O. Long Law, LLC

06/03/2026

One of the most common fights I see between divorced parents? Where the kids go to school.

In Illinois, education is a significant decision-making responsibility governed by your parenting plan. If one parent has sole decision-making authority, they can choose the school outright. If you have joint decision-making, you both have to agree. And when you can't, there are options before it ever gets in front of a judge.

Mediation, a parenting coordinator, or a modification of your parenting plan can all resolve the dispute without full-blown litigation. And if it does go to court, the judge will look at distance from each parent's home, the child's existing school arrangements, and what's actually in their best interest.

Don't wait until it becomes an emergency. We can help you figure out the right path forward.

🔗 https://olonglaw.com/blog/what-if-we-cant-agree-on-what-school-our-child-will-attend/

What If We Can't Agree On What School Our Child Will Attend? | Evanston & North Shore Family Law Firm | O. Long Law, LLC

06/01/2026

Second marriages aren’t safer.

05/31/2026

Marrying for money has hidden costs! Beware!

05/30/2026

Count the red flags! Living together before you get married: does it prevent divorce?

05/29/2026

The ultimate red flag nobody warns you about when getting married. What money mistakes make a marriage fail?

05/25/2026

Most people don’t know the difference between child support and child-related expenses in Illinois courts, and it costs them thousands!

05/24/2026

Dads think family courts are biased against them…moms think family courts are biased against them…but who’s right?

05/23/2026

A lot of people get separating marital and non-marital assets completely wrong. Here’s what you need to know about co-mingling.

05/23/2026

Join the CBA, the Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ), and LAGBAC - Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association for the LGBTQ+ Justice Town Hall Forum presented by the LGBTQ+ Section of the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA). This town hall brings together attorneys, community leaders, and elected officials to discuss the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights and examine issues like access to justice, recent policy developments, and the role of legal professionals in advancing equity.

📅 Tuesday, June 2, 2026
🕠 5:30 P.M.
📍 Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Register at https://lagbac.org/product/lgbtq-justice-town-hall-forum-pride-month-cle/. This CLE is FREE for active members of the CCBA, LAGBAC, AIJ, and the CBA.
Non-Members are $35.00.

05/22/2026

I tell clients this more than almost anything else: you cannot cure the fact that your co-parent is a high-conflict person.

Seriously. Think about how many people you know who grew up with a difficult parent in a married household. There are a million TV shows about it. Divorce doesn't "fix" difficult people, and it doesn't create them either. It just changes the living arrangement.

Some high-conflict people stay married. Some high-conflict people get divorced. But nothing in the history of humanity has ever cured that particular condition.

What I can help you do is protect yourself legally, protect your kids, and stop wasting time and money trying to litigate someone's personality into changing. That's not what courts are for. And it's not what's best for your children.

I talked through this (and had a few laughs about it) with Susan Chesnutt on her podcast. If you're in the thick of a high-conflict co-parenting situation, give it a listen.

- Olivia

🎧 https://open.spotify.com/episode/60Wafw0xO1vlUofhLYMllI?si=FlBn3ROsQY6F3ikne5YVSQ