According to The National Center for Education Statistics, about 35% of children ages 3-21 have some kind of learning disability. About 20% have a speech or language impairment. More significantly, about 9% of this population has autism, 6% have an intellectual disability, another 6% have developmental delay, 5% have some kind of emotional disturbance, and…
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The benefits of doing a living trust and transferring your assets into the trust during life are many. A primary benefit is that your estate will circumvent the probate process when you pass, if you do things right, saving your loved ones many months of administrative burdens, delays, attorney’s fees and other costs. You also…
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In case you have not heard, Illinois implemented the income shares model for child support determination, and it took effect July 1, 2017. If you are currently receiving child support, paying child support or are currently involved in child support proceedings or will be in the future, the new change may have a significant impact…
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We throw terms around without really thinking about them sometimes, but those terms influence how we think about the things those terms describe. Different terms have different connotations. For instance, the term, “family lawyer”, might generate a sense of wholesomeness; while the term, “divorce lawyer”, may conjure up a different set of feelings. These terms…
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The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) addresses escrow accounts and the amounts that a lender may hold for payment of the borrower’s real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and other items. A lender may retain a cushion, but the amount of the cushion a lender can maintain is limited by Section 10 of RESPA. Following…
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The concept of a trust is difficult for many people to grasp because a trust is a concept, and therefore is intangible. Another intangible concept that is more familiar, and therefore seems easier to understand, is a corporation. Corporations have some similarities to trusts and, therefore, provide a helpful comparison. A quick look at the…
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What Exactly is Foreclosure? Foreclosure is a legal mechanism by which a lender files suit against the owner of the property for failure to pay back a mortgage note according to its terms. The lender is claiming the owner is in default, and is requesting that the balance of the mortgage be paid in full…
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Illinois continues to be an employee friendly state in some ways, including in the area of non-compete clauses. A non-compete clause, or covenant not to compete, is a provision of a contract in which one person agrees not to compete against another person or business after termination of the relationship. Employers often require employees to…
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In May, the Department of Labor issued its final rules regarding overtime minimum salary levels and other regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new Illinois overtime rules take effect December 1, 2016, and require employers to provide overtime to all “white collar” employees making less than $913.00 per week or an annual salary of…
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One of the most often misunderstand terms in estate planning is “probate” and what it means so we answer the most common FAQs about probate here: WHAT IS PROBATE? The term “probate” refers generally to the process by which the estate of a decedent (person who died) is administrated and distributed to the heirs and/or people named…
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