I AM NAMED AS TRUSTEE IN A TRUST, WHAT IS MY LIABILITY? When people create a trust, they appoint a trustee. The trustee is the person or entity with the authority to administer and oversee the assets and funds held Read More….
The post I AM NAMED AS TRUSTEE IN A TRUST, WHAT IS MY LIABILITY? appeared first on Law Office of Andrew Szocka, P.C..
Continue Reading I AM NAMED AS TRUSTEE IN A TRUST, WHAT IS MY LIABILITY?

An Illinois Appellate Court rejected an inmate’s claims in a FOIA lawsuit against a sheriff’s department in King v. Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.An inmate filed a FOIA request with a sheriff’s office seeking records pertaining to racial profiling by a specific police officer. The sheriff’s office responded that it had no responsive records because the officer was not employed by the sheriff’s office but a city police department. The inmate sued, and the circuit court ruled in favor of the sheriff’s office. On appeal, the Appellate Court also found no violation of FOIA in the sheriff’s office’s response, holding…
Continue Reading No Violation of FOIA Where Records Not in Possession of Responding Public Body

Sagent Pharmaceuticals v. Farco USA, LLC, et al., No. 25 C 14080, (N.D. Ill. May 5, 2026) (Kocoras, J.).Judge Kocoras granted in part and denied in part defendants’ partial Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss in this Defend Trade Secrets Act, Illinois trade secret, and breach of contract action. Sagent alleged that three former employees conspired with German pharmaceutical manufacturer FARCO-PHARMA to replace Sagent as the exclusive U.S. distributor for GLYDO, a lidocaine jelly product, by forming defendant Farco USA.The Court held that direct evidence of trade secret misappropriation is rare, and that Sagent’s allegations plausibly pled…
Continue Reading Suspicious Downloads, Personal Email Forwarding, and Lies to Investigators Sufficient to Plead Trade Secret Misappropriation

Nobody wakes up excited about cannabis license renewal. It is the least glamorous item on an operator calendar, right up there with fire extinguisher inspections. Then one morning the portal says “expired,” your vault is full of product you cannot legally move, and your landlord still wants rent on the first.
Renewal is a compliance audit wearing a paperwork costume.
What happens if I miss my cannabis license renewal deadline?
In most states, you stop operating. Immediately. A cannabis license renewal is not like a driver license where you pay a late fee and carry on — several states…
Continue Reading Cannabis License Renewal: 9 Critical Deadlines [2026]

A cannabis product recall starts the way most disasters do: quietly. A lab retest comes back hot. A customer posts a photo. A regulator emails on a Friday at 4:50 p.m. What you do in the next six hours decides whether this is an expensive week or an existential one.
Quarantine first. Argue about fault later.
What do I do first when a cannabis product recall hits?
Quarantine the affected lots and stop distribution before you do anything else — before you call the regulator, before you draft a statement, before you decide whose fault it is. Then pull the…
Continue Reading Cannabis Product Recall: 7 Critical First Moves [2026]

Illinois passed Senate Bill 714 as part of a statewide initiative to address rising automobile insurance costs and concerns about unfair and discriminatory ratemaking practices affecting drivers. Illinois had been one of only two states without a formal process for reviewing or challenging insurance rate increases. The legislation expands the State’s authority to challenge automobile insurance premium increases. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law on August 4, 2026, and the law will take effect on July 1, 2027.

The law imposes several new consumer protections on automobile insurance carriers, including:

  • requiring insurers to provide 30 days’ notice before

…
Continue Reading Illinois Auto & Homeowners Insurance Reform Laws Take Effect July 2027

People who are incarcerated in Illinois do not lose their right to necessary medical care. If an inmate suffers serious harm because necessary medical care was denied or unreasonably delayed, a civil rights lawsuit may be possible. When prison officials or medical providers know that an inmate has a serious medical condition and deliberately fail to provide appropriate treatment, the denial or delay may violate the inmate’s constitutional rights. That distinction matters. A bad medical outcome does not automatically create a lawsuit. Neither does every disagreement with a prison doctor. But repeatedly ignoring serious symptoms, withholding prescribed medication, delaying necessary…
Continue Reading Denied Medical Care in an Illinois Prison: Can Inmates Sue?

