Law Offices of Michael F. Roe LLC

Our law and dispute resolution practice is focused on complex divorce and custody cases, domestic violence, parentage (paternity) cases, and post decree support and custody modification. Many of the office's cases include issues of contested child custody, property division, restoring visitation with children, modification of support, prosecuting or defending Orders of Protection, and domestic battery cases.

Website: https://www.illinois-attorney.net/
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Many of our clients have initial questions about how the major decisions for the minor children will be made after the divorce is completed. While joint decision making is conceptually ideal, in many cases requiring the parties to make major decisions together can create disagreements, leading to further litigation. In some cases, a major decision like religion is not at issue but matters like the children’s extracurriculars and medical/dental or therapy treatments often create discord among parents.  How does the Court assess whether to award a parent joint or sole decision making for the children?
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The court determines whether to…
Continue Reading Kane County Divorce: How does the Court assess whether to award a parent joint or sole decision making for the children? 

A parent seeking resources about divorce and searching for the right lawyer, is involved in a process that is stressful. It’s important to appreciate that an experienced Family Lawyer (such as our firm) along with other resources can make the process manageable and not unduly stressful for the parents or the kids.
Why Divorce with Children in Kane County or DuPage County Can Be Difficult
  • Emotional Challenges:
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    Continue Reading Kane County Divorce Lawyer: What Makes Divorce with Kids So Stressful?

    Michael Roe has for many years focused a significant part of his practice on Child Custody issues, including Parental Alienation cases. Few lawyers nationally have the background, experience, and dedication to this critical issue in Family Law.  As a long term member of PASG, our firm already looks forward to the PASG meeting this year, with details below.
    One Definition of Parental Alienation:
    Parental alienation refers to a situation in which one parent intentionally or unintentionally manipulates a child to reject, fear, or distance themselves from the other parent without legitimate justification. This behavior often involves actions such as badmouthing

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    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: One Definition of Parental Alienation:

    While our firm has strong financial expertise, Michael Roe has always had a strong focus on child custody issues, including complex child custody litigation.
    In Illinois law, the term “child custody” has been replaced by “allocation of parental responsibilities” and “parenting time” since January 1, 2016, under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). The shift in terminology reflects a focus on shared parenting and the best interests of the child, moving away from the older, more adversarial concepts of custody and visitation. Here’s a clear breakdown of the differences:
    • Child Custody (Pre-2016 Term):
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    Continue Reading Kane County Divorce: Child Custody and New Definitions in Illinois Law

    Ilyssa Panitz freely admits she gave up the financial reins when she got married.
    “I did not keep an eye on the money, even though I got married later in life,” says Panitz, 54, who lives in Westchester County, N.Y. “My former spouse worked in accounting and I was taking care of the kids, and I figured ‘This is great’.”
    Then, after 13 years of marriage, says Panitz, who hosts the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Divorce Hour with Illyssa Panitz,” she told her husband she wanted to split up. And she realized her ignorance about their money situation “was…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce Lawyer: Record Divorces Among Seniors 

    Feedspot ranks the best Divorce blogs from thousands of blogs on the web and ranked by relevancy, authority, social media followers & freshness.

    Feedspot provides tools like keyword alerts from Google News, local news tracking by city or zip code, and one-click sharing options to platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Pocket, making it a powerful tool for staying informed and managing content efficiently. For businesses or creators, it also offers opportunities to promote content and connect with targeted audiences through its extensive database of influencers and bloggers. Overall, Feedspot streamlines information consumption and supports both personal and professional use cases.

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    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: Best Divorce Law Blogs from Feedspot for 2025

    In Illinois, divorcing parties fill out a Financial Affidavit statewide form to provide a clear and comprehensive snapshot of their financial situation during the divorce process. This form is a standardized document that helps promote transparency and fairness when it comes to dividing assets, determining spousal support (alimony), and, if applicable, calculating child support. Illinois law imposes legal duties on parties to complete the form truthfully and to make full disclosures of income, expenses assets and liabilities.  
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    The affidavit requires each party to disclose details about their income, expenses, debts, and assets. This information is crucial because Illinois follows an

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    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: What is the Financial Affidavit used in Illinois Divorces?

