Latest from BGL Law Blog - Page 8

McHenry County family law attorneyWhen a family court judge must decide how parental responsibilities (formerly known as child custody) must be allocated, that decision is always based on what arrangement will be in the child’s best interests. Many parents going through this process are unsure of what the court will be looking for in order to determine their children’s best interests. The following is a brief overview. For a more detailed explanation and how the best interest standard may apply in your situation, contact Botto Gilbert Lancaster, PC.

Factors that Contribute to a Child’s Best Interests
The child’s best interests are an important factor
Continue Reading How Do Illinois Family Courts Determine a Child’s Best Interests?

McHenry County personal injury attorneyMore than six million auto accidents occur in the United States each year. In those crashes, over three million people are hurt. Some injuries are minor, but others can have a significant impact on the life of the victim. In fact, about two million per year suffer permanent injuries in car crashes, and sadly, not all of these severe injury victims will receive compensation. This is in part because far too many of them do not seek treatment until it is too late. If you experience an accident, it is important to know how to avoid the same troubling fate.
Continue Reading Delayed Symptoms After a Car Accident Can Be Signs of Serious Injury

Crystal Lake IL workers' compensation attorneyRegardless of your profession, you deserve a reasonably safe workplace. While some jobs such as construction work involve inherent risks including working from great heights, many steps can be taken to mitigate the risk of worker injury. If you or a loved one was hurt on the job because your work environment was unsafe, make sure you educate yourself about your legal rights. You may be eligible for financial recovery through workers’ compensation and, if the injury was caused by a third party’s negligence, compensation through a personal injury claim.
Injured Workers Can Only Sue Their Employers in Very
Continue Reading Can I Sue My Employer if I Was Injured at Work in Illinois?

McHenry County DUI defense attorneyIf you are subject to a driver’s license revocation because you were convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs, you must take specific actions to regain your driving privileges. Driving with a revoked or suspended license in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor offense punishable by a mandatory minimum jail sentence and up to $2,500 in fines. A second offense for driving on a suspended or revoked license may constitute a felony. To avoid these criminal charges and regain your ability to legally drive, you will need to attend a formal or informal Secretary of State
Continue Reading Tips for a Successful Driver’s License Reinstatement Hearing After a DUI

McHenry County family lawyerAs anyone who has children can attest, it is not easy to be a parent. Parenting is infinitely more challenging after a divorce or breakup, especially if the other parent has been granted substantially more parental responsibilities and parenting time than you have. Under the law in Illinois, you have the right to reasonable parenting time with your child, but exercising that right can be difficult. Additionally, you might have personal issues of your own that have led the court to restrict your parenting time rights. A situation such as this can be extremely challenging, but it is not necessarily
Continue Reading Four Tips for Working Through Parenting Time Restrictions in Illinois

McHenry County car crash attorneyAccording to the National Safety Council, approximately half of all teenagers will experience an automobile accident before they graduate high school. Many of them will walk away from their accidents with little more than a few bumps and bruises. Others will suffer severe injuries and may even be killed. Thankfully, parents can minimize their child’s risk by staying involved. It is important to take steps to keep your teen safe while on the road.
Continue Riding with Your Teen
Statistics indicate that teens who continue driving with their parents in the car are less likely to experience a crash than
Continue Reading Keeping Teens Safe Behind the Wheel

Crystal Lake IL criminal defense attorneyEstimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that about one in every four American women and one in every seven American men will suffer severe physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner during their lifetime. To address this concern, many states have increased the severity of criminal penalties for violent acts committed against family members or intimate partners. In the state of Illinois, the crime of domestic battery is taken extremely seriously. If you are facing charges for domestic battery or any type of battery, it is important to understand what the charges
Continue Reading Understanding Domestic Battery Charges in Illinois

Crystal Lake spousal support attorneyDivorcing couples usually have a number of questions and concerns about spousal support—also known as alimony or maintenance—when they begin to address financial arrangements at the end of their marriage. One of the most pressing questions for most spouses is whether or not they are eligible for maintenance at all, and if so, how that decision is reached.
Determining the Need for Maintenance
It is understandable to want to know how much you must pay your spouse or how much you are eligible to receive, but the answers to these questions are not cut and dry. The court handles
Continue Reading Will I Receive Spousal Support Following My Illinois Divorce?

