Evanston Child Custody Attorney

Your child custody case involves your children and your parental rights, which makes it of primary concern. Whether this means you’re facing a divorce involving shared children, need a post-divorce modification, or need to determine child custody terms outside of marriage, it’s time to consult with an experienced Evanston child custody attorney.

Parental Responsibilities

Illinois addresses child custody in terms of parental responsibilities and parenting time. Parental responsibilities handle the primary decision-making element of parenting, which refers to those decisions that guide concerns like the following:

Where your children make their primary home
Where your children attend school and daycare
The extracurricular activities and travel that your children participate in
The health care that your children receive
The religious education that your children receive

These decisions can be taken on by both of you together, but additional options include:

One parent having the authority to break a tie if both parents’ good-faith efforts fail to generate a mutually acceptable decision
Both parents handing decisions that fall into specific categories on their own
One parent having sole legal custody and making all these primary decisions on their own

Parenting Time

Parenting time sets the all-important schedule by which parents divide their time with their shared children. Illinois courts are charged with assigning parenting time orders that are based on the best interests of the involved children. Because children’s best interests are believed to be supported by maximizing the amount of time they spend with each parent, Illinois courts only severely limit or deny parenting time when the circumstances call for it.

Factors that Guide Best Interest Determinations

Because children’s best interests guide child custody rulings in Illinois, it helps to have a better understanding of the range of factors courts consider, including the following:

Each parent’s preferences
Each child’s preferences – when deemed reasonable to take into consideration
How well each child has adjusted to their current living environment, school, and community
Each parent’s overall physical and mental health, as well as each child’s
Each child’s unique needs, including any special needs that require consideration
Each parent’s ability and inclination to address these needs
Each parent’s commitment to supporting the other’s healthy, ongoing relationship with the children
The distance between the parents’ residences and the cost and challenges associated with traveling back and forth between them
Any threat or history of domestic violence or child neglect or abuse
Any other factors the court considers relevant to the child custody case at hand

An Experienced Evanston Child Custody Attorney Can Help

Child custody concerns are primary concerns that can directly affect not only your parental rights but also your ongoing relationship with your children. The compassionate Evanston child custody attorneys at Hammer Serna & Quinn, LLC, have an impressive track record of successfully guiding challenging cases like yours toward favorable resolutions that uphold our clients’ rights, best interests, and priorities. Your case is important, so please don’t delay contacting us for more information today.

Evanston Child Custody Attorney