At Shark Lawyers for Men, we know that child custody is the most important issue for so many men going through divorce.
But Illinois Child Custody Laws for Fathers can be confusing and overwhelming. Many fathers feel that the process is biased in the mother’s favor. How can you use this process to protect your rights as a father and preserve your relationship with your child?
From our team of experienced family law and fathers’ rights lawyers, here’s everything you need to know about child custody laws in Illinois.
How Does the Court Make Decisions About Child Custody in Illinois?
The most important thing to understand about the Illinois child custody process is that, by law, all decisions must be made in “the best interest of the child.” If you want to argue that you should be granted more parenting time, or that your child should live with you instead of their other parent, you need to demonstrate to the court that this would be in your child’s best interest.
Beyond the “best interest of the child” standard, there are a few other factors that Illinois courts weigh when making custody decisions:
- The child’s relationship to their current home, school, and community
- The parents’ wishes
- The child’s wishes, depending on their age and maturity
- The child’s physical and emotional needs
- Each parent’s ability to meet those needs
- The quality of the child’s relationship with each parent
As family law attorneys, it’s our job to help you demonstrate to the court why your preferred custody arrangement would be the best situation for your child.
Types of Custody in Illinois
In Illinois, as in other states, you and your child’s other parent can either have joint custody, meaning you share parenting responsibilities, or one of you can have sole custody.
But what exactly do those parenting responsibilities entail? Recent Illinois law has done away with terms like custody and visitation, preferring instead to divide custody into decision-making responsibilities and parenting time.
- Decision-making responsibilities, also known as legal custody, refers to important decisions about your child’s upbringing such as education, religion, and healthcare.
- Parenting time, also known as physical custody, refers to both child placement and what’s commonly known as “visitation.” Child placement, or which parent the child will live with, is often the main sticking point where parents disagree.
Both parenting time and decision-making responsibilities can either be shared by you and your child’s other spouse, or not. The exact way in which these responsibilities are split up is usually outlined in a parenting agreement or legal child custody order. These documents may include a placement schedule, which will outline how much time per week or month your child will spend with each parent.
The Illinois Child Custody Process
As family law attorneys, we encourage parents to try to sort out these differences amicably, either by negotiating through us, or by sitting down with a third-party mediator.
When an amicable resolution of parenting responsibilities is possible, we’ll help you draw up a legally-binding parenting plan and present it to the judge for approval. Then, all you have to do is fill out the right paperwork.
However, sometimes you and your child’s other parent simply cannot agree on the division of parenting responsibilities. Maybe your ex is manipulating the child custody process to get back at you. Or maybe you’re concerned that your ex isn’t capable of providing proper care and support. Or maybe you both do have your child’s best interest in mind, but you simply cannot agree on what that looks like.
When child custody disputes become volatile, you need an experienced family law attorney to tell the court your side of the story. Legally, both parents have just as much right to custody over their children, regardless of gender. But the reality is that there can often be an implicit bias toward the child’s mother in these situations.
At Shark Lawyers for Men, we stand up for fathers’ rights, and we don’t back down from a fight. If need be, we’ll represent you in court, and make it clear that your child needs you in their life.
Contact Shark Lawyers Today
Don’t let your child custody arrangement leave you out of your child’s life. Contact Shark Lawyers today to schedule a meeting and find out how we can help.
