Family law

Rick represents clients in Rockford, Loves Park and across Winnebago County from his office at 7111 N. Alpine Rd, Loves Park.

What Rick handles

• Divorce, agreed or contested, including property, debts and maintenance
• Custody: parenting time, decision-making and parenting plans
• Changing custody or parenting time after a divorce
• Child support
• Paternity
• Adoption
• Surrogacy
• Prenuptial and post-marital agreements

When to call

Call before you sign a settlement, a parenting agreement or anything your spouse's lawyer sends you. If court papers have been served on you, call now: they come with deadlines.

Served with papers? The clock has already started. Served with divorce papers in Illinois: what to do first

Know the shape of the case before you agree to any of it. What to expect in your divorce

How a case moves in Winnebago County

A divorce in Illinois is a civil case, titled “In re the Marriage of” the two spouses. It starts with a petition from one spouse, and the other files a response (750 ILCS 5/105). For Rockford, Loves Park and the rest of Winnebago County, civil filings go to the Circuit Clerk in Room 108 of the Winnebago County Courthouse, 400 W. State St, Rockford, where the 17th Judicial Circuit's civil courtrooms are (Circuit Clerk). Cases from Belvidere and the rest of Boone County go to the Boone County Courthouse, 601 N. Main St, Belvidere (17th Judicial Circuit).

Where there are children, each parent files a proposed parenting plan within 120 days, or the two of you file one you have both signed (750 ILCS 5/602.10). The court cannot enter the judgment until it has dealt with the children, child support, maintenance and property, or set an issue aside for later (750 ILCS 5/401).

Questions and answers

• How long does a divorce take in Illinois?
• What are the grounds for divorce in Illinois?
• Do I have to live in Illinois to file?
• Is there a simpler divorce for a short marriage?
• Is it still called custody in Illinois?
• How is parenting time decided?
• How is child support figured in Illinois?
• Can I move away with my child?

What to have ready

Bring any court papers, your most recent tax returns and pay stubs, and a list of what you and your spouse own and owe. If there are children, write down the current schedule: who has them, and when.

The first conversation

You talk with Rick himself. He listens to what happened, explains how a case like yours usually moves through the court, and tells you plainly what he does not know yet.