sound like weird lawyer talk? Let me explain.

He would not actually be suing his parents. He would be filing a claim against his parents’ homeowners insurance. No lawsuit would happen right now, but instead an attorney would try to resolve the situation with the insurance company. Not a penny will come out of Grandma and Grandpa’s pockets.

If a lawsuit did have to be filed, it technically would name the grandparents as defendants. In reality it would be the insurance company policy they were going after. The insurance company would hire the lawyers to defend them and the attorney for the granddaughter would not seek any money out of pocket from the grandparents. The worst thing that could happen to them is that their insurance rates go up a bit. In a case like this where the medical bills are in the six figures and the policy is a million dollars, it makes sense to pursue it.

This situation is similar to what happens in a car accident. If someone in their vehicle hits you in your vehicle, you’re not actually suing them personally for the repairs and medical care (if you were injured). Your lawyer negotiates with their insurance company to reach a fair settlement. If a lawsuit is needed you are suing the other driver, not the insurance company, but the insurance company steps in.

We also got a call from a mother whose son was injured on the trampoline at their close friends’ home. She was worried that their friendship would be ruined if she sued them. This is one of the reasons why people have homeowners’ insurance and sometimes even an umbrella policy. It’s not just in case of a fire or property damage. We explained that she would not be suing them, she would be making a claim with State Farm, the company that her friends had their policy with.

Now, dealing with insurance companies and filing a claim is not a breeze. Insurance companies make money by not paying out every claim. That’s where an attorney can step in and be incredibly helpful. Lawyers who focus on injury cases know the law backwards and forwards. They know the right steps in the process and are much more likely to get you the maximum settlement. You don’t have to pay them anything upfront. They get a portion of what they recover for you.

If you have questions or would like our help in finding the best attorney for your case, please call us for free any time at 312-346-5320.

We have spoken with more than 500,000 people in the last 23 plus years. We hear a lot of unique situations for people who are looking for Illinois lawyers. We also hear a lot of similar cases. In that regard, many people say similar things to each other. One of them is this:

I don’t know what type of lawyer I need, but I think I need a civil attorney.

Where people are often misinformed is in knowing what a civil attorney is. It’s a very generic term for the most part as pretty much any case that ends up in court is considered civil litigation.

In other words, if you are bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor for a failure to diagnose cancer, that is a civil lawsuit. If you are filing a lawsuit against your neighbor who hit your car, that is a civil lawsuit. If you are suing a life insurance company for not paying out the death benefit on a policy of a loved one who passed, that is also a civil lawsuit.

Each of these cases would require a different type of attorney. So when looking for a lawyer, it’s best to find out what type of lawyer typically handles your type of case. For example, if suing a doctor, you are looking for a medical malpractice lawyer.

Someone who says they are a civil attorney implies they can handle most cases that they are presented with. That’s not the type of lawyer we advise you to get. We recommend that when possible that you look for a law firm that focuses on the type of case you want to bring and has a track record of success to point to.

Now of course there are some cases that are unique. There isn’t a lawyer who makes a living by filing lawsuits over a general dispute between siblings over rent paid on a property they jointly own. But there are attorneys whose practice focus is general civil litigation. There are others who may focus on items relatively close to that such as real estate litigation.

And in other scenarios, if you are trying to recover a dog that your ex is keeping from you, you might not think there are attorneys experienced with that. But what that case involves is recovering property. The legal term for that is replevin and many lawyers do that type of work.

Now you can’t be expected to know what to call your unique legal situation. That’s what we are for. You can call us any time at 312-346-5320 to learn what type of lawyer you need. And if we know someone we think can help, we’ll refer you to them.

As a former waiter, bartender and yogurt store employee, I’m all about tips. I’ve made my living that way and certainly try to pay forward the generosity I received in my service industry days.

There are more opportunities and requests to tip than ever before. Under Illinois law, tips are the property of employees. Your manager, supervisor or the owner can’t take them. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act makes this crystal clear. Gratuities belong to the workers who earn them.

Despite this law, and despite owners and managers knowing this law, tip theft happens all of the time in Illinois. And it’s not just them taking money from the tip jar and pocketing it, or doing things like using it for staff appreciation parties.

In one case we’ve been involved with, a restaurant owner was taking 10% of all credit card tips and using that money to pay for house staff such as the cooks. This is highly illegal.

This type of nonsense is happening hundreds of times every year in Illinois. Many workers simply do not know their rights so they go along with whatever the boss says. That’s not how the law works. And even if you agree to it doesn’t mean that you can’t go back and get the money that was stolen from you. In one study, 57% of workers said that they had to tip out their managers. That’s nuts.

And to be clear, when they take your tips, they are in fact stealing. The money doesn’t belong to them or anyone else who hasn’t earned it. One attorney we know who brings these wage theft lawsuits says that in almost every restaurant around some sort of violation exists. And that includes the big chains as well as the mom and pop type places.

The law also doesn’t change if you are an undocumented worker, a relative of the owner, a minor or anyone else. Plainly stated, tips belong to the people who earned them.

The other way employers steal is by having tipped workers do work that they aren’t compensated for and don’t involve their duties in which tips are earned.

The good news is that these problems are solvable and it doesn’t cost anything to get a great attorney to represent you and go after the money you are owed. If you’d like our help with that please call us any time to speak with a lawyer at 312-346-5320. We cover all of Illinois.