Family law is a multi-faceted area of law that deals with family relations, and encompasses such areas as: adoption, child custody and visitation, children's rights, child support, spousal support (alimony), separation agreements, civilian and military divorce (dissolution of marriage), marital property division (equitable division), elder law matters, estate planning, estates and trusts, wills and will contests, probate, insurance, cohabitation agreements, pre-marital (pre-nuptial) agreements, marriage and other legal issues pertinent to the family.

How do I know when I should file for a divorce?

Your lawyer cannot help you decide whether divorce is right for you. However, your lawyer will inform you of the legal ramifications divorce will create. This will help you make an informed decision about your resolution. If you have exhausted all means necessary and feel your marriage is irreparable, divorce may be the only answer; but only you will know that for sure. When you file for a divorce, a divorce is what you will get. Many spouses make the mistake of threatening or filing for divorce in order to reform the other spouse.

How are Custody and Visitation issues decided?

No area of family law brings to the courtroom the tension, anxiety, hostility, volatility and raw emotion as child custody and visitation litigation. Rare is the divorce, dissolution or custody determination in which the parties have been able to set aside personal differences to reach the goal of what is best for the children involved.

Most often, a judge will take great pains to get parents themselves to come to a mutually acceptable custody agreement if that is possible. A decision made by a stranger is rarely completely acceptable to all if the attempt has not been made in earnest. The family court systems in Illinois have usually have several layers of counseling, mediation and conciliation to attempt to bring warring parents together for the purpose of resolving the issue of what it is in the best interests of their children.

What about visitation?

Generally a court will grant reasonable visitation rights to a parent unless it is shown that the visitation will be detrimental to the best interests of the child. A non-parent can, in the discretion of the court, also be granted visitation rights if they have an interest in the welfare of the child; this is generally divided into the area of grandparents, step-parents and other non-parents. It should be noted that this is discretionary. The court may also approve visitation plans and restrictions considering factors relevant to the best interests of the child.

What is Child Support?

Child support is a payment by one parent (often the non-custodial parent) to the other parent for the support of their common children. It is in the best interest of a child for both parents to be obligated to pay for the support of their child. An order for child support transfers the income/wealth from one parent to the other so that the combined incomes/wealth of both parents is available to use for the support of the child.