Our client, a mother of two small children, was married to a man with significant mental health and substance abuse issues. After driving crashing his car with the two children inside, she knew she had to leave and protect her children. She confronted her husband and asked for a separation. He left. He left and failed to tell anyone where he was going.

With little to no money, our client felt defeated but she new she needed to move on.  Our client filed her divorce case on her own because she couldn't afford a divorce attorney and she no longer wanted to be attached to any wrongdoing her husband might be up to or any financial liabilities he might be incurring.

After being overwhelmed by the self represented court system in DuPage County, she contacted our office for help. Sometimes all it takes is a buffer between the spouses to provoke a response from a spouse that seemingly disappeared. Our firm reached out to the husband, and he responded. He confirmed that he was representing himself and would review a divorce and parenting plan settlement offer. While he initially participated, he soon failed to respond to any further communications. Our client was extremely frustrated.

Ultimately, to help our client, our firm filed a Motion for Default and asked the Court to enter a Default Judgment granting our client her divorce and protecting the children by restricting the father's parenting time due to his untreated mental health and substance abuse issues. The firm attempted to resolve the parenting and financial issues privately within the family, but ultimately, this family needed the Court to make the final decision and enter a Default Judgment to end the divorce all in the best interest of our client and her children.