At DeVore Law Offices, we represent Southern Illinois clients whose divorces involve what is hardest to divide — a family business, farmland, retirement accounts, professional practices, complex debt. We prepare every case as if it will be tried, because the opposing side can tell when it won't be. That preparation is what protects what you have built.
It is also one of the most emotional. Both things are true at once, and the law does not pause for either of them. Decisions made in the first 30 days — about temporary support, who stays in the home, what gets paid, what gets documented — set the tone for everything that follows.
Most lawyers will tell you to settle. Sometimes that is the right answer. But settlement only protects you when the other side believes you are ready to walk into a courtroom and prove your case. Otherwise, settlement is just a polite word for losing slowly.
That is the standard we hold ourselves to: every file is built as if it is going to trial. If your case can be resolved fairly without one, good — fewer dollars spent, less time lost. But if it cannot, the work is already done.
— The position the firm has taken in courtrooms across downstate Illinois for more than fifteen years.
Most divorces are not "simple." If you own anything worth dividing or share children whose schedules matter, the details are the case. Below is the work the firm does day in and day out.
Real estate portfolios, investment accounts, deferred compensation, executive bonuses, and concentrated stock positions. Valuation, classification of marital vs. non-marital property, and protection of inheritance and pre-marital assets.
Closely-held companies, professional practices, and partnership interests. Coordinated work with forensic accountants on business valuation, owner compensation analysis, and the very real question of whether your spouse becomes a co-owner overnight.
Family farms, leased ground, equipment, livestock, crop receipts, and federal program payments. Particular attention to multi-generational ownership and what it takes to keep the operation in the family.
401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, public-employee retirement systems (IMRF, TRS, SERS), military pensions, and QDRO drafting. The wrong order, drafted wrong, costs real money — sometimes for decades.
Allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting plans, relocation cases, modifications, and contested matters involving substance abuse, domestic violence, or alienation. Trial experience that matters when the case will not settle.
When a spouse has moved money, undervalued a business, or run personal expenses through the company, we work with forensic accountants and use the discovery tools the rules provide to put the picture back together.
Maintenance calculations under the Illinois statutory formula, deviation arguments, duration analysis, and modifications. Particularly relevant in long marriages and where one spouse left the workforce.
Changes in income, parenting schedules, relocation, or college contribution. Enforcement of orders the other side has stopped following.
Appellate-level review of trial-court rulings on property, custody, and maintenance. The firm has appellate experience and is comfortable taking the right case up the chain.
Tom DeVore has spent more than fifteen years representing Illinois families and small-business owners, including in cases that went all the way up the appellate chain. That experience shapes how every divorce is handled here, from a contested parenting matter in Bond County to a business-valuation fight in Madison County to a custody dispute in Sangamon — across more than fifty counties in central and southern Illinois.
You get a lawyer who tells you the truth about your case, returns your calls, and treats your matter like it matters. Because it does.
Files are built for the courtroom from day one. Settlement, when it comes, comes from strength.
No Latin, no jargon. You will understand what is happening in your case at every step.
Tom DeVore handles your case personally. You are not handed off to an associate the day you sign.
Clear fees, returned calls, no surprises. The way you would want to be treated.
An initial conversation, in person or by phone, to understand your situation and what you are trying to protect. You will leave knowing whether the firm is the right fit and what your realistic options are. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you who is.
Before any filing, we map the picture: assets, debts, income, custody concerns, timeline, and what the other side is likely to do. You get a straight answer about strengths, weaknesses, and likely cost — not a sales pitch.
Discovery, financial documentation, business valuations where needed, witness preparation, and the legal positions your case will rest on. The work is done up front, not the week before a hearing.
Most divorces end in a marital settlement agreement. Ours end in one we have negotiated from a position of preparation, not pressure. When the other side knows we are ready to try the case, the conversation changes.
If a fair resolution is not on the table, we go to court. That is not the lawyer-marketing version of "we go to court." It is the practice the firm has built — with appellate experience to back it up.
Final judgment, QDROs, deed transfers, retitling, and a clean handoff. If circumstances change later — modification, enforcement, college contribution — you call the same lawyer who handled the original case.
