Recently, after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a relative, a Quincy man was sentenced to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Guilty pleas of two counts of criminal sexual assault of a family member under the age of 18 were entered by Kevin G. Johnston, 32, that is a Class 1 felony. Johnston was sentenced to nine years in the DOC on each count with the sentences to run consecutively by Judge Scott Walden. Once Johnston has served his jail time, he will continue to be on mandatory supervised release for a minimum of three years. If the probation department finds it …

There is a set of legal requirements for divorce that apply to all Illinois divorces. Among these requirements is the rule that in a divorce, both spouses must openly and honestly disclose income, expenses, debt, and all assets. For an unfortunate amount of individuals, this becomes a serious problem, because they cannot resist the urge to lie or cheat in their divorce proceedings in order to to hold on to a bigger share of their assets. Forbes reported a story about hiding assets in a divorce. Many times,the husband is the one accused of trying to hide their assets during divorce …

Divorce is one of the most difficult things that a person can go  through in his or her life. According to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, divorce is consistently rated as either the first or second most stressful event in life—second only to bereavement. In addition to the stress of losing your partner, emotionally as well as financially, divorce proceedings include loads of paperwork and administrative stress. Selling a home is among these complicated processes that divorcees have to wade through. Especially if there are children involved, many couples decide that one party of the …

Illinois has an extensive network of agencies and departments to aid families seeking child support for children living both in and out of Illinois. To qualify for child support services, a person does NOT have to apply for or receive public assistance—taking advantage of the child support services offered by the state does not fall under the auspices of entitlement programs in any way.  According to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Division of Child Support Services, the department is set up to help any family “collect the basic support your family deserves at no …

Adoption is a beautiful process in which couples that are having difficulty conceiving their own children can experience raising a child.  It is a process that can also be difficult based on the emotions of birthparents and other mitigating factors.  On December 28th, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it more difficult for American parents looking to adopt orphans from Russia. This new legislation is expected to have far-reaching circumstances in the United States.  Last year, almost one thousand Russian orphans were adopted by American families.  While the number has …