Practice Areas
- Custody
- Child Support
- College Expenses
- Domestic Violence
- Collaborative Law
- Financial and Property Matters
- Maintenance Issues (Mediation)
- Adoption
- Paternity
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Divorce
- Visitation/Parenting Time
The following information includes areas of law handled by our practice. If your specific legal matter is not listed here, contact the law office of Nancy C. Murphy & Associates to receive a personal consultation regarding your specific legal claim.
Custody – Custody is the charge and control of a child, including the right to make all major decisions such as education, religious upbringing, training, health and welfare. Custody, without qualification, usually refers to a combination of physical custody and legal custody. Joint custody is appropriate in many instances.
Child Support – This court order refers to a parent’s financial and legal obligation to contribute to the economic maintenance and education of children. This obligation is enforceable both criminally and civilly once and obligation is set by the court.
Domestic Violence – Nancy C. Murphy & Associates can help file and obtain orders or protection and other remedies available by the court system. In Illinois domestic violence includes:
- Physical abuse
- Threats that put you in fear of physical harm
- Unlawful imprisonment
- Harassment
- Stalking
- Intimidation of a dependent
- Interference with personal liberty
Collaborative Law – Nancy C. Murphy is a Collaborative Attorney, Mediator, Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois (CLII), and Member of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals' (IACP), ABA and ISBA who has supported transitioning families including representation of children for over 20 years. She received extensive training in Collaborative Practice, including international seminars. Nancy helped to create the "Focus on Children" program in Cook County. She continues to be devoted to assisting families work and Focus on the Family during this private considerate process.
Collaborative Law is a respectful way to go through an otherwise open, emotional, time consuming, costly and very public dissolution of marriage or other domestic relations matter and is accomplished in an honest civil mindful manner by a team of skilled professionals including your attorney. You retain control of decision making where everyone's needs are discussed unlike the litigation process where the Court determines not only your future but also what is important to you. This method helps to resolve differences through cooperation instead of litigation and benefits you much differently by having (you) the parties involved working together to create the best outcome for your family and your children. Your privacy is protected in a Collaborative case unlike traditional litigation. You, along with the other party and qualified team, (without the Court's help) work together to transition to a healthy outcome. Collaborative Law is the best solution to reduce your stress and create an environment with your team to achieve the results everyone is satisfied with thereby improving the odds that later, there will be cooperation between the parties when the team has completed their work and the "case" is over. Nancy C. Murphy & Associates has over 20 years in family practice and appears before the Cook, DuPage and Lake County Courthouses.
Resources
Financial and Property Matters - Marital property attained during marriage, regardless of whose name it is under, can be divided equitably. Marital property can include but is not limited to real estate (including a home bought in contemplation of a marriage), a pension plan, 401K Plans, vehicles, bank accounts, income tax refund and/or household furnishings. However, property that is inherited by one spouse may not be considered marital property. Businesses can be valued and divided or offset by property or assets.
Maintenance Issues (Mediation) – Maintenance can also be called alimony or spousal support. There are different types of maintenance provided by factors that are outlined by Statute. It's designed to provide the lower-income spouse or non-income spouse with money for living expenses over and above any money provided by child support. Alimony differs from child support because it is at the discretion of the judge and is not technically for the benefit of the children. Child support is usually determined by state-sanctioned guidelines.
Adoption - The area of law that deals with the relationship of parent to child of another person, usually a minor, by official legal action. A biological parent's rights can be severed voluntarily or by other alligations outlined in Illinois adoption law.
Paternity - Paternity refers to the legal relationship between a father and his child as established by law. In Illinois, a man is a child's legal father only if one of the following is true:
- He was married to the child's mother when the child was born or when the child was conceived (or both)
- He married the mother after the child's birth and he is listed with his permission (as of August 9, 1996, his written permission is needed) on the child's birth certificate as the father
- There is a court order of paternity or Department of Public Aid administrative order
of paternity - He and the mother have signed a voluntary "acknowledgement of parentage" or "acknowledgement of paternity" form
- If legal paternity is not resolved, the potential father has no right to ask a court for custody or visitation with a child, and the child's mother cannot try to have a court order the potential father to pay child support.
Prenuptial Agreements - A prenuptial agreement, or a premarital agreement, is a written contract created by two individuals who plan to be married. This agreement lists all individually owned property, such as homes and businesses, family assets, stocks and bonds, savings accounts as well as debts, and specifies what will and will not remain individually owned property after the legalization of marriage. Prenuptial agreements also specify whether spousal support will be paid in the event of a divorce, and the intentions regarding distribution of individually owned property upon death.
Divorce – The law in Illinois refers to divorce as a dissolution. For couples who seek a dissolution of marriage in Illinois, there is no waiting period to file a petition as long as one of the spouses is a state resident. The actual divorce, however, can be granted only if the spouse has lived in Illinois for 90 days before the judgment.
Nancy C. Murphy & Associates also handles cases related to Child Representatives (Attorney for Child), Collaborative Law and Mediation. Contact Nancy C. Murphy & Associates, for a consultation and evaluation of your legal needs at 1-866-435-1788 or complete the contact form on this site.
