Jonathan Steele - Family Law Attorney

09/23/2026

A parent reviewing a proposed parenting schedule noticed the exchange times conflicted with the school drop off routine already in place. Before agreeing to any schedule, walk through a normal school week with it and check for gaps around pickups, activities, and late buses. Small timing conflicts are easier to fix on paper than after a court order is in place. Has adjusting a schedule around school logistics come up in your own planning?



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.

09/22/2026

What's the best way to organize your financial information before or after a divorce, especially when trying to determine who should pay for past bills and debts?



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.

09/21/2026

Start a single folder for divorce paperwork, on paper or on your phone, so every notice, statement, and letter lands in one place you can find again.



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.

09/18/2026

A father comparing two different phone calendars for his parenting schedule realized neither one matched what the court order actually said. Before you rely on any shared app or calendar, pull out the written parenting plan and check each date against it line by line. Small transcription errors can cause confusion at exchange time even when everyone means well.

Have you and your co-parent ever caught a scheduling mismatch before it became a problem?



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.

09/17/2026

A woman gathering paperwork for her financial disclosure realized she had no record of who paid which household bills over the past year. She started sorting statements by category just to see the full picture before her next meeting. What is one financial record you would want organized before starting a financial disclosure in a divorce case.



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.

09/16/2026

A man drafting his settlement outline realized he had never checked whether his retirement accounts required a separate order to divide. Some plans need extra paperwork beyond the settlement agreement itself before funds can move. Ask your attorney early which accounts might need this so it is not a surprise later. Has this come up in your own planning process.



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.

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.