News
With 50 years of experience providing high quality, free legal services to low-income Chicagoans, CVLS and its volunteers are often recognized for their outstanding work.
News
Lousy Lender
Client Keeps Home After Unnecessary Explanation
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Damon Ritenhouse, EV Has, LLC |
Two years ago, Mariam’s husband suffered a massive heart attack and died in their home. The loss of his income caused a default on the mortgage, and Mariam faced the terrifying prospect of losing the home to foreclosure.
Mariam and her husband owned the property as joint tenants, so she became the sole owner the moment he passed away. Miriam had enough income to qualify for a modification of her loan, but her lender kept insisting she probate his estate in order to be approved. As any first-year law student can tell you, probating an estate is unnecessary if the property is held in joint tenancy!
Cooler Minds Prevail
CVLS Volunteer Amicably Settles Child Rep Case!
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Colleen M. Hurley, Attorney at Law, Lavelle Law, Ltd. |
It’s rare for a contested family law case to have a truly happy ending. Often when CVLS is appointed to represent a child, the goal is to minimize harm as much as possible.
J. is a sweet, eight-year-old girl who was stuck between parents who would not stop fighting with each other about parenting time. When volunteer Colleen Hurley first accepted the Court’s appointment as Child Representative, it looked like the parties would never find any common ground.
More than an Attorney
Volunteer Acts as Advocate, Emotional Support, and Teacher
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Vicki Karl, Executive Director, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago |
Clients come to CVLS with a variety of issues – not all of them legal. We listen and try to understand their needs, referring clients to other resources as necessary. After all, lawyers can’t do everything. That is, unless you’re represented by a volunteer attorney like Vicki Karl.
Vicki first met Ms. B. at Hel.LAS, our Hellenic Legal Assistance Services Clinic. 54-year-old Ms. B. came to the clinic wanting to apply for U.S. citizenship. She arrived in the United States at 10 years old and had lived as a permanent legal resident since then.
Ms. B. was married twice, is legally blind, and suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, and a dislocated back and hips. Her own medical issues and lack of formal education seriously hindered Ms. B.’s self-confidence. Vicki set time aside to really get to know Ms. B.
E-File Update
Cook County Sheriff Changes Request Service of Process
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office recently launched an e-file service for individuals needing to serve civil court documents. The e-filing portal allows parties to electronically request and upload documents such as summons and subpoenas, in addition to paying corresponding service fees, without having to make a trip to the courthouse, according to the sheriff’s website. E-filing is an option available to all who wish to utilize the Cook County’s Sheriff’s Office to serve process in Cook County.
E-Filing is NOT mandatory, and individuals may continue to file their requests in person at any Cook County Sheriff’s Office Civil Process location or by mailing their papers to the Daley Center location, along with payment.
History happens at CVLS
Governor Signs Consumer Fairness Act
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Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, stopped by CVLS to sign the Consumer Protection Act, HB88 |
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new Consumer Fairness Act at CVLS on July 29, providing relief to the residents of Illinois from predatory interest rates on their debt. Thanks to the bill, post-judgment interest rates will drop from 9 percent to 5 percent, and the collection window will shrink from 26 years to 17 years.
Expecting the Unexpected
Adoption Finalized with Help from Sidley Volunteer!
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Stephanie Stern, Sidley Austin LLP |
Adoption is a tricky process. It’s paperwork-intensive, and there are often bumps in the road – something volunteer attorney Stephanie Stern soon found out!
Monica and Michael sought to jointly adopt three-year-old Gregory. Although not biologically related to them, Gregory had been in their care since he was just four months old. He was essentially handed to the couple by his biological mother, a woman they knew from the neighborhood.
Moving Papers Mishap
Housing Subsidy Restored by CVLS Volunteer
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Terry (left) and volunteer Eric Vernsten (right) |
Terry depends on his housing subsidy to afford rent in Cook County. In 2015, Terry’s landlord lost the apartment to foreclosure, forcing Terry to find a new place. To transfer the subsidy, Terry had to get “moving papers” from the housing authority and submit them to prospective landlords.
eFileIL Outage
In preparation of the civil filing code and fee changes required as a result of Public Act 100-987, pursuant to the Clerks of Courts Act (705 ILCS 105/27.1b) effective July 1, 2019, eFileIL will be unavailable statewide starting on Friday, June 28, 2019 at 12:00 PM CDT through Monday, July 1, 2019 at 8:00 AM CDT.
Repeat Business
Senior’s Home Saved by Her “Go To” Pro Bono Attorney
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John Donahue |
Senior Lucille took out a reverse mortgage against her home and fell behind on the homeowner’s insurance, breaching the loan agreement. Facing foreclosure, Lucille reached out to her “go to” pro bono attorney, John Donahue.
Lucille and John have quite the history together. She is John’s longest-standing CVLS client. He first helped her receive survivor’s benefits from the Veteran’s Administration in 1996. Since then, he has worked with her on everything from debit card issues, lost auto title, life insurance, and even unwanted magazine subscriptions.
Frightening Cemetary
Attorney Works “Graveyard Shift” to Solve Client’s Unique Issue
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Marc Primack, Dressler Peters |
As a Partner at Dressler Peters, Marc Primack works with businesses on a variety of legal issues. But in late 2016, while volunteering at the CVLS Jewish United Fund (JUF) clinic, Marc was approached by a client named Ed who had a unique legal issue.
Ed had long complained about the conditions of gravesites at a local cemetery for some relatives and other persons he knew. He tried by himself to talk to cemetery staff about the gravesites and although he had some success, Ed could not quite get through.