Contested Cases
Experienced Contested Divorce Attorneys in Chicago
A contested case is one in which a spouse does not respond to the divorce notice, or asserts that certain issues need to be resolved prior to agreeing to the terms and conditions of the divorce.
What Issues May Need to be Resolved in Contested Cases?
- Spousal Maintenance
- Allocation of Parental Responsibilities
- Child Support
- Distribution of Marital Assets and/or Liabilities
How Can Contested Cases be Resolved?
A contested case may be resolved in several ways:
- Mediation – In contested cases, if the spouses are close to agreement on most issues, it may be worthwhile to consider mediation. A trained mediator helps both spouses work out their differences and come to an agreement, which agreement terms can then be incorporated into a Marital Settlement Agreement and/or Allocation Judgment of Parental Responsibilities by an attorney for subsequent entry by a Judge.
- Collaborative Divorce – In contested cases, a collaborative divorce is one in which both spouses retain a lawyer skilled in collaborative law to help resolve the case. Other professionals, such as financial advisors, child psychologists, and personal coaches, may also be retained to help resolve specific issues in contested cases. If an agreement is not reached through collaboration, the services of the collaborative lawyers must be discontinued, and new lawyers retained to continue contested case proceedings.
- Litigation – If the above dispute-resolution processes fail, contested cases may have to be settled in court through litigation. Such contested cases may become part of the public record. Your attorney must be well versed in Illinois law and have the negotiation skills necessary to ensure your voice gets heard during the litigation process.
Retaining a highly-experienced and knowledgeable Chicago based divorce attorney is very important for expediting contested cases. Contact WARD FAMILY LAW, LLC, today!
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Jennifer R. Ward
Emily Alper
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Reviews
It was quick and easy and those are two words I did not think I would say about my divorce. We are still friendly too. We just were not meant to be together anymore. Ward Family Law made sure to draft the documents with the terms that we agreed on which kept us on good terms and there was no fighting. I cannot recommend them enough if you are looking for a clean, honest, quick, easy divorce.
George B.
We were set to get married in a little over a month and my family insisted on a premarital agreement. On my very first call Jennifer explained the entire process and timing. They hit the ground running and got everything completed and signed well before our wedding date. That made everything much less stressful so I thank them so much for their professionalism and timeliness.
Steve C.
Our plan was to get married after the baby was born and then a year later we still were not married and we were going our separate ways. I had no idea that the birth certificate alone did not make me the legal parent of our baby in Illinois. Luckily, Ward Family Law handles these cases and established paternity through a DNA test and submitted the results to the court. We now have an agreement on time with our kids and support too.
Philip B.
Cannot recommend Jennifer, Emily and the entire team at Ward Family Law enough. If you have a divorce, custody or other family law matter then stop looking. They will have your back until the end. While my case was messy, they kept it on track and brought it through to the end. It was the best that I could have hoped for.
Tobin W.
We already split up all our accounts and had no debt. We just needed the paperwork for the divorce. We started it on our own and then realized just how complicated it all was and needed to make sure it would get accepted by the divorce court. In came Jennifer and she explained the "friendly" divorce process that they oftentimes do and that allowed us to get it all done on our terms and fast.
Sherman S.
When our child graduated high school I needed a lawyer to file papers to stop my child support payments and to figure out how we were going to pay for college. Jennifer at Ward Family Law got everything together and filed with the court. From start to finish it was smooth and by filing at the right time my child support payments did not continue for months and months. That saved me so much money - enough to cover the retainer in the first place. Well worth it to do it right
Todd Sanders
My kid was graduating high school and I needed to end my child support obligation and also needed to get money for college costs and expenses. While these are two different things, the attorneys at Ward Family Law handled the court filings and had the right order entered by the Judge terminating my child support obligation and then also got a contribution order entered for college costs and expenses. What a relief and I cannot say enough good things about the family law team.
Tom S.
I wanted a legal team that could do it all since I didn't know which way it would go. I was unsure about mediation, settlement, or litigation and my research showed that they could do it all. They did. Mediation was guided by my attorney, Jennifer, at Ward Family Law and although it was not a great outcome it was because the other side would not compromise. No problem. Jennifer transitioned the case to litigation to push for what I knew was right and what I knew I needed to fight for. We fought the good fight for my kids…
Ernie B.
I am already a very anxious person. Ward Family Law walked me through the process and was with me every step of the way. Emily is patient and communicative. She would call or email me back the same day and made sure I was comfortable. The divorce was a difficult time but she made it so much better and I couldn't be happier about the outcome.
David B.
We were getting married in a month and needed to get our premarital agreement done quickly but also done right. Ward Family Law got us a list of talking points for me and my fiance to figure out what we wanted included and they walked me through the financial disclosures and other things that have to get done to make sure the premarital agreement is valid. Otherwise, what is the point, right? They did the draft of the premarital agreement and since we had talked through it with their guidance prior it made the entire process so easy. Highly recommend!!
Bill B.
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Attorney Advertising. This information is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Past results and testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case, and should not be construed as such. Past results cannot guarantee future performance. Any result in a single case is not meant to create an expectation of similar results in future matters because each case involves many different factors, therefore, results will differ on a case-by-case basis.
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