Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

My wife and her ex have been running into communication problems. It's not that they cannot agree upon things, it's that quite they sometimes get upset during conversations then things start breaking down. This causes issues especially when dealing with their children who are in joint custody between them. So when things hit the fan I have stepped in to act as a "middle man" or a buffer so they can continue normal conversations. Recently we have been trying to work out some issues with her ex, however my wife has not been able to keep her frustration in check, so as a work around both my wife and her ex agreed that I could stand in and explain the opinions of my wife and relay information from her ex. While doing some separate research in Illinois law I found that the spouse of an individual cannot give legal advice or represent their partner in a court of law if they not a practitioner of law (degree). So this opens the question as to whether or not what I'm doing is legal. Granted I'm not advising either party on legal matter, nor am I trying or planning to represent either of them in court. I'm simply relaying information between them in a manner in which does invoke anger or frustration. So would my action be considered illegal or are they ok as long as my involvement does not go into the courtroom? Additionally I was trying to keep a record of these conversations, and have my wife sign off on them, because I was involved in that process, would that be inadmissible in court? Thank you in advanced!


Asked on 9/22/15, 2:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Shimberg Shimberg and Crohn, P.C.

You are not appearing before a court and acting on behalf of any party. You are therefore not acting as a lawyer and therefore not doing anything improper or illegal. What you are attempting to do is act in an unofficial untrained mediator, to a certain extent. If the parties have joint custody, the agreement requires that they mediate their disputes, I do not believe that what you are doing constitutes mediation in the sense meant by the agreement. I think if the parties can not agree.on what to do with the child(ren) that they are required to enter into formal mediation with a trained mediator/

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Answered on 9/23/15, 5:54 am


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