Beth McCormack

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Chicago, IL
Beth McCormack

Discreet counsel for complex, high-stakes divorce. More than three decades protecting families, privacy, and what you built. Equity Partner, Beermann LLP.

09/01/2026

The first meeting is never what people expect.

They arrive braced for a conversation about accounts and houses and who keeps what. That conversation matters, and it comes. But it is not where we begin.

We begin with one question. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being ready to proceed today, what number would you give me?

There is no wrong answer. A three tells me something a seven does not, and both are welcome in the room. The number cuts through what the paperwork never can, whether this is a decision already made, or a fear being said out loud for the first time.

And almost every time, the person knows their number before I finish the sentence. They just needed someone to ask.

08/31/2026

Last week our team traded petitions and prenups for pasta.

We spent an afternoon at learning to roll, shape, and (mostly) laugh our way through fresh pasta from scratch. No case strategy, no client calls. Just flour on our hands, good food and good company.

There's something I love about seeing my team outside the office. The same people who bring precision and care to some of the hardest days in our clients' lives, showing up for each other in a completely different way. It reminded me how grateful I am to work alongside people I genuinely enjoy being around.

Family Law asks a lot of the people who do it well. Moments like this matter.

08/27/2026

The most important number in a high-profile divorce is often the one no one gets to see.
That is not an accident.

When aircraft, vehicles, real estate, and intellectual property are divided, the public may focus on the glamorous assets. The real strategy may be keeping the dollar figure out of view.

Once a number becomes public, it can follow both people into future negotiations, business deals, and even the next relationship.

The same is true for intellectual property. A public persona, a brand, a podcast, or creative work can become an asset that has to be valued, divided, and protected.

The number you never see is usually the one that mattered most.

08/25/2026

People assume this work would make me cynical about marriage.

My own family would tell you the opposite happened.

After more than three decades in divorce, I have seen what happens when two people stop talking to each other years before they stop living together.

So in my own house, the rule was simple.

Say the hard thing early, while it is still small enough to say out loud.

Most of what ends up in my office started as something one person did not want to bring up at dinner.

Everything can and will be done with grace.

08/20/2026

I was named to the 2027 Best Lawyers in America list again this year for Family Law, Family Law Mediation, and Collaborative Law. It is an honor, and one I do not take lightly after more than three decades in this work.

But recognition like this is only ever a reflection of something else. The real proof is in the outcomes. A client who can still sit two rows from her ex-husband at their daughter's graduation, because the divorce never had to burn the family down on its way out. A settlement that quietly held years later. A note, years on, from a client finally able to enjoy their second chapter.

That is what the list is really measuring, even if it does not say so directly.

That's a track record, not a trophy.

08/18/2026

Collaborative divorce is not everyone agreeing to be nice.

That is the misunderstanding.

Collaborative means the room is built for problem solving instead of performing. Everyone has agreed to do the work there, with the right professionals present, rather than turning every disagreement into a courtroom posture.

That does not make it soft.

It requires more precision, more discipline, and more restraint. It also requires knowing when to hold firm.

They do not call me the velvet hammer for nothing. Learning how to collaborate is the harder skill, not the easier one.

08/13/2026

Parents often worry about the wrong loss.

The house. The school. The zip code.

Those things matter. But they are rarely the thing that makes a child feel unsafe.

What destabilizes a child is inconsistency. Two homes with different rules can be managed. Two homes with different versions of the truth are much harder.

Children do not need their parents to agree on everything. They need enough steadiness that the ground does not move every time they change bedrooms.

Children do not need a perfect childhood. They need a predictable one.

08/12/2026

Behind many of the divorces I handle is a child trying to make sense of what is happening to their family. That is the part of this work that never leaves you.

It is why has had my heart for years, and why serving on the board and now leading the advisory council has been one of my most meaningful commitments.

Their mission is simple and enormous: no child should have to grieve or navigate loss alone, whether that loss comes from divorce, death, or another major change at home.

I recently sat down for their new Rainbow Chats series to talk about where the organization is headed and what makes it different from anything else out there.

If you want to watch it, or if you would like to donate directly, follow the 🔗 in bio.

Protecting a child's stability is not a talking point for me. It is the whole point.

08/11/2026

She thought keeping the house meant she had won.

On paper, it looked even. The house was matched dollar for dollar against liquid assets. The maintenance package was generous. The agreement looked strong the day it was signed.

A year later, the carrying costs and tax consequences told a different story. That’s when the client came to me. Her attorney did not bring in a financial advisor or wealth manager to help the client project how long her cash assets would last with carrying the costs of maintaining the formal marital residence on her own.

That is the part people often miss. An asset can look valuable in the settlement and become very expensive to keep after the divorce is over. That is why building the right team matters before anyone assumes there is only one outcome.

That is exactly why I do not work alone and insist a financial advisor works with us from the beginning.

08/06/2026

Six hundred forty-three million dollars. That is what a court overseas just ordered one of the region's wealthiest businessmen to pay his former wife, closing out a divorce that took years longer to resolve than anyone expected.

Everyone is talking about the number of dollars, but what about the years?

Once a business sits inside a marital estate, valuation becomes contested territory long before division does. Ask any Forensic Accountant who has valued a closely held business in one of these cases, and they will tell you the fight was never really about the figure on the page.

It was about control and methodology, and about what a spouse actually owned versus what they merely benefited from. The Divorce Coaches, Wealth Managers and Estate Planning Attorneys who get pulled in early are usually the ones who keep a case like this from running so long.

The number is never the story. The years it took to get there are.

Address

161 N Clark Street, Suite 3000
Chicago, IL
60601

Telephone

+13129535114

Website

https://www.beermannlaw.com/team/beth-f-mccormack/

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