Margaret A. Bennett
Member
Email: margaret.bennett@lawbennett.com

Practice Areas: Family Law; Divorce; Child Custody; Visitation; Collaborative Law; Adultery; Alimony; Child Custody Mediation; Child Support; Childrens Rights; Discovery of Hidden Assets; Divorce Mediation; Domestic Relations; Equitable Distribution; Family Mediation; Marital Agreements; Marital Misconduct; Marital Property Law; Marital Property Settlements; Matrimonial Law; Orders of Protection; Parentage; Parenting Plans; Parenting Time; Paternity; Pensions; Employee Benefits; Post Divorce; Property Allocation; Property Settlement Agreements; Shared Parenting Plans; Spousal Misbehavior; Spousal Support; Stock Option Distribution; Visitation Rights.

Admitted: 1976, Illinois, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; 1977, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; 1983, Colorado; 2002, England and Wales

Law School: Loyola University, Chicago School of Law, J.D., 1976

College: University of California at Berkeley, A.B., cum laude, 1972; University of San Francisco

Member: DuPage County Bar Association (Chairperson, Real Estate Law Committee, 1994-1995; Chairperson, Professional Responsibility Committee, 1996-1997; Chairperson, Matrimonial Law Committee, 1997-1998; Member, Family Court Task Force Committee, 1997-2001; Member, Mandatory Matrimonial Fee Arbitration Committee, 1997-1998; Member, Family Law Mediation Committee, 1996-1999; Co-Chairman, Committee for the Next Generation, 1990-1993; Member, Blue Ribbon Committee on People with Disabilities, 1992-1994); Illinois State Bar Association (Family Law Section Counsel, 2009-; Assembly Member, 1986-1990 and 1994-2000; Member, Real Property Section Council, 1996-2002; Standing Committee on Judicial Evaluations, 1997-; Chairman, Northern Illinois Real Estate Law Committee, 1994-1997); DuPage Association of Women Lawyers; Illinois Family Law Study Committee of the State of Illinois, 2008-.

Biography: Margaret Bennett concentrates in the area of family law and also serves on the Illinois Family Law Study Committee which was created by Illinois House of Representatives pursuant to HR1101 to review portions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage and related statutes. Ms. Bennett was recently appointed to the Illinois State Bar Association of Family Law Committee. If you are contemplating a separation or divorce, or you or your spouse are contesting the custody of your children, or the division of marital assets, Ms. Bennett is an experienced, knowledgeable and compassionate divorce and family law attorney you can trust. Margaret Bennett has been nominated by other attorneys as a Leading American Attorney and as an Illinois Leading Attorney in the area of family law. To be named a Leading American Attorney, attorneys must receive multiple recommendations from their peers in a statewide survey conducted by the American Research Corporation. Fewer than 6 percent of the state's attorneys are Leading American Attorneys. Margaret Bennett is a frequent lecturer and has authored numerous articles. Ms. Bennett is listed in "Who's Who in America", "Who's Who in American Law", "Who's Who in the World", "Who's Who of American Women", and "World Who's Who of Women". Voted by Martindale-Hubbell as a Preeminent Lawyer , Margaret A. Bennett has received the highest peer award honor that is only bestowed upon those lawyers who have the highest level of legal ability and adherence to the professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence. Recently, Ms. Bennett received legislative appointment to the Family Law Study Committee of the State of Illinois. The Committee was formed by the State of Illinois House of Representatives to study and revise the provisions of the state law relating to child support, spousal maintenance, dissipation of assets, child custody and parentage. Recipient: Illinois State Bar Association Certificate of Appreciation, 1990; DuPage County Bar Association Certificate of Appreciation, 1989; DuPage County Bar Association Board of Directors Award, 1998. Featured Speaker: "What Every Real Estate Attorney Should Know About Divorce Law and What Every Divorce Attorney Should Know About Real Estate Law," Illinois State Bar Association Real Property Section Council's Annual Seminar, 1998; "The Allocation of Stock Options Upon Dissolution of Marriage," Seminar on Financial, Business Valuation & Divorce Taxation Issues, 1998; "How to Avoid the Nightmare", Illinois State Bar Association Real Property Section Council's Annual Seminar, 1999; Author: "Legal Practice Tips," Illinois Bar Journal, Volume 88, December, 2000; "The Real Estate Lawyer's Divorce Primer (and the Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Real Estate)," Illinois Bar Journal, Volume 86, September 1998; "Mandatory Matrimonial Fee Arbitration," DuPage County Bar Brief, November 1997; "Another View of Leveling the Playing Field on Matrimonial Law," Illinois Family Law Report, 1997; "The Allocation of Stock Options Upon Dissolution of Marriage," Illinois Family Law Report, October, 1996; Penny Wise and Pound Foolish," Illinois State Bar Association Real Property Newsletter, July, 1996; "Real Estate for the Penny Wise," Illinois State Bar Association Bar News, September, 1995. Member: Board of Sponsor, Evangelical Health Foundation, 1988-1992; Good Samaritan Hospital Development Counsel, 1988-1992; Board of Trustee of First Folio Theater, 2008; Member, DuPage County Inns of Court, 2007.

Reported Cases: In re: Marriage of Hartney 355 Ill. App. 3d 1088 (2005).

Born: San Francisco, California

ISLN: 909109699