One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a two-vehicle crash on the Stevenson Expressway early Saturday morning on Chicago’s Southwest Side. According to Illinois State Police, troopers responded to the crash in the southbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Wentworth Avenue, close to the Bridgeport neighborhood, at about 4:30 a.m.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while another victim was injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment. Southbound I-55 was temporarily closed while authorities investigated the crash, with traffic diverted to southbound Interstate 94. The lanes have since reopened.

The cause of the crash…
Continue Reading Chicago I-55 Crash Today: 1 Dead, 1 Hurt on Stevenson Expressway Near Wentworth Ave

A contested will can create immense heartache for families in an already difficult time. It’s understandable that parents would want to minimize the possibility of fighting between children because of the contents of their will.
You can make a will much harder to challenge, but no document is completely contest-proof. A Barrington, IL estate planning attorney can help you put a plan together in 2026 that’s built to hold up.
Who Can Legally Contest a Will in Illinois?
Under 755 ILCS 5/8-1, an interested person may petition to contest a will’s validity. An interested person generally means someone with…
Continue Reading Can I Prevent My Children From Contesting My Will?

Whenever a celebrity gets divorced, we read about eye-popping numbers of support awarded. The commentary inevitably shifts to “the kids don’t cost that much to raise” and “she doesn’t need all that money.” In an Illinois divorce, similar sentiments are couched in the objection to a guidelines support award as being a “windfall.” Windfalls In An Illinois Child Support Award Child support is ordered in Illinois based on “the guidelines.” “The court shall determine child support in each case by applying the child support guidelines unless the court makes a finding that application of the guidelines would be inappropriate” 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(2)(emphasis…
Continue Reading Windfalls In An Illinois Divorce

A new Illinois law gives police an additional enforcement tool in cases involving street racing, street sideshows, and certain reckless driving charges. Effective January 1, 2026, Public Act 104-0063 amended Section 4-203 of the Illinois Vehicle Code to allow an officer to impound the vehicle involved for five days after the arrest.

The change does not create a new criminal offense. Instead, it adds an immediate consequence that may apply before the criminal case is resolved. For many drivers and vehicle owners, losing access to a vehicle for five days – together with potential towing and storage expenses – can…
Continue Reading Illinois’ New Five-Day Vehicle Impoundment Law for Street Racing and Reckless Driving

Insurance agencies have owners. Those owners get divorced. The insurance agency is an asset whose value must be divided in an insurance agency owner’s divorce. This article explores how to value insurance agencies as part of the Illinois divorce process. An Insurance Agency Appraisal Must Begin With Defining What Is Being Valued The question of what an insurance agency is worth cannot be determined by simply multiplying the agency’s annual commissions by an industry multiple. Insurance agencies may represent several insurance carriers, employ multiple producers, generate recurring commissions from thousands of policies, and possess a valuable book of business. The…
Continue Reading Valuing And Dividing An Insurance Agency In An Illinois Divorce

By Sam Ellis, Esq.
When USDA says no, an unfavorable agency decision does not necessarily mean the matter is over. In “When USDA Says No: Understanding the National Appeals Division Appeal Process,” Sam Ellis, Esq., of Rincker Law, PLLC, explains what farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural program participants should know about challenging certain adverse USDA decisions through the National Appeals Division, commonly known as NAD.
Agricultural producers often rely on United States Department of Agriculture programs for loans, conservation assistance, crop insurance, disaster payments, and other forms of support. When a USDA agency issues an unfavorable decision, the financial and…
Continue Reading When USDA Says No: Understanding the National Appeals Division Appeal Process

Limited-scope representation is being promoted as one of the next waves in divorce and family law. Sometimes called unbundled legal…
The post Limited-scope representation in divorce and family law: lower cost or greater risk? first appeared on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
The post Limited-scope representation in divorce and family law: lower cost or greater risk? appeared first on Family Law Headquarters by Stange Law Firm.
Continue Reading Limited-scope representation in divorce and family law: lower cost or greater risk?

Starting a Business With a Friend or Family Member in Illinois? Put These Agreements in Writing First may not sound like the most exciting advice when two people are enthusiastic about launching a new company. But some of the hardest business disputes begin with people who trusted each other enough to believe they did not need formal agreements.
Friends, siblings, spouses, parents and adult children frequently start businesses together because they already have a relationship. That trust can be an advantage, but it should not replace clear documentation.
This article focuses primarily on limited liability companies (LLCs), which are a…
Continue Reading Starting a Business With a Friend or Family Member in Illinois? Put These Agreements in Writing First