Jenet Pequeno on Why You Should Never Leave the House Before Getting a Parenting Schedule

What happens when a girl who grew up watching her single mom choose between $2 of gas and a loaf of bread in the Chicago suburbs goes to law school in Miami without knowing a single person to network with, takes the first job she can get at a small boutique in Woodstock, Illinois, discovers a passion for fighting for parents and children in the moments that matter most, and 22 years later leads a six-attorney firm that offers discounts to single moms and military members, serves as a guardian ad litem appointed by Kane County judges, and is still fighting to be the kind of change she never had? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Jenet Pequeno, founder of a Chicagoland family law firm and Illinois Super Lawyer, about what to do the moment you find out your spouse has filed for divorce — checking bank accounts, running credit reports, and watching for home equity lines of credit you never signed — what happens when a spouse has been secretly moving marital assets into a son's trust and how you sue the son to get it back, and why the single most important thing a parent can do if they're still living in the same house is not leave before getting a parenting schedule in writing. Jenet explains the difference between Illinois's old language of custody and visitation and the current framework of allocation of parental responsibilities, why alienation is like a cancer in a custody case that can flip a parent from primary to every-other-weekend, and why she tells attorneys for mothers planning to ask for 75% when they were doing 50-50 before filing — give me a reason, because what in the best interest standards says I should change it now? They also discuss the 17 best interest factors Illinois judges weigh when both parents want to be primary, why a mother who wants to move to Florida to live with a boyfriend she met online two months ago is asking a guardian ad litem to watch three children under five lose their father to a phone call, the case where a military father won primary residency just short of trial after allegations escalated from a one-night stand to a rape claim with no prior report, the social media behaviors that quietly destroy custody positions, and why the law is easy but people are hard. Jenet Pequeno is the founder of a Chicagoland family law firm serving parents and children across the collar counties of Northern Illinois. Connect with Jenet Pequeno: Phone: 847-616-0980 Northern Illinois — Chicago collar counties Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Jenet Pequeno 00:50 Growing up in a single parent household — choosing between $2 of gas and groceries, and why that drives every case 02:04 Licensed since 2004 — going straight into whatever job she could get and discovering family law 03:06 My spouse just filed for divorce — what do I do first 03:17 Checking bank accounts, running credit reports, watching for home equity lines of credit and forged signatures 04:34 The spouse who spends months planning before filing and moves all the assets first — how often does that happen 05:11 Moving marital property into a son's trust — suing the adult child to recapture it 06:29 The person who is left with nothing after the other spouse moves out — what the court can do on an emergency basis 07:30 Freezing accounts like an IRS lien — what happens once a judge hears the story 08:26 Is moving money before a divorce actually a crime in Illinois 09:14 How the financial misconduct taints the rest of the case — the tie goes to the innocent party 09:55 How long does an Illinois divorce actually take when kids are involved — Supreme Court Rule 922 and the 18-month rule 10:50 The old days of five-year custody battles with kids aging out of being minors 11:49 What the 15-month timeline looks like when there are no children 12:32 Both parties agree — do you still need a lawyer 13:31 The law is easy, people are hard — why even agreed divorces can fall apart over boilerplate language 14:31 The word custody is gone in Illinois — what allocation of parental responsibilities actually means 15:38 Parenting time versus primary residency — and why you should never leave the house before getting a schedule 17:17 The 17 best interest factors an Illinois judge weighs when both parents want to be primary 17:47 Alienation — the A word — what it is, what it costs, and why parents who schedule soccer during the other parent's time are playing with fire 19:44 Education, socialization, and private tutoring as non-statutory advantages 21:28 Do mothers still have an advantage in Illinois family court 21:41 Twenty-two years ago — the mother who could sit on her hands and still get sole custody 22:49 Gender bias still exists — what Jenet has seen as recently as a couple of years ago #JenetPequeno #TrustcastShow #IllinoisFamilyLaw #DivorceAttorney #CustodyLaw #GuardianAdLitem #ChildCustodyIllinois #ParentingTime #FamilyLawChicago #AlienationInCourt