When parties decide to separate, it is never an easy decision to make. Our firm works with clients who either want to initiate divorce proceedings or respond to a request to terminate their marriage. Our mission is to ensure that any trauma from such a difficult time might be minimized; financially and/or emotionally. We work hard to affirm a fair division of all assets and debts, and guarantee that the best interest of minor children are at the forefront.
Children are affected when their parents decide to split. Although the relationship didn’t work out, parents want what’s best for their children. While ensuring that the best interest of your children are being met, it is also important to make sure that your own rights are secure. At NMS Family Law Firm, we proudly advocate on behalf of parents, and incidentally, the children. With our founder, Nicole M. Scott, being the center of a strenuous custody battle as a child, empathy is at the core of the firm’s foundation when dealing with these issues. With our experience , both personally and professionally, we are equipped with the tools to help you create a parenting arrangement that protects the interest of all of the parties involved.
Every parent knows that with all of the love, caring, and decision making that goes into the rearing of each child, also come significant financial responsibility. Children are not cheap and require the assistance and income of both parents to provide for the every day needs of a child. At NMS Family Law Firm, we ensure that a child support order is entered which mirrors your family’s needs. Our firm is trained in understanding and calculating child support under the Income Shares Model, which took effect in Illinois in July 2017. We understand the need to ensure that the child support obligation is correct for both the payor and the payee. This could mean that you may need assistance in modifying the child support obligation. Whatever the need is, whether it be a modification or initial setting of child support, our team is here to help.
Establishing paternity is crucial to the upbringing of a child. Factors such as child custody and visitation, child support, and division of child related debts are all contingent upon established paternity for minor children. At NMS Family Law, we help in establishing paternity between minor child(ren) and father, whether voluntarily or through DNA testing.
If you have been a victim of domestic violence, it is never an easy decision when deciding how to get out of that situation. Considering obtaining an order of protection is a walk that should not be taken alone. At NMS Family Law Firm, we are committed to helping you take action to protect yourself, from the beginning to the end of the process. We counsel individuals on what kind of Order of Protection to seek, whether civil or criminal, emergency or plenary, and advise them on how the process looks.
When paternity has been established and the court system has been involved, a parent who decided that they want to move more than 25 miles from the residence that they are residing in must conform with certain guidelines before making the move. This is crucial, as a failure to comply with the guidelines can result in the temporary change in custody. AT NMS Family Law Firm, whether you are a parent who is seeking to relocate, or if you are a parent that is fight against the relocation of another, we are equipped to assist you in protecting your rights.
Dealing with DCFS can be an overwhelming and heart wrenching experience. Being faced with the possibility of an “indicated” finding on your record, or even worse, losing your children, can be a traumatic experience to face. The attorneys at NMS Family Law Firm have experience on both seats when it comes to litigating cases against DCFS. With some of our attorneys having clerked at DCFS’ legal department, we understand the infrastructure of the department and can give first hand insight on what the department is considering when making their decisions. Additionally, our attorneys have defended client’s against claims made by DCFS and have gotten positive results for clients.
Unfortunately, hard and unexpected times occur, such as the loss of a child’s parent(s) or the inability of a parent(s) to make sound decisions concerning their children. It is with the establishment of a guardian, that decisions regarding a minor child can be made when a parent is unable to do so. At NMS Family Law Firm specializes in assisting individuals that wish to establish guardianship in the best interest of the minor children involved.
It may seem that you are planning for a divorce before your marriage begins, however understanding that a marriage is about business in addition to love will help you understand the benefits that creating a prenuptial agreement can bring. A prenuptial agreement is signed before a couple gets married and helps set expectations regarding the division of property, finances, and other concerns in the event that the marriage was to end in divorce. If done correctly, a prenuptial agreement helps parties with a smooth and simple divorce process, and saves them money in the end.
On the other hand, while not as common as prenuptial agreements, agreements about how to divide assets can be made after the parties are married but before a divorce, this is called a post-nuptial agreement. Post nuptial agreements can also be effective tools in protecting the rights and assets of the parties in a marriage. Post-nuptial agreements can be entered into at any time during the marriage.
Here at NMS Family Law Firm, we help couples draft legally sound and enforceable prenuptial and post nuptial marital agreements that protect the best interest of each party.
