Attorney Focused on Child Support and Child Custody
in Barrington, Illinois
If the custody of your child(ren) is not in issue, only the issue of visitation needs to be addressed.
If you anticipate that child visitation may become a problem, I recommend that visitation be set for specific times, that is, taking place on specific days and during specific hours.
If you anticipate that you and your spouse can work out the problem of visitation, I suggest that your agreement merely provide that visitation should be "reasonable." Such a provision is desirable because it is not rigid.
If you and your spouse cannot agree as to who will have custody of the child(ren), then custody will be decided by the judge. In making a custody determination, the court focuses on the best interest of the child(ren).
Since the court does not have a crystal ball to aid it in determining which parent will make the better custodian, the court generally makes its custody decision on the basis of which parent, in fact, has been the primary caretaker of the child and who has been more emotionally supportive of the child.
Child custody and visitation
Child custody proceedings are expensive. In fact, most couples simply cannot afford contested litigation. For this reason, if there is a potential child custody dispute, I generally recommend that the problem be resolved by a trained professional mediator.
Some counties in Illinois where we practice actually require that the parties go to a court-appointed mediator before they can proceed to have the matter resolved in a judicial hearing or trial. This office has had very good luck in resolving custody disputes through mediation. The resolution of custody and visitation disputes by mediation is also substantially cheaper than a contested trial.
Child support
The law provides that the amount of child support shall be determined by the needs of the children and the ability of the non-custodial parent to pay support.
In the usual case, however, if the non-custodial parent were to pay a sufficient amount to actually meet all of the needs of the children, there would be no money left for the noncustodial parent to meet his/her own needs. For this reason, the courts usually try to reach a compromise figure intended to meet the needs of the children that also leaves the noncustodial parent sufficient funds to meet his/her own needs. The law currently achieves this goal by prescribing a minimum amount of child support per child based upon percentage of income guidelines.
Other child custody and support issues
Several other practical matters come into play with child custody and support, with questions of who will be responsible. These include:
- Medical/hospital expenses and life insurance
- College education
- Income tax consequences
- Minimizing the emotional impact of your divorce on your children
Learn more now
Please visit Joseph M. Lucas and Associates' primary web site for a thorough discussion of all these matters, including legal obligations for both parents in a divorce as well as tips for divorcing parents with minor children.
We can answer all your questions
Divorce and family law issues are complex. Please contact the law firm of Joseph M. Lucas and Associates for an initial consultation. One of our experienced, accomplished lawyers will be happy to answer your questions.
Joseph M. Lucas & Associates, L.L.C.
224 West Main Street
Barrington, IL 60010
Phone: 847-381-8700
Fax: 847-381-4329
For more extensive information about Joseph M. Lucas and Associates, our history and the complete description of the legal services we provide, please visit the firm's primary website. There you can find information on a wide variety of legal issues and browse our extensive library of quarterly newsletters that we have published since 1997 on various legal subjects.
Since 1984, Joseph M. Lucas and Associates, L.L.C., has been providing high-quality legal services in the areas of real estate, estate planning and probate, wills and living trusts, business law, personal injury and accidents, divorce and family law to clients in Barrington, Addison, Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Barrington Hills, Carpentersville, Deer Park, Hawthorn Woods, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, Palatine, South Barrington, Tower Lakes, Lake County, Cook County, McHenry County, DuPage County, and Kane County, Illinois.