Hon. Pamela E. Loza (Ret.)

Hon. Pamela E. Loza (Ret.) joins JAMS in Chicago after nearly two decades of service on the Cook County bench. A leader in the Domestic Relations Division since 2009, Judge Loza served as supervising judge of the former Parentage Department until its merger with the Domestic Relations Division in 2014. During her tenure in Parentage, the department disposed of over 65,000 cases per year.

Judge Loza has practiced domestic relations law for over 45 years. As a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the statewide Child Support Advisory Committee, she helped author the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) Child Support Act, modifications to the IMDMA Maintenance Act and the most recent modifications of the Child Support Act.

Judge Loza’s experience leverages a full array of supporting professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, certified public accountants, business evaluators, real estate appraisers, lifestyle experts and teachers.

Judge Loza has earned a reputation for thorough preparation, a firm grasp of the law and her ability to think outside the box to settle cases and solve human problems. She has worked extensively with professional athletes, franchise owners and other high-profile individuals, as well as with families in Cook County from all walks of life.

In her 45 years of domestic relations work, Judge Loza has either litigated or presided over matters such as:

• Allocation of parenting time and responsibility and decision-making
• Bad faith litigation
• Business valuations
• Attorneys’ fees and sanctions disputes
• Child support for minor and disabled adult children
• College education expenses
• Conferencing with other jurisdictions over the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and determining jurisdiction under the UCCJEA
• Criminal contempt proceedings
• Marital and nonmarital assets
• Determining the validity of trust documents
• Determining the validity of pre/postnuptial agreements
• Distribution of marital and nonmarital estates
• Division of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
• Handling of expert witnesses, including for business evaluations; alienation experts; forensic accountants; psychiatrists; psychologists; lifestyle experts; pension experts; and guardians ad litem
• Enrollment of foreign judgments
• Grandparent parenting time
• Imputation of income
• Indirect civil contempt proceedings
• Maintenance (temporary and permanent)
• Parentage determination/nonparentage
• Orders of protection
• Parental alienation
• Qualified domestic relations orders
• Stock options
• IRS Section 1031 like-kind exchanges (26 U.S. Code § 1031)