Chicago Divorce Attorney

Waukegan, Buffalo Grove, Lake and Cook Counties, Northwest Chicago Suburbs

At the office of Abrams & Ament, P.C., we have been practicing law in Illinois for over 30 years, with 15 years spent focusing mainly on divorce and family law matters. An experienced divorce lawyer, Mr. Ament handles all areas relating to divorce and marital dissolution, including:

Division of Marital Property We help divorcing spouses resolve disputes over their assets (such as house, cars, retirement accounts, banking and checking accounts, furniture, and jewelry) and their debts and bills (such as credit card balances, mortgage debt, home equity lines, and loans). In some cases, spouses have to return to court post-divorce because a change in their property division settlement is needed because of a change in circumstances, because one party was hiding assets or committing fraud, or there is uncertainty about the meaning of the original agreement.

Custody and Visitation: As part of a divorce proceeding, the court will often make a determination as to which parent will have custody of any minor children. In Illinois, either one parent makes major decisions regarding the children, which is called sole custody, or the parties can share the major decision making and have input and joint involvement in raising the children. This is called joint custody. In either situation, both parents have the right to see their children, be a part of their lives and have their children be part of the parent's life.

Development of the parent-child relationship is one of the true goals of a good divorce. As a certified children's representative in both Lake County and Cook County, Rickey Ament is approved to represent children in court in these custody proceedings, and has the ability to understand the child's best interests in a divorce proceeding.

Child Support: In most circumstances, Illinois law requires contribution to the support of a child. This is known as child support, and is based on the net income of the parent paying support. Illinois has a guideline, established by statute, although in certain circumstances, the court will deviate from the guideline. An experienced lawyer can help you understand these child support guidelines and will ask the court to deviate from them when necessary.

Maintenance / Alimony: Commonly known as alimony, spousal maintenance is a court-ordered payment that one spouse pays to the other for spousal support. Unlike child support, there is no guideline to determine when and if maintenance is called for, or to set the amount of alimony to be paid, based on income. We work very hard to ensure that clients receive maintenance when and where called for, and for as long as possible if maintenance is proper, or to keep our client from paying maintenance when it is not warranted.

Mediation: In some circumstances, the parties want to control the outcome of any agreement they reach involving their children and division of marital assets, but have trouble communicating with each other without arguing. As a trained mediator, Mr. Ament's function is to facilitate the parties discussing all issues between themselves, and arriving at a resolution most viable for the parties. A mediator does not impose ideas or agreements on the parties but allows them a supervised, safe environment which is conducive to resolution of problems by agreement. Mediation is an alternative to having a solution imposed by the courts. This often results in a solution which is somewhat unorthodox, but works for the parties, and results in less post-decree litigation over the terms of the settlement.

Collaborative Law: This is a new concept, taking mediation one step further. The parties both retain attorneys trained in collaborative law, and the four parties work toward the best resolution of all issues involved in the dissolution. However, the parties agree that, while the collaborative effort is proceeding, neither party will institute court proceedings. The only exception is an agreement to use the court system to implement some parts of the collaborative agreement. If the collaborative effort fails, the attorneys WILL NOT represent the parties in court proceedings. Rickey Ament is a trained collaborative law attorney who can assist you in resolving your divorce matters outside of the courtroom.

We also handle cases related to:

Paternity/Parentage: In a paternity action, either the mother or father of a child is asking the court to determine the legal father of a child born to parents who were not married. In a paternity action, the court also considers and decides other issues related to the child, such as custody and visitation, and child support.

Prenuptial Agreements: We prepare, draft, review and negotiate prenuptial agreements for parties about to get married. A carefully drafted prenup can protect both parties individual property in the case of a future divorce.

For further information or to discuss your family law problem, please call us at (847) 305-2957 (Wheeling) or (888) 419-6704 (Waukegan), or contact us online.