Typically, when one wants to obtain a divorce, or a ‘dissolution of marriage’, one hires an attorney. Divorce can carry complicated issues, especially when parties share children or a lot of property or assets. See Iowa Recent Changes to Family Law 2021 for more information. However, what happens if you do not want to hire an attorney? Is there an option to get a divorce without an attorney in Iowa? There is! It is called a “pro se” divorce.…

In order to transfer an ownership interest in a piece of real property, the grantor will need to execute a deed. There are several types of deeds that can be used in Illinois. The most frequent deed that is used is a Quit Claim Deed.…

President Biden was sworn into office on January 20th, 2021. As part of his campaign promises, President Biden is seeking to reform the current immigration system by sending a bill to Congress outlining the new administration’s immigration plan. The name for the bill is the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. This bill is not currently publicly available because it has not been introduced in either chamber of Congress, so right now we do not know its full contents.…

The State of Illinois has a specific set of rules and regulations that must be respected if one is to legally possess a firearm or ammunition in Illinois. The way the State monitors the firearm owners is with the Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card.…

Illinois recognizes and requires that each parent of a child has a duty to care for and support their child. The State cannot mandate that a parent exercise parenting time but the Illinois courts do their best to ensure that each parent is doing their fair share to financially support their child.…

On February 22, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law a sweeping reform of the state’s criminal justice system, which includes changes to a defendant’s pre-trial and trial rights. In addition, this bill enacts some of the largest policing reforms in recent Illinois history. These reforms are intended to increase police accountability to the public, while allowing the complaint process by the public to be easier and more transparent.…

‍ In this article, we explain what is sometimes called alimony, which is referred to as spousal support in Iowa law. The term alimony was often conflated with a stereotype that husbands somehow being punished rather than the appropriate remedy when wives were thought of as helpless without them, rather than equitable recognition of services of both parties bring to the family unit.…

Bankruptcy is a legal process designed to help individuals or corporations restructure their debts. There are different types of bankruptcy proceedings, the most common types occurring under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. This is a big decision and before deciding to file for bankruptcy, you should consider all of your options.…

If a child be born to two people who are not married, there are a number of ways to establish paternity under Iowa law. In Iowa, the father and mother have legal and financial obligations to support the child financially, to maintain medical insurance and to pay for various costs associated with raising a child. Establishing paternity is key to enforcing these obligations.…

Title VII has been expanded to cover the rights of queer and transgender employees. What does this mean for religious businesses? With the issuance of the decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that held that queer and transgender employees are covered under anti-discrimination statutes on the basis of sex, many employers with deeply held religious beliefs or actual religious entities may be left wondering: can the government force someone to violate a deeply held religious belief?…

Driving a motor vehicle in the State of Illinois, or anywhere else, for that matter, is a privilege, and not a right. This privilege can be taken away for many reasons, small or large. Generally, most major traffic offenses, including Reckless Homicide, Driving Under the Influence (DUI), and speeding offenses are governed by the Illinois Vehicle Code, while many more minor offenses are governed by ordinances of each city, town, or village in which the offense occurs.…

A majority of residential lease and rental agreements in Iowa require some form of security deposit. This is a fee upfront that is intended to act as a pot of money used at the end of the lease to cover any damage of the unit above and beyond normal wear and tear. This provides certainty to the landlord that the tenant will not destroy the unit during the lease/rental term, and, should things be damaged, money will be immediately available to fix it.…