    It’s always interesting to read the famous Illinois Supreme Court case of In re Marriage of Bates, 212 Ill. 2d 489. As a younger lawyer I was an attorney on this case, and later was subpoenaed by the trial counsel to testify in the case as an expert knowledgeable in the field of Parental Alienation studies. This case is a landmark case in the area of Parental Alienation, as Illinois recognized Parental Alienation as a factor in a child custody decision.
    —-Comments from the Court—-
    “E, as proponent of the PAS testimony, proffered three expert witnesses and 136 articles from…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: The Early Bates Case: Parental Alienation

    Signs of parental alienation include: badmouthing the other parent, limiting contact with the alienated parent, interfering with communication, forcing the child to choose sides, creating a perception of danger from the alienated parent, asking the child to keep secrets, referring to the alienated parent by their first name, withholding important information, changing the child’s name to distance them from the alienated parent, cultivating dependency in the child, and the child exhibiting a lack of ambivalence or guilt towards the alienated parent, often claiming their negative feelings are their own choice (“independent thinker phenomenon”) while supporting the alienating parent excessively. 
    Key points

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    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: Signs of Parental Alienation

    The question of child support seems to be a basic question, but one that sometimes causes confusion. It used to be some years ago that the noncustodial parent was obligated to pay child support to the parent with the “primary custody of the child or children.”  Illinois has largely done away with old concepts of child custody and child support, and now centers its laws on allocating more equally the parenting time of the children, and setting support such that both parents’ incomes are factored in.
    Child support is now calculated using an “income shares” model, which considers both parents’…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce Lawyer: How is Child Support Now Set in Illinois?

    The subject of the use of Artificial Intelligence in medicine, engineering and other professions has become heightened and very contentious. AI, as many people know, has the ability to very quickly aggregate and analyze data (information), and to provide contextual and reasoned answers to questions posed to these computer platforms.  The use of AI might be attractive to some lawyers that might use AI to analyze cases, find cases, or to write letters or motions that are submitted to the court.
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    However, it must be said that Family Law, in particular, is a very specialized and important area of the…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: Use of Generative AI Tools in Family Law

    Why are the privacy interests of children important in family law cases?  A case cited below kind of highlights the need for courts to have the ability to receive information (perhaps from a GAL) in the privacy of chambers with the attorneys (in Illinois, called a “pretrial conference). The reason for this need of hearings, interviews or meetings in chambers is to protect the privacy and personal interests of the minor children, and to not have perhaps sensitive information about a case displayed to the public in open court. Illinois quite effectively acts to protect these privacy interests, in my…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce: privacy interests of children in family law cases

    A “source of funds” rule refers to a legal principle, primarily used in divorce proceedings, that determines whether a property should be classified as marital or separate based on the origin of the funds used to acquire or improve it; essentially, it means that if a spouse contributes premarital funds to purchase a marital asset, they may retain a separate interest in that asset proportional to their contribution. 
    The husband filed for dissolution after 18 years of marriage, disputing whether two adjacent lots were marital property. One lot included the marital home, and the other had a barn for the wife’s…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce Lawyer: Nonmarital and Marital Property

    WHEN CHILDREN RESIST/REFUSE CONTACT with a parent after the breakup of the family, the cause for the contact resistance can be from various sources. When children resist/refuse contact with a parent and when it is objectively determined that parental alienation is the cause for the contact refusal, the issue is quite serious. This is because the contact refusal is without a rational basis and because it is being fueled by a parent whose own needs and wishes are seen as a substantial cause of the child’s resistance. In many, if not most of these cases, the parent who energizes the…
    Continue Reading Illinois Divorce Lawyer: Building a Strong Child-Centered Case