What to do
What to do
Plain answers for the moments that bring people to a lawyer: a traffic stop, an arrest, divorce papers, an IRS letter, a crash or a death in the family. General information, not legal advice about your situation.
The law changes; talk with Rick about your own facts before you act on anything here.
Police and the road
Pulled over in Illinois: what to do and say
Pulled over in Rockford or anywhere in Illinois? What you must hand the officer, orders you must follow, getting out of the car, searches and recording.
Stopped for DUI in Illinois
Stopped for DUI near Rockford or anywhere in Illinois? Implied consent, what refusing a test costs your license, field sobriety tests and cannabis.
Questioned or arrested in Illinois
Questioned by police or arrested in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? How to stay silent, ask for a lawyer, your phone calls and pretrial release.
When police want to search in Illinois
Police want to search your home, car, phone or pockets in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? Warrants, consent, never resisting, and what to do after.
Charged with a crime in Illinois
Charged with a crime in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? The first court date, how long the State has to bring you to trial, jail limits and juries.
Family
Served with divorce papers in Illinois
Served with divorce papers in Rockford or anywhere in Illinois? How long you have to respond, temporary orders, and the children and money meanwhile.
What to expect in your divorce
How a divorce works in Rockford or anywhere in Illinois: agreed or contested, temporary orders, parenting plans, property, debts and maintenance.
Money and estates
Got a letter from the IRS
Got an IRS letter in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? How to tell it is real, what common notices mean, which deadline counts and how to pay over time.
When someone dies in Illinois
After a death in Rockford or anywhere in Illinois: filing the will, who acts for the estate, when probate is needed, small estate affidavits and debts.
Owe the IRS more than you can pay
Owe the IRS and live in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? What a payment plan and an offer cost, how long the IRS can collect, and whether to file.
Making a will in Illinois
Making a will in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? Who can make one, the witness rule, naming a guardian, dying without one and what divorce changes.
Power of attorney questions in Illinois
Signing a power of attorney in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? Property and health care powers, when they start and end, notaries, agents and revoking.
Business law questions in Illinois
Starting or running a business in Rockford or elsewhere in Illinois? When you need an LLC, what it costs, assumed names and how long you have to sue.
Injury
After a car crash in Illinois
After a car crash in Rockford or anywhere in Illinois: what the law makes you do at the scene, when to call police, insurance, and the deadline to file.
Before you sign, plead or pay, talk with Rick.
Call (815) 986-1569, or email [email protected] and say how you would like to be reached.
Please keep the details of your case for the call.