Hi kterlep, Illinois extension services maintains a listing of u-pick and market stands that includes Illinois, NW Indiana, and SW Michigan listings that may be helpful to you, see the link. Petro Here is a link that might be useful: u-pick farm listings

Thanks for sharing your numbers Jane NY. I really didn't understand why the other realtor seemed offended because I thought our offer was a good starting place! That realtor actually apologized to my realtor for the way she reacted, so that's good at least. Congrats on your purchase! Brickeye you are right that zillow can be inaccurate - they had their zestimate of our current house at $290k about a year ago and now it's at $159k with no explanation. However, they do have our tax assessment and taxes paid listed correctly. Zillow is also a good place to find out how long houses have been on the market and how many times they have been re-listed. Their zestimates mean nothing to me though. At this point I'm almost glad they didn't accept our offer because I'm so excited about the possibility of getting this unfinished house with the great view of the city and river. However, if we can't make a deal on this new house I will go back and put our final offer in writing on the first house. Thanks again to all of you for your input. Kind of makes me wary of buying from a divorcing couple!

Laws vary. There can be a conflict of interest to represent both sides, however some can do it with waivers. Worst case scenario is one side to have the attorney draw up the agreement and the other sign it, essentially representing themself. Not a big deal really if they truly are in an amicable situation. Cost of an attorney isn't that much if both agree. They charge by the hour most of the time. If it's just read it and give an opinion on it, it certainly wouldn't cost much. If they can't afford that, there's some other issues. Back when my brother got divorced, he was going to sign off on his wife's lawyer's stipulation. I looked at it and said he'd better get an opinion on it. I didn't like it. He too was worried about cost and I said I'd pay for an office visit with a lawyer I trusted so he could get an opinion. If he didn't like what the lawyer said, no cost to him. When the attorney read it, he started laughing, tossed it across the room and said, "it's not even legal". His wife hired one of those franchised lawyer places and their fill in the blank forms (so you could just as well have done a DIY job). You probably would recognize the name but I won't name the outfit. Cost him a lot less in the end than he was going to settle for, even figuring in the legal fees. The attorney told him he could certainly give her that much but he certainly didn't owe it to her. My/his attorney wrote the agreement and made a couple phone calls and a letter or two and neither (my/his) lawyer nor my brother had to even go to court since they signed off on the agreement sent to them. Sometimes a lawyer can save you a lot of money. Actually it was very amusing. Personally I'd probably have a competent lawyer at least look things over but that's up to them.

I was so happy my parents got divorced, I practically stood out in the street and cheered. Living with the tension, the fights, the yelling - THAT was the horrible part. But now that I'm an adult, I also see the realistic side. My father was disabled so there was no alimony. My mother had minimal skills and worked as a secretary, a waitress, or a housekeeper. We were poor, which wasn't a huge problem for us kids. For my mom, I now realize there were a lot of sleepless nights, extra hard work, and endless worry about being able to pay bills. Forget saving for any college funds; it was more "I hope the kids don't need to see the doctor more than once this year". There are NO guarantees, sorry. You're not doing yourself or your kids any good by staying. But only you can run the numbers and figure out if you can afford to support them on your own, even if you get a good lawyer. Because that's what you really need - the very best divorce lawyer possible. If you decide to leave, I can guarantee you your spouse will make things as difficult for you as possible. A good lawyer will make it IMPOSSIBLE for him to hide his money. A mediocre lawyer may not work as hard for you - and you would need all the help you can get. It isn't easy being a single mom. But many women have done it, successfully. It takes guts and determination. Do you have enough of both? Only you can decide.