The court looks at each of the factors. None of the factors has greater weight than the other on paper. It’s the facts that say which factors are of greater weight. A child that is over, like in high school, their opinion is going to be considered much more than someone who’s five. It’s not […]
Parenting and Stepfamily Issues
What is the criteria for assessing best interest in Illinois?
The statute lists a number of different things that the court would take into consideration when they’re assessing best interest. Part of it, they will look at the wishes of the parents and the wishes of the child, depending on how old they are. By the way, the wishes of the child never controls; they […]
Can a parent give up their rights and responsibilities for their own child?
In Illinois, we only have two vehicles to do that. One is going through an adoption, terminating your parental rights. Second is if you are involved in a juvenile court proceeding, DCSF is involved, and the child winds up being adjudicated and neglected or abused, it is possible then for the parent to give up […]
Adoptive Parents Rights vs. Birth Parents During & After Divorce In Illinois
When it comes to divorce in Illinois, are the adoptive parents rights the same as the birth parents? Read on to find out more.
Can a parenting plan be modified after it has been approved? If so, under what circumstances can it be modified?
If the parties want to do it as an agreed order, they can. If otherwise, the parties are going to have to wait. The issue of decision-making, you have to have it for two years before you can change it – unless there are certain circumstances that will change it. Family law is extremely fact-driven. […]
Does a co-parenting plan need to be approved by a judge?
Absolutely. It’s called an allocation judgment now; we don’t call it co-parenting or anything else. It’s a parental allocation of rights and responsibilities judgment. With 30 years of experience in family law, Laura M. Urbik Kern is a certified mediator and family lawyer who concentrates on dissolution, family and juvenile law, child support, and complex […]
Who could help a divorcing couple create a co-parenting plan?
Mediators, their attorneys… If neither attorney is being in agreement, then you can give the two plans to the judge and the judge can make a decision, based on the hearing, on which plan he’s going to use (or a combination of those plans). With 30 years of experience in family law, Laura M. Urbik […]
Can a divorcing couple create their own co-parenting plan, assuming they can agree on the details?
It’s not a difficult thing to do if you sit down and use a calendar. That’s how most mediators would do it. They would get a calendar and try to figure out, looking at the reality of the situation. Saying 50/50 is very different than enforcing 50/50, because if somebody get stuck at work or […]
How does the court decide who gets primary parenting time if both parents want it?
The ideal situation is that the parents come up with the parenting plan on their own of what they want. In Illinois, a lot of people feel that child support is tied to parenting. In some ways it is, but in some ways it isn’t. We have case law that says the non-primary parent will […]
What happens if one parent’s home post-divorce really isn’t set up to have the children?
Should the child have as much time in both homes as possible?
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