Can text messages be used in a divorce in Illinois? It depends upon the situation. Illinois is a no-fault divorce state, so you don’t have to show that your spouse did anything wrong in order to file for a divorce. You can simply cite irreconcilable differences. So, a text that shows your spouse had an … Continue reading Can Text Messages Be Used in a Divorce?

When you are arrested and/or charged with a crime in Illinois, a criminal record is created, even if you are not found guilty. Your criminal records can be read by the public, your friends, your family, banks, employers, trade organizations, and credit agencies. If you want to have your record hidden or erased, you must … Continue reading How To Get An Expungement In Illinois

The coronavirus is affecting every area of our lives, including marriages. If you are thinking of ending your marriage during this pandemic, you might be wondering how to get a divorce during COVID-19. You might wonder if it is even possible with stay-at-home orders in place. The good news is that some steps in the … Continue reading How to Get a Divorce During COVID-19

It is a surprising reality that domestic abuse issues frequently arise in divorce and family law cases. All situations are unique and require the attention of a skilled attorney. Even after a restraining order or order of protection is up, there can still be legal issues that arise. It is of the utmost importance that … Continue reading How Will A Domestic Violence Charge Affect My Divorce And Child Custody?

When someone files a complaint against you in an Illinois court, you will be served with a summons that lets you know that a lawsuit has been brought against you and what you must do to respond.  In the lawsuit, you are called the defendant or respondent. The filer of the complaint is called the … Continue reading How Do I Answer a Complaint in Illinois?

When someone is arrested, the arrest is recorded in a public record. This is called a public arrest record, which is a little bit different from a criminal record. Even if an individual is eventually found not guilty of the charges against him or her (and thus does not have a criminal record for it), … Continue reading How Can I Minimize Public Record of My Arrest?

Anyone who is attacked and in danger of being harmed has the right to defend himself, but there are still times when a person acting in self-defense winds up faced with the possibility of going to jail. While Illinois law allows you to take actions in self-defense, you must be able to prove that you … Continue reading Can you go to jail for self-defense?

Under Illinois law, battery occurs if you have physical contact with another individual with the intent to injure, provoke, or insult that person. Battery may consist of contact such as pushing another person, or intentionally causing bodily harm by hitting and injuring someone with an object. While a simple battery is usually charged as a … Continue reading Is Battery a Felony in Illinois?

Illinois law considers assault to be intentional conduct that reasonably causes a person to feel afraid of impending violence. Threatening to hit someone, when said in a menacing or angry manner and accompanied by conduct consistent with the threat, is an assault if the words and conduct cause victims to reasonably fear being injured in … Continue reading Is Aggravated Assault a Felony in Illinois?

In Short: Voluntary and Involuntary. Murder charges generally involve an intentional killing; but if you kill someone but did not intend to do it, you might be accused of the crime of manslaughter instead.  Manslaughter is defined as the unintentional killing of a person without lawful justification (720 ILCS 5/9-3.)  Unlike the terms that are … Continue reading What Is the Difference between First- and Second-Degree Manslaughter?