Family Law

• Divorce
  Beverly A. Pekala is the principal of The Law Offices of Beverly A. Pekala PC, a family law firm. She is a nationally recognized expert in divorce and family law, including pre-and post-divorce, custody, child support, maintenance, retirement benefits, pensions, parentage, separation, visitation, prenuptial agreements, business valuation, tax and financial settlements. She is the author of the best selling book “Don’t Settle For Less†(Doubleday), which provides guidance on divorce, custody settlements and understanding the courtroom and litigation process.
• Child Support
  Issues continue to arise after a divorce has been finalized, sometimes weeks, months or years later. We provide consultation and representation involving modifications/changes to divorce judgments, including child support, maintenance and other modifications, as well as issues relating to enforcement of divorce judgments.
• Child Custody and Visitation
  Regardless of whether a couple is married or not, courts are increasingly deciding who will be awarded custody and visitation. Moms and dads of Fluffy and Scruffy are dealing with issues previously encountered only by parents of children. But pet issues are an evolving area of the law, and each state has very different statutes addressing what happens to our companion animals when their parents split. In some states, laws written decades ago still treat pets no differently than a chair or a table; they are considered “stuff†to be divided up. Unfortunately, the law hasn’t caught up yet with modern day notions of how we feel about our pets, and while some judges are sensitive to the notion that a pet is not a couch, others are not.
• Paternity
  We represent parents who were not legally married to each other, addressing custody, visitation, child support, and other child related issues. This includes the determination of paternity, DNA testing, and concerns relevant to these circumstances.
• Premarital Agreement
• Spousal Support
  Maintenance / alimony; medical insurance and health care expenses, division of assets, including residential and commercial real estate, retirement benefits and plans, business interests, and financial accounts; division of debts, including credit card debt, personal loans, mortgage debt, student loans, business debt and tax issues. Additionally, we address issues regarding domestic violence and obtain orders of protection.
• Child Abuse
  I am a member of various bar associations, including the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. I have been honored to serve on the boards of civic and legal organizations, including chambers of commerce, the Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Executive Board of the Women’s Bar Association. I have acted as Director of Legal Affairs for a national organization focused on fighting domestic violence and abuse, and have acted as counsel for a Chicago based anti-cruelty organization.

Criminal Law

• Murder
  Throughout her career, Beverly has represented clients in highly publicized cases and garnered media attention. Ms. Pekala negotiated a television movie and book based upon her representation of a battered woman who was stalked by her former husband and whose failed attempt to murder her was captured on film by the FBI.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
• Business Disputes
  Clearly, whenever a business interest is involved, there exist complex financial, legal, accounting and tax ramifications. The Law Offices of Beverly A. Pekala is well qualified in this arena. Following Beverly Pekala’s receipt of her Juris Doctor from the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Chicago-Kent College of Law, she continued her post graduate education, receiving a Masters of Law in Taxation in 1986. She then began teaching family law and business law. During her tenure as a practicing attorney for over 25 years, she has represented numerous business owners, as well as clients whose cases involve professional and corporate interests.

Employment Law

• Non-compete Agreement
  Divorce cases involving businesses require a high level of expertise needed to understand, address and resolve the complex issues presented by businesses or professional corporations. These include dealing with valuation, shareholder agreements, non-compete agreements, minority versus majority ownership, client / customer lists, business-related litigation and commercial real estate. Often one spouse alleges that part or all of the business or professional interests are non-marital, and therefore claim that the business is the sole property of the spouse who holds the ownership interest. Stock might have been gifted by family members to the spouse, or stock might have been received by a spouse before marriage or perhaps even during the marriage.

Finance Law

• Tax Law