Child Custody Lawyers Schaumburg

Child custody is a critical concern in divorce cases, but it is also an important matter that is commonly addressed in post-divorce modifications and in instances when children are born outside of marriage. If you are facing a child custody issue, the first order of business is reaching out to an experienced child custody lawyer in Schaumburg.  

Parental Responsibilities in Illinois

In the State of Illinois, child custody is called parental responsibilities, which compares to legal custody, and parenting time, which involves physical custody. Parental responsibilities address the important matter of who will be taking on the responsibility of making primary parenting decisions on behalf of the kids. 

You and your children’s other parent can share this authority (but one of you may be granted the ability to break a tie if it becomes absolutely necessary). The other options include one of you making these important decisions on your own or dividing the responsibility according to the category of decision that is being made. The kinds of parenting decisions involved include:

• Where your children will attend school
• The health care your children will receive 
• The religious education your children will receive
• The extracurricular activities your children will participate in

Parenting Time in Illinois

Parenting time in Illinois is set out in your parenting plan. When it comes to setting up a schedule by which you and your kids’ other parent will divide your parenting time, you can be as specific and creative as you’d like, but if you need the court’s intervention on the matter, you’re likely to receive one of its standard parenting time schedules. Your basic choices when it comes to determining parenting time include:

• One of you becomes the primary custodial parent while the other receives a visitation schedule
• You and your children’s other parent equally divides your parenting time 

Determinative Factors

The factors the court considers when making child custody determinations include:

• Each child’s needs and each parent’s ability to meet these needs
• The preferences of each parent and of each child (as appropriate in terms of age and maturity)
• Each parent’s involvement in caring for the children over the last two years
• The mental and physical health of each parent and each child
• The level of adjustment each child has achieved in his or her current home, school, and community
• The quality of each child’s relationship with each parent, with his or her siblings, and with other important people in his or her life
• Any other factors that the court determines are relevant to the case at hand. 

You Need an Experienced Child Custody Lawyer in Schaumburg on Your Side

Child custody is a primary concern of every parent who is not currently married to his or her child’s other parent, and the accomplished child custody lawyers at SLG Family Law in Schaumburg take your concerns seriously and have the experience and legal skill to back this up. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.