Auto accidents can result in all sorts of injuries, many of which are severe. One prime example is a herniated disk. While they are not one of the more commonly thought of spinal injuries, herniated disks can still have a significant impact on the lives of car crash victims. If you have suffered a herniated disk in a car crash, a qualified personal injury attorney can help you understand the compensation you may be owed.
What is a Herniated Disk?
Between each of the vertebrae of your spine, there are small, donut-like disks. On the outside, they are thick and
Continue Reading Pursuing Compensation for Herniated Disk Car Crash Injuries

As children develop, they tend to learn the basics of life, such as walking and talking, from their parents. They also rely on parents to teach them skills that will allow them to become self-sufficient. However, parents can also have a negative impact on their children. In a home where domestic violence has occurred, even young children can sense the problems, and witnessing violence can have lasting effects on children of all ages.
What Is Considered Domestic Violence?
“Domestic violence” is a term that describes a variety of behaviors used by a person to maintain power over a family member
Continue Reading How Does Domestic Violence Affect Children?

When a person is arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), one of the biggest fears they are likely to have is the possibility of spending time in jail, whether between the arrest and the trial or as part of the sentence resulting from a criminal conviction. While it is possible for a DUI arrest to lead to jail time, recent changes in Illinois laws and the increased use of electronic monitoring devices have significantly reduced the likelihood that DUI offenders will have to spend time in jail
Misdemeanor DUI Arrest: Usually No Jail, No Bail
Historically, those who
Continue Reading Will I Go to Jail If I Am Arrested for DUI in Illinois?

While there are many injuries that a victim could suffer in a car accident, some are more severe than others. Life-altering and life-threatening injuries can result in extreme financial losses and may even cause financial devastation for the victim and their family, not to mention the severe physical and mental effects. If you have suffered a traumatic injury, a qualified personal injury attorney can help you recover the most compensation possible.
Severe Head Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are one of the most common injuries in car crashes, and they can be deadly because they are easy to overlook. Victims
Continue Reading Life-Threatening Injuries Commonly Sustained in Illinois Car Accidents

Unlike divorcing couples with children, parents who were never married do not automatically receive rights to parenting time. Instead, they must pursue it. Further, an order requiring the payment of child support does not guarantee parenting time to the paying parent. With this in mind, it is important to understand how you can get time with your child if you were never married.
Why Pursue Parenting Time?
Fathers who are not married to the mother of their child often wonder if it is worth pursuing parenting time with their child. They may be concerned about cost, or they may
Continue Reading Getting Parenting Time With Your Child if You Are an Unmarried Father

Each year in the United States, an estimated 2.8 million people experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including many whose conditions were caused by car accidents. Of those, approximately 50,000 do not survive their injuries, and another 280,000 are hospitalized and ultimately released. The rest are treated in emergency rooms and then released home to heal. What makes the difference between these three groups of people? Sometimes, it is the severity of the injury itself, but being able to recognize the early signs and symptoms can also be crucial for both the short- and long-term prognosis of a victim.
Continue Reading Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Most people know that you can lose your driver’s license if you are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) in Illinois. However, many people do not realize that there might be a way to get the suspension of your driver’s license rescinded, but doing so generally requires the help of a qualified attorney.
You Have the Right to a Court Hearing Regarding Your Suspension
If you fail or refuse chemical testing following a DUI arrest, the state of Illinois imposes an automatic suspension of your driver’s license—known as a “statutory summary suspension.” For most people,
Continue Reading 5 Strategies for Challenging Statutory Summary Suspension in Illinois

In today’s world, it is increasingly common for couples to handle the divorce process collaboratively and amicably, without significant intervention from the court. This can work well when there are few conflicts or intractable disagreements that get in the way of negotiation, but there are other scenarios in which trying to resolve a divorce without litigation is simply too dangerous. One common example is a situation in which one spouse is not being honest with the other as their marriage is coming to an end. When many people think of deception in a marriage, they think of affairs and cheating,
Continue Reading Signs That Your Spouse May Be Hiding Assets During Your Divorce