- Adoption
- Agricultural Law
- Appeals
- Civil Litigation
- Divorce
- Elder Law
- Estate Planning
- Family Law
- General Trial Practice
- Mediation
- Personal Injury
- Probate
- Real Estate
- Taxation
- Trusts and Estates
- Wills
- Zoning and Planning Law
Adoption
We regularly represent parents in adoptions that involve related and non-related children. For international adoptions, we serve as the legal counsel here in the United States for the domestic portion of the process. Our attorneys also serve as Guardians ad Litem in adoption cases when other lawyers are handling the adoption petition.
Adoption Law Attorneys
Agricultural Law
Several of our attorneys have personal and family backgrounds in the world of agriculture. We regularly handle the purchase or sale of farmland, rural zoning questions, farm leases, and more specialized matters like drainage, special use, easements, and business development related to agriculture.
Agricultural Law Attorneys
Appeals
Our firm has extensive experience in a wide variety of appeals. We have successfully appealed cases at all levels of state and federal courts. These include the Illinois Appellate Court, Illinois Supreme Court, and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Estate Planning Law Attorneys
Civil Litigation
Nearly all of our attorneys appear regularly in local courts. We routinely handle cases in DeKalb County chancery, probate, family, and law divisions. We also travel to the surrounding counties as well as Federal District Courts. Our firm has extensive experience handling contract disputes, real estate matters, tort and injury claims, divorce and family cases, probate and guardianship litigation, foreclosure, landlord / tenant disputes, and a wide variety of other cases.
Civil Litigation Law Attorneys
James R. Buck
Jeffrey L. Lewis
Peter T. Smith
Jeffrey A. Meyer
Amanda C. Wielgus
Divorce
See also, Family Law. For more than fifty years, our firm has handled divorce cases in Illinois. We stay up to date on this constantly changing area of the law. Our attorneys handle contested issues as well as agreed separations. Issues we resolve often involve child custody, spousal support, divisions of assets, as well as less common situations like dividing family businesses, handling multiple real estate properties, and managing future spousal retirement benefits.
Divorce Law Attorneys
Elder Law
One of the fastest growing areas of law involves the rapidly growing world of senior citizens. Our firm handles traditional estate planning, but also the less common issues that often confront elderly family members. We deal with Medicaid and nursing home planning, questions of capacity, guardianship, powers of attorney, and complex end-of-life decision making.
Elder Law Attorneys
Estate Planning
We are one of the premier law firms in DeKalb County for handling your estate needs. We handle wills and trusts for a wide variety of clients, including farmers, business owners, educators, government employees, and traditional families. We also deal with the complex issues that often come with wealth management, multi-generational businesses, divided or blended families, and of course tax reduction strategies.
Estate Planning Law Attorneys
Ronald G. Klein
James A. Stoddard
Jeffrey L. Lewis
Peter T. Smith
Family Law
Our firm routinely represent clients in divorce proceedings, but that is only a portion of the family law matters that we handle. Our family law attorneys also handle prenuptial agreements, paternity, adoption, juvenile guardianship, and custody issues.
Family Law Attorneys
General Trial Practice
See also, Civil Litigation. Our firm handles bench (judge only) and jury trials in both state and federal courts. Our trial strategy involves zealously protecting our client’s interests, while also searching for creative solutions to resolve conflicts.
General Trial Practice Attorneys
James R. Buck
Jeffrey L. Lewis
Peter T. Smith
Jeffrey A. Meyer
Amanda C. Wielgus
Mediation
This growing area of the law focuses on methods of resolving conflicts without the extensive time and costly expense of court litigation. We handle the more common areas of family law mediation to deal with divorce, separation, custody, and support issues. However, we also encourage clients to consider mediation for more complex court cases, including torts, contract disputes, and probate or estate disagreements.
Mediation Attorneys
Personal Injury
We routinely represent clients who have been injured due to the negligence or intentional conduct of others, whether the injuries are related to an automobile accident, job-related accident, medical malpractice, or other unforeseen circumstances. We advocate for our clients with insurance adjusters, and actively litigate those cases that cannot be reasonably resolved without court intervention.
Personal Injury Law Attorneys
Probate
Our attorneys appear in probate court on a regular basis. We handle the administration of wills, as well as will contests, creditor claims, recovery of estate assets, and other contested matters. We also handle guardianship cases involving children or disabled adults, and when appropriate we also defend adults who believe they are being wrongly subject to guardianship by family members or others.
Probate Law Attorneys
Real Estate
We are one of the premier law firms in DeKalb County for handling your estate needs. We handle wills and trusts for a wide variety of clients, including farmers, business owners, educators, government employees, and traditional families. We also deal with the complex issues that often come with wealth management, multi-generational businesses, divided or blended families, and of course tax reduction strategies.
Real Estate Law Attorneys
Ronald G. Klein
James A. Stoddard
Peter T. Smith
Jeffrey A. Meyer
Taxation
Our firm does routine individual and small business tax preparation, as well as estate and gift tax returns for estate planning and administration.
Taxation Attorneys
Trusts and Estates
We have a long history of drafting trusts as an estate planning mechanism. We handle marital deduction trusts, special needs trusts, revocable living trusts, irrevocable business or insurance trusts, and a wide variety of trust structures tailored to the unique needs of our clients.
Trusts and Estates Law Attorneys
Ronald G. Klein
James A. Stoddard
Jeffrey L. Lewis
Peter T. Smith
Wills
See also, Estate Planning. Our attorneys are skilled at crafting a Last Will and Testament to the unique needs of each individual client. We advise clients about the selection of an executor, and how to ensure that minor children will be cared for – both financially and physically. Our documents are designed for the appropriate level of complexity or simplicity of each situation. Our goal is to make sure that our client’s last wishes are preserved and carried out for the benefit of their loved ones, friends, or charitable beneficiaries.
Will Attorneys
Ronald G. Klein
James A. Stoddard
Jeffrey L. Lewis
Peter T. Smith
Zoning and Planning Law
We frequently represent clients before local municipalities to request changes to zoning or other regulatory status of property. Our attorneys frequently work with local planning commissions, engineers, surveyors, and other professionals to develop new uses for their properties. We also defend clients who are facing prosecution by local officials for violations of zoning laws or other local ordinances.