Child custody (now referred to as Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and Parenting Time)

Before the divorce is finalized, the court must approve a parenting plan, which must include allocation of decision-making authority, as well as allocation of parenting time. Each situation is unique, and the court will apply the “best interest of the child” standard to decide what type of allocation is appropriate, unless the parents can reach an agreement.

Child support

Since 2016, Illinois has begun to apply an “income shares” model to determine the appropriate amount of support each party must contribute to the needs of the minor children. Many variables contribute to determining the support figure, such as: number of overnights non-custodial parent has with the children, obligations arising out of previous marriages, factors affecting net income of each party, etc.

Beside child support, the court will also allocate what percentage of child-related expenses, such as out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, educational and extracurricular expenses each party will be responsible for.

Child abuse and prevention

Proving and preventing child abuse may be difficult, yet it is of utmost importance. Remedies are available to a parent to stop child abuse by the other spouse. Order of protection, suspension of parenting time, supervised visitation, mandatory mental evaluation, and drug and alcohol testing are just some of them.

Relocation

Whether you are the one who wishes to relocate with a minor child, or whether you want to prevent your spouse from relocating, it is important to understand relevant statutes. In Illinois, only a parent with at least fifty percent parenting time, may petition for relocation.

Paternity

Paternity testing and subsequent rights and responsibilities present another area of child-related issues.

Whether the child-related issues you are facing come in a context of divorce, or whether they arise as part of a paternity suit, or post-decree litigation, obtaining legal advice from an experience family law attorney is vital. May issue are time-sensitive and require immediate attention. Call us at 773-213-8967 or fill out our on-line form for a free consultation.