Divorce and Family Law Attorney in Oak Brook, Illinois

The Law Firm of Debra J. Braselton, P.C.

1 Oakbrook Terrace #418 Oak Brook, Illinois 60523 USA

 (630) 261-1222

www.family-law-illinois.com
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Law Firm Overview

The Law Firm of Debra J. Braselton, P.C. provides comprehensive legal services for the full range of family law matters including prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, uncontested dissolution of marriage, divorce litigation, legal separation, custody, child support, adoption, guardianship, parentage, mediation and collaborative law. Legal issues such as divorce, custody and adoption impact the very core of our society - the family unit. We believe that despite a family law dispute, lifelong relationships built through a marriage can still be honored and preserved, particularly in cases where children are involved. We strive to minimize acrimony among family members during a difficult and emotional time while protecting the rights of our clients through zealous advocacy.

Although the vast majority of family law cases settle before trial, meticulous case preparation is essential to our ability to achieve a favorable result. An important aspect of case preparation is the selection of qualified and skilled experts to investigate and opine about contested issues. Our firm has well-established relationships with experts in the areas of forensic accounting, custody evaluation, business valuation, financial planning, psychology, actuarial analysis, private investigations and property appraisal. Our firm represents a wide variety of clients - from at-home parents to chief executives. We represent clients from Chicago, Hinsdale, Wheaton, Oak Brook, Naperville, Clarendon Hills, Burr Ridge, Western Springs and other suburbs in Cook, Dupage, Kane and Will Counties in Illinois.

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Guardianship; Parentage; Property Division

Practice Areas Description

The Law Firm of Debra J. Braselton, P.C. provides legal representation and services in the following areas of practice:

- Simple, Uncontested Divorce Agreements

Sometimes the parties to a divorce or a separation are in complete agreement as to the division of their marital estate and fully understand all issues associated with custody, child support and visitation. In those cases, a client meets with a lawyer who in turn drafts the necessary legal documents. Simple, uncontested divorces often require only one court appearance.

- Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative divorce differs significantly from traditional, litigated divorce in other ways. One example is the use of expert witnesses. In a litigated divorce, the spouses each hire their own experts: psychologists, forensic accountants, business valuation experts and/or appraisers. The hiring of these experts, while valuable to each party's case, results in significant expenditures of marital assets toward the resolution of the case. In a collaborative divorce the spouses agree, with advice of counsel, on which experts to hire in order to decide the disputed issues. More importantly, the costs of hiring these experts are shared by the parties rather than duplicated. This economy of scale reduces the overall costs of the divorce and leaves more money in the family's pocketbook.

- Child Custody

Ordinarily parents make decisions about their children together. But when parents divorce, the hostility between them sometimes causes them to disagree on what is best for the children. In addition, divorce presents a whole new set of child-rearing challenges. Even parents who have done a great job while married may find it useful to consult a child development expert for help in meeting these challenges. Issues related to children can present challenges for your lawyer as well. While your lawyer's loyalty is to you, your lawyer also has an obligation as an officer of the court to keep the best interest of the children in mind, even if that interest is inconsistent with yours.

- Prenuptial Agreements

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is the Illinois statute that governs the applicability of Premarital Agreements in the event of a divorce. As a general statement, any property or income acquired during the course of a marriage is considered marital property and subject to equitable division upon divorce. A Premarital Agreement allows the parties to designate what would otherwise be considered marital property as non marital property -- thereby avoiding distribution upon divorce. This can be especially important in cases where one owns a business in partnership with others or where a particular piece of property has been passed down in your family for generations.

- Adoption

We want you to adopt the baby of your dreams, and we are sure you can do so. At the Law Firm of Debra J. Braselton, we can lead you through the maze of available options and help you to avoid costly pitfalls. After getting to know your needs, we provide information about local adoption agencies, to help you decide which is most likely to serve your needs. We will discuss specific strategies to help you achieve your objective in the shortest amount of time and with least financial cost.

- Domestic Partnerships

The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act was recently passed by the legislature and becomes effective on June 1, 2011. The Act provides persons entering into a civil union with the obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses. The Act will enable same-sex couples and opposite couples who choose not to marry to have some of the same rights and obligations as married couples do under Illinois law.

- Legal Separation

Unlike divorcing spouses, couples who seek a legal separation must – in fact – be living separate and apart before seeking a formal Judgment from the Court. Debra J. Braselton, P.C. will prepare a Legal Separation Agreement that clearly addresses all financial issues as well as custody and visitation issues.

- Annulment

A common misconception is that an annulment is only available if a marriage has not been consummated. Not so. In order to qualify for annulment, the impediment to the marriage or the reason for the break up must have existed prior to the marriage. Some of the legal grounds for annulment include consanguinity (e.g., marriage between first degree family members), lack of capacity to consent (e.g., underage, insanity), fraud, and duress.

- Post Decree Matters

Believe it or not, there is life after divorce. However, circumstances often change with the passage of time and the settlement agreement that was perfectly fair at the time of the divorce may subsequently require adjustment. You may lose your job or become disabled for a time. Perhaps the children’s needs have grown so dramatically that you need to return to court to modify the child support order or visitation schedule.

Attorneys

Ms. Debra J. Braselton Attorney Family Law

More Information on The Law Firm of Debra J. Braselton, P.C.

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