Kendall County Child Custody Attorney

If you have children and you are thinking about divorce, the time is now to consult with a veteran family law attorney who can counsel you on all aspects of your situation.

At McAdams & Sartori, LLC, we have worked on hundreds of child support and child custody cases in Kendall and Kane Counties, ensuring that agreements are fair and in the best interests of our clients and their children.

Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Illinois law no longer refers to "custody" of children. What used to be known as "legal custody" is now referred to as the "allocation of parental responsibilities." The law identifies four areas of decision-making responsibilities: education, extracurricular activities, medical care, and religion. Parents will typically share in each of these areas of responsiblity, although in some cases, certain responsibilities may be allocated to one parent, and the other parent may or may not have input into these decisions.

Parenting Time

What used to be referred to as "physical custody" or "visitation" is now called "parenting time" in Illinois law. Parents will need to decide which home will be the child's primary residence, and each parent has the right to have reasonable amounts of time with their child, unless the court determines that granting this parenting time would seriously endanger a child's physical, mental, or emotional health. During the divorce process, parents will work to agree on a parenting plan that defines the schedule for ongoing parenting time. This schedule should not only specify which parent children will be with on a daily basis, but it should address how holidays, vacations, and other special days will be divided between the parents.

Child Custody Factors in Illinois

In Illinois, The court will consider the following factors when determining how to allocate parental responsibilities and parenting time in a way that will serve a child's best interests:

• Parent's wishes
• Child's wishes - a judge may interview the child in private
• Child's relationship with the parents
• Child's adjustment to home, school, and community
• Mental and physical health of all involved parties
• History of domestic violence or threats of violence against a child or another party
• Willingness of each parent to encourage a relationship with the other parent
• Whether either parent is a sex offender
• Whether either parent is an active military member
• Witness testimony - a court may order a third party evaluation

Make sure you are represented fairly and completely by utilizing a highly experienced child custody attorney. Contact the lawyers at McAdams & Sartori, LLC, and we will be dedicated to your case.

Child Support

Following divorce, both parents are expected to ensure that children's ongoing needs will be met. A child support obligation will be determined based on the income earned by both parents and the number of children being supported, and this obligation will be divided between the parents based on how much each parent contributes to their combined income. In addition to a basic child support obligation meant to address children's daily needs (food, shelter, clothing, etc.), parents may also be required to divide the costs of expenses such as health insurance, extracurricular activities, and child care.

Parental Relocation

If a parent wishes to move to a new home following divorce, they may need to obtain permission from the court. Parental relocation (also known as child removal) will apply if a parent who has been awarded the majority of the parenting time or shares equal parenting time wishes to move a certain distance from their current home. If the other parent objects to the relocation, a court hearing may need to be held to determine whether the planned move would be in the child's best interests. Unfortunately, these situations can be very difficult to resolve. McAdams & Sartori, LLC attorneys have successfully argued for and against parental relocation, and we understand the law. Removal is rarely a simple situation, and it typically requires the counsel of a highly experienced family law attorney.

Kendall County Child Support Lawyer

We know your children mean the world to you, and we will work hard to create the best outcome possible when deciding matters regarding parental responsibilities, parenting time, and child support.

Contact the skilled family lawyers at McAdams & Sartori, LLC in our Yorkville office at 630-553-1313. We can help create a parenting time schedule, draft a parenting plan that properly addresses the allocation of parental responsibilities, and ensure that child support obligations are calculated correctly. If it appears that an out of court agreement cannot be reached, we will aggressively represent you in family court. If you schedule a consultation, you can expect dedicated, personal service by our family law professionals. We serve clients in Kendall County, Kane County, and including but not limited to Yorkville, Plainfield, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, South Elgin, Yorkville, Aurora, Oswego, Plano, Sugar Grove, Montgomery, Boulder Hill and Bristol.