Jonathan Steele - Family Law Attorney

08/22/2026

🏛️ Illinois appellate courts just clarified a key family law issue:

The article's central legal insight is that covert GPS or AirTag tracking by a spouse is self-defeating evidence — it not only supports an order of protection and reshapes parenting-time analysis by recasting a scheduling dispute as a pattern of control, but it also legitimizes otherwise speculative discovery into the tracking party's devices, accounts, purchase records, and cloud backups, which in high-asset cases can intersect with asset tracing and dissipation claims.

The corollary insight is that this leverage is fragile and procedural: attribution (linking the device to the opposing party's account) and preservation discipline determine whether the tracker becomes an exhibit or a boomerang, since removing the device, resetting phones, or self-help access to the other party's...

⚡ Full strategy—use it before filing: https://steelefamlaw.com/article/airtag-and-gps-tracker-abuse-in-relationships?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_blog&utm_content=airtag_and_gps_tracker_abuse_in_relationships_20260822



🎥 Watch Teaser: https://steelefamlaw.com/i6awd7

Attorney advertising by Jonathan D. Steele, Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Licensed in Illinois. Educational only — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this post.

The article's central legal insight is that covert GPS or AirTag tracking by a spouse is self-defeating evidence — it not only supports an order of.

08/21/2026

A woman updating her insurance beneficiaries after her divorce realized her retirement account still listed her ex spouse. Beneficiary forms do not update automatically when a divorce is finalized, so check retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable on death bank designations separately. Keep a simple written list of which accounts you have reviewed and when. Have you checked your beneficiary designations since your divorce was finalized?

This is educational information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post.

08/20/2026

A father sat down to plan a holiday schedule and realized he and his co-parent had never agreed on which years belonged to which side of the family. He started writing out past holidays just to see the pattern before bringing it up. What helped you keep track of holiday parenting time from year to year.

This is educational information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post.

08/20/2026

Honored to be included in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Family Law Mediation.

Helping families navigate challenging chapters toward constructive, forward-looking solutions is at the heart of what I do every day at Beermann LLP. Truly grateful to my peers for the nomination and to our incredible team and clients for their continued trust.

08/20/2026

⚖️ New Illinois court ruling could affect YOUR case:

In re Marriage of Hunter - In In re Marriage of Hunter, the First District confirmed that a notice of appeal divests the circuit court only of authority to modify a judgment, not to enforce it — so a contempt finding, body attachment, and cash purge condition remain fully operative unless the appellant affirmatively obtains a stay, which this appellant never sought in either court. The decision's more consequential lesson is compounding procedural forfeiture: by failing to file the ordered financial affidavit, the appellant forfeited the only real defense to civil contempt over fees (inability to pay) and invited an adverse inference, and by failing to secure a transcript or Rule 323 substitute, she triggered the Foutch presumption that the trial court acted correctly — leaving the...

⚡ Full strategy—use it before filing: https://steelefamlaw.com/article/in-re-marriage-of-hunter?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_blog&utm_content=in_re_marriage_of_hunter_20260819



Attorney advertising by Jonathan D. Steele, Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Licensed in Illinois. Educational only — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this post.

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Hunter - In In re Marriage of Hunter, the First District confirmed that a notice of appeal divests the circuit court only.

08/19/2026

🏛️ Illinois appellate courts just clarified a key family law issue:

In re Marriage of Ballinger - The core insight of In re Marriage of Ballinger is that the appeal collapsed on Rule 341(h)(7) forfeiture rather than substance — reciting the abuse-of-discretion standard without marshaling record facts and supporting authority is not argument, and forfeiture operated as a merits-dispositive event across the property division, interim fee, and duration challenges. Compounding that, the husband's bonus argument inverted In re Marriage of Micheli, which reversed an uncapped percentage-of-bonus award as a potential windfall untethered to reasonable needs; a payor thus has no right to percentage-of-bonus treatment, and where bonuses are regular and predictable, folding them into gross income is well within the trial court's discretion — particularly where the...

⏰ Know this before your next hearing: https://steelefamlaw.com/article/in-re-marriage-of-ballinger?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_blog&utm_content=in_re_marriage_of_ballinger_20260819



🎥 Watch Teaser: https://steelefamlaw.com/1fdmyc

Attorney advertising by Jonathan D. Steele, Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Licensed in Illinois. Educational only — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this post.

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Ballinger - The core insight of In re Marriage of Ballinger is that the appeal collapsed on Rule 341(h)(7) forfeiture.

08/19/2026

A woman opening a joint bank account statement for the first time in months found she could not explain half the charges on it. Before any financial disclosure step, start a simple folder of account statements, loan balances, and recurring bills so nothing feels unfamiliar later. Keeping this updated as you go makes conversations about finances less confusing when they happen. Have you found a system that keeps financial paperwork organized during a stressful season?

This is educational information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post.

08/19/2026

📚 What this recent decision means for family law in Illinois:

In re Marriage of Patel, 2025 IL App (3d) 240453 - In In re Marriage of Patel, 2025 IL App (3d) 240453, the Third District confirmed that parties cannot contractually divest a court of its statutory authority over child support — rendering both a negotiated $500,000 income cap and its "non-modifiable" label voidable, regardless of the parties' mutual intent at settlement. The decision's sharper practical lesson is that the original support order was independently vulnerable because it deviated from guidelines without the written findings required by section 505(a)(3.4), meaning an agreed deviation memorialized without statutory scaffolding remains open to collateral attack years later, while a properly explained upward deviation — here, $3,750 per month — survives review.

⏰ Know this before your next hearing: https://steelefamlaw.com/article/in-re-marriage-of-patel-2025-il-app-3d-240453?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_blog&utm_content=in_re_marriage_of_patel_2025_il_app_3d_240453_20260819



Attorney advertising by Jonathan D. Steele, Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Licensed in Illinois. Educational only — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this post.

Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Every case is different.

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Patel, 2025 IL App (3d) 240453 - In In re Marriage of Patel, 2025 IL App (3d) 240453, the Third District confirmed that.

08/18/2026

A man preparing for his first mediation session realized he had never listed out which household items actually mattered to him versus which ones he was arguing about out of habit. He spent an evening walking through each room and writing down what he genuinely wanted to keep before sitting down at the table. what helped you separate the things you truly cared about from the things you were fighting about on principle

This is educational information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post.

08/18/2026

Is 50/50 parenting time right for your family?

In re Marriage of Tate - In In re Marriage of Tate, 2026 IL App (5th) 260228-U, the Fifth District affirmed a mother's award of majority parenting time where the father's trial record showed minimal involvement in his children's schooling and medical care — he did not know his son's grade, teacher, or diagnosis and never attended IEP meetings — facts that mapped directly onto the statutory best-interest factors, and it separately flagged that his apparently AI-drafted brief with unreliable citations implicated Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137. Legally, the decision is notable for two points: because the judge who entered the order (Judge Lolie) ruled solely on transcripts after the trial judge's recusal and never observed live testimony, the appellate court applied de novo rather than...

⏰ Know this before your next hearing: https://steelefamlaw.com/article/illinois-parenting-time-afterin-re-marriage-of-tate-building-an-allocation-record-that-survives-a-cold-read?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=daily_blog&utm_content=illinois_parenting_time_afterin_re_marriage_of_tate_building_an_allocation_record_that_survives_a_cold_read_20260818



Attorney advertising by Jonathan D. Steele, Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Licensed in Illinois. Educational only — not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this post.

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Tate - In In re Marriage of Tate, 2026 IL App (5th) 260228-U, the Fifth District affirmed a mother's award of majority.