Her Divorce School Sessions:
Hon. Michele F. Lowrance (Ret.) – the Dean of The Divorce School –has 42 years of experience as a lawyer, judge, and sought-after commentator on family law issues in Illinois and nationally. She is the author of The Good Karma Divorce and co-authored Parental Alienation 911. She is a family law mediator who is widely respected. In 2015, she ranked third among the Top 10 Women ADR Neutrals in Illinois by Leading Lawyers, making her the top-ranked female divorce mediator. She also received the Samuel S. Berger Award by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Illinois Chapter.
A child of divorce and divorced herself, Judge Lowrance brings special personal perspective to her family law matters. Her approach is wholistic, encompassing the emotional and financial aspects of divorce. Judge Lowrance brings unique problem-solving skills to even the most high-conflict cases, recognizing that successful breakup or divorce signals a changed relationship more often than simply an ended one.
Judge Lowrance has substantial litigation, judicial, and settlement experience in all aspects of family law, including:
- Custody and parenting time
- Special issues related to same-sex divorce and parenting
- Property
- Allocation of college expenses
- Custody and care of children, including those with special needs
- Dissolution of family partnerships and family corporations
- Distribution of assets and debt, from small estates overwhelmed with debt to very large estates with millions in assets
- Grandparent custody and visitation
- Grounds where one party objected to divorce for religious reasons
- Negotiation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- Paternity cases involving DNA
- Physical, sexual, and emotional abuses of minors and young adults
- Stock option division
- Tax issues in divorce
- Termination of parental rights
- Trust and estate disputes; wills
- Valuation of high-asset estates
- Validity of pre/postnuptial agreement
- Use of experts relative to removal, custody, visitation, real estate appraisals, business valuation, lifestyle, disability, and forensic accounting