Illinois has no waiting period for an uncontested divorce. A simple matter can resolve in a few months. Contested matters involving custody, business valuation, or significant assets typically run nine to eighteen months.
We will give you an honest estimate after the initial call — not a number designed to win your business.
Most divorce matters are billed hourly against a retainer, with the rate disclosed in writing before any work begins. Limited-scope work and flat-fee uncontested matters are available where appropriate.
You will receive itemized monthly invoices. No surprise bills.
Phone calls returned within one business day. Email handled by the attorney handling your case. Major filings and rulings explained — in writing, in plain English — when they happen.
You will know what is going on in your case without having to chase it.
"Tom was honest with me from day one about what my case was worth and how long it would take. No games. When my ex's attorney tried to bury us in motions, he was ready. We came out of it with my business intact."
"I was scared. I had not hired a lawyer before. Tom explained every step, returned every call, and never once made me feel like my case was too small. My kids and I are in a better place because of how he handled it."
Illinois removed its waiting period for no-fault divorce, so an uncontested matter where the parties already agree on property and parenting can wrap up in a few months. Contested matters — anything involving real disagreement over assets, businesses, or children — usually run nine to eighteen months. Cases that go to trial can take longer. We will give you a realistic estimate after we understand your facts.
No. Illinois is a pure no-fault state. The only ground for dissolution is "irreconcilable differences." You do not have to prove your spouse did anything wrong, and your spouse cannot block the divorce by refusing to agree.
It depends on how the home was acquired, how it has been paid for, and what makes the most sense going forward. Options include one spouse buying the other out, selling and splitting the proceeds, or — less commonly — continued joint ownership through a transition period. We work through the numbers with you so the decision is informed, not emotional.
Not automatically. The business's value, when and how it was started, the role each spouse played, and whether marital funds were used all factor in. The goal is usually to keep the business intact and offset its value with other assets. Getting the valuation right is the whole ballgame, and it is where many divorces go wrong without serious counsel.
Illinois uses a statutory formula based on the parties' incomes and the length of the marriage. There are circumstances where a court will deviate from that formula, and there are real arguments on both sides. We will tell you, honestly, where you are likely to land — and where there is room to negotiate.
Illinois no longer uses the words "custody" and "visitation." The court allocates parental responsibilities (decision-making) and parenting time, based on the best interests of the child under fifteen statutory factors. Most cases settle on a parenting plan; the ones that do not, get tried. Either way, the preparation is the same.
Quite a lot. Subpoenas, document requests, depositions, forensic accountants, and lifestyle analysis are all on the table. The earlier we know your concerns, the better. If money has already been moved, courts in Illinois have authority to address that as "dissipation" of marital assets.
It depends on what the other side does. A truly uncontested matter can be handled for a few thousand dollars. A contested high-asset matter that goes to trial can cost meaningfully more. We will tell you what we think your case is likely to cost, in writing, before you sign anything. You will receive itemized monthly invoices throughout.
Yes. The firm regularly appears in more than fifty counties across central and southern Illinois — from the Metro East (Madison, St. Clair, Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Jersey, Calhoun, Macoupin) up through the I-55 and I-72 corridors (Montgomery, Christian, Sangamon, Macon, and on toward Champaign and Tazewell) and south through Effingham, Marion, Jefferson, Williamson, and the rest of southern Illinois. Initial calls can be conducted by phone or video.
The 15-minute call is no-cost and to the point. It is not a legal advice session — the only question on the table is whether having this firm represent you is likely to be in your interest. If it is, we will talk about what happens next. If you are better served by another lawyer, or by handling the matter without one, we will tell you so.
Everything you share is confidential. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
A divorce is a financial transaction wrapped in an emotional one. Tom DeVore came to law from accounting, and he reads marital balance sheets, retirement accounts, and business valuations the way most lawyers wish they could. He'll tell you what your case is actually worth, what it's likely to cost, and which fights are worth having. No theater, no false promises.
More about how Tom works →If your divorce involves a business, real estate, retirement, children whose schedules are contested, or a spouse with deeper pockets, the firm you choose in the first 30 days matters more than almost any decision you will make in the case.