Family law & estate planning · Lincoln Square, Chicago
What’s going on?
Pick the closest one. We’ll write down what usually happens next, what to bring and what a first consult costs. Plain English, no obligation.
General information, not legal advice. Rather just talk? (773) 555-0148
Todayfirst page
Your first page
How this works
- Tap what’s going on, over on the left.
- We write down what usually happens next, what to bring and the price.
- You decide if you want to talk. Nothing is booked until you say so.
Or skip the reading
A 15-minute call to see if we’re the right fit. Then a 45-minute consult, $150, credited toward any flat fee. Sample prices.
Attorney advertising. Sample firm: every name, number and price on this page is fictional.
Evenings Tue & Thu · Saturday mornings · Video consults · Se habla español · Mówimy po polsku
How we work
Most people meet a lawyer in one of the hardest months of their life.
So we start the same way every time: a round table, a yellow pad, and the plan and the price written down before any work. Nobody gets talked down to, and nobody gets rushed.
- The price in writing, first. A flat fee where we can. A clear hourly estimate where we can’t.
- The same person every time. You’ll know who is doing your work and who picks up when you call.
- Calls back within one business day. Even when the answer is “nothing new yet”.
- No Latin. If we use a word you don’t know, stop us. We’ll write it down.
House rules are sample promises for this fictional firm.
Sample prices · fictional firm
The price, before the first meeting.
Most of what families need has a flat fee. You know the number before you sign anything, and it doesn’t creep up because a phone call ran long.
Fee scheduleSample
| Matter | What’s included | Sample fee |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | ||
| Fit call | 15 minutes on the phone: is this something we do, and roughly what it costs. | Free |
| First consult | 45 minutes, in person or on video. Credited toward any flat fee if you hire us. | $150 |
| Planning ahead | ||
| Will + powers of attorney | Will, Illinois powers of attorney for property and health care, HIPAA release. Couples $1,800. | $1,200 |
| Living trust package | Revocable trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, and the deed moving your home into the trust. | $2,900 |
| Family | ||
| Uncontested divorce, no kids | Petition, settlement agreement, financial affidavits, and the short court hearing at the end. | $3,500 |
| Uncontested divorce with kids | All of the above plus the parenting plan and allocation judgment. | $4,800 |
| Agreed parenting plan | Never married, or changing an old order. Drafting, filing, one court date. | $2,400 |
| When someone dies or needs help | ||
| Small-estate affidavit | When Illinois lets a small estate skip probate: we check, prepare and walk you through it. | $750 |
| Probate | Independent administration: opening the estate, notices, inventory, closing. | from $4,500 |
| Adult guardianship | Uncontested: the petition, the doctor’s report, the hearing. | from $3,200 |
Court filing fees, service and appraisals are extra and passed through at cost; Cook County’s fees are set by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Sample prices for a fictional firm, not an offer.
What to expect
Your first 30 days.
Pick a matter and ride it stop by stop. This is the usual route, not a promise: every family is different, and we’ll tell you when yours isn’t usual.
Day 0 The consult
You
Tell us the story, in whatever order it comes out. Ask everything, including what it will cost.
Us
Explain how Illinois divorce works, which path fits (agreed, mediated or contested), and the flat fee or retainer, in writing.
General information about a typical matter in Cook County, not legal advice. Timing depends on the court, the other side and you.
Who you’ll talk to
Three lawyers, one paralegal, one room upstairs.
No glamour shots and no stock handshakes. You’ll meet us at the table. (Sample people: this firm is fictional.)
-
Delia Wren
Partner · divorce, parenting time, mediation
Will tell you when something isn’t worth fighting about, and when it is.
-
Tomasz Kowalczyk
Partner · wills, trusts, probate, guardianship
Turns “we should really do our wills” into a signed binder in about a month.
-
Rosa Ibarra-Quinn
Associate · family and estates
Takes the Thursday evening and Saturday consults, often over a second coffee.
-
Jun Halvorsen
Paralegal · your day-to-day contact
Answers the phone, chases the paperwork, knows where everything is.
Visit
Up one flight on Lincoln Avenue.
4740 N. Lincoln Ave, 2nd floor, Chicago, IL 60625 (fictional address). A short walk from the Western Brown Line stop, with street parking on the side streets.
- Mon to Thu
- 9 AM to 7 PM
- Friday
- 9 AM to 5 PM
- Saturday
- 9 AM to 1 PM
- Video & phone
- Same hours, same price
Sample hours for a fictional firm.
Questions
What people ask at the table.
Is the first consult free?
In this sample: a 15-minute phone call to see if we're the right fit is free. The full 45-minute consult is $150 and comes off any flat fee if you hire us. Every price on this site is a sample for a fictional firm.
Does talking to you make you my lawyer?
No. Calling, booking or filling in a form doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. That starts only when we've checked for conflicts and we both sign an engagement letter.
Is what I tell you in a consult confidential?
We treat it as confidential. But please don't put private details in a web form or email before we've run a conflict check. Just tell us the kind of matter and the names of the other people involved.
Can we do this without going to court?
Often, yes. Agreed divorces still need a short court hearing in Illinois, but most of the work is negotiation, mediation and paperwork. Estate plans never go near a courtroom.
Will you tell me what my case is worth or how it will end?
We will tell you the realistic range of outcomes and what drives them. Nobody honest can promise a result, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What does hourly actually cost?
In this sample: you pay a retainer into our client trust account, we bill in tenths of an hour against it and send a plain monthly statement. Anything unused comes back to you.
Book a consult
Let’s start your first page.
Tell us the kind of matter and when suits you. Jun calls back within one business day to set a time and run a quick conflict check.
(773) 555-0148Sample number for a fictional firm.
- Within one business day Jun calls back to find a time that suits you.
- A two-minute conflict check We make sure we don’t already act for the other side.
- Your consult At our table, by phone or on video. You leave with notes and a price.