Illinois Child Custody Legal Questions

The law is that you must support your child, whether the child was born during a marriage or not. If the two parents live together in one household, courts usually do not award child support. However, once they separate, child support (along with custody and placement) can be determined in family court. The procedure is started with a petition to determine paternity. In Wisconsin and subject to some exceptions and details the standard child support if the payor parent has fewer than 92 overnights with the child, is 17% of gross income for one child, 25% for 2, 29% for three, etc. If both parents have more than b 92 overnights, the calculation gets more complicated. Also if either parent is already paying child support for other children.... Read More

Family disputes after a death are some of the most painful. Since your daughter is going to be 18 soon, many lawyers would advise that it is not worth the expense to establish any kind of authority over her. Is emancipation a recognized legal process in your State? It is not in every case. However, I assume you love your daughter and you want her to have the guidance and care which is every child's right even those who don't want care or guidance. If you think her living situation is a danger to her, now or in the future, you can go back to court to seek termination of the child support, and whatever orders a court can usefully give a 17-year old who perhaps does not recognize her own best interests. Another possibility is establishing a guardianship. This can create legal fees more than you may wish to pay. And it rarely improves human relationships in a family. But it may be worth doing. Consult a capable family law attorney in your area. Good Luck. You have my sympathy.... Read More

You may be able to adopt them or become their guardian. Both can be highly conflictual. Much depends on what your daughter will do in response to whatever legal actions you may take. Be aware that any action you may wish to take will cost you money. Competent legal counsel is not inexpensive.... Read More

Hello, Christopher. What do the court papers say? What's in the Parenting Agreement? When you went to court two years ago, there should have been some sort of court order that resulted from it that lays out your parenting times and rights. Those are the times and visitations schedules that should be followed, and if she is not following it, then the remedy is to alert the court and seek the help of the Judge to enforce it. If it has been a long time since you have seen your son, you may want to seriously consider hiring an attorney to help you out with this, as cases like this can prove to be somewhat tricky. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. If your matter has previously been in the court system before, then you will need to look at whatever your current Joint Parenting Agreement says and which state's law apply.  If your matter has never been in the courts, then you will likely need an Iowa attorney. As a general rule, the state in which the child resides will be the state whose law applies. I would recommend contacting an Iowa attorney and discussing your case with him/her. Once they have all the facts, they can give you better information on what is going to happen and what should happen. I hope this helps.... Read More

If there is a court order regarding the custody or support of your child, then you are restricted in your movement. You can leave move out of state unless and until you obtain a court order allowing you to do so. You need to file a motion seeking removal, setting forth to where and why you are moving, and give the other side notice of the motion,. If what you have said is true, then you have a basis for seeking that removal.... Read More

Hello, Denzell. Is there a custody order already in place? If not, it would probably be beneficial to file to get these issues before the Court so some clarity can be provided by the Court. This should help resolve everyone's rights, responsibilities, custody, visitation, support, and all other issues and questions that there might be. If there already is a custody order in place then it will depend on what that says. If the mother has sole custody, then she has the decision-making authority. If it is joint custody, then you both share the decision-making authority on large decisions. Likewise, you will both be bound by any visitation schedules that it details. I hope this helps.... Read More

You can file a petition to seek visitation just about anytime, but you will have to give proper notice to both the other parent and Judge by filing it enough in advance so they can be prepared to discuss the issue when you go to court. If you file it the same day as your court appearance, it is unlikely that the Judge would be able to do much on that issue with such short notice. The issue would be heard eventually, but just not likely on the same day that you file the petition.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous. The general rule is that a legal action concerning child support is to filed in the state where the child resides. So, from your question, with the child living with the mother in Illinois, the appropriate state to file would seem to be Illinois. The amount of child support is set by law at a certain amount of the non-custodial parent's net income. In this case, since there is only one child concerned, the proper amount would be 20% of the father's net income. This way the parties know exactly how much is to be paid every month, and there shouldn't be any back and forth about requesting more money or changing the amount. Setting the support amount is the easy part. The more difficult thing is figuring out the visitation. Illinois courts generally will approve most visitation schedules that the parties can make work so long as it's not detrimental to the child in some way. If the situation is contentious, which it seems to be, you might want to consider hiring a lawyer to deal with that part. One other thing to note from your question is that child visitation is not supposed to be conditional on availability of the child. Child support is not a payment to see the child; visitation cannot be withheld for non-payment of support. If the mother is indeed withholding the visitation because of non-payment, the Judge will be rather upset about it. I hope this helps.... Read More

Hello, Anonymous.  More information on the specifics would be beneficial to give a better answer. For instance, are they married? Or are they just living together? Is your daughter the mother of all three children? The answer to some of these questions may change some of the responses here, but for the most part, it would seem that, at minimum, your daughter is in a tenant-landlord situation. I say this assuming that they are not married, all the children are hers, and the house was bought solely by the father with no help, contribution, or assistance from your daughter. If it does come down to a tenant-landlord situation, then there are very specific and thorough processes that must be followed in order to evict someone. She may have rights under tenant law. This doesn't mean she can never be kicked out of the house, just that it will take time, and all the legal steps must be followed. Additionally, she should probably seek the help of an attorney to help get the paperwork filed to commence a case for custody and support of the children. This way the court will be able to spell out the rights and obligations of both parties, as well as make sure the children are provided for in some way. I hope this helps.   (This answer does not create a binding attorney-client relationship and should be used for information purposes only.)... Read More

Hello, Jaime. When you got divorced, you should have had a Joint Parenting Agreement (JPA) that detailed what the parenting time was and the issues around it. It sounds like you have that since there are specific periods of time during which you are supposed to have custody of the children. The JPA becomes, in effect, a court order that you are both bound by. If one of you violates that order, it can be reported to the court and relief sought from the court for the violation of the JPA. It is up to the Judge exactly how the situation will be remedied (it could be anything from a scolding to a reworking of the JPA to make a new one, to the most extreme recourse of being held in contempt). I should note that it sounds like one of you moved away, and it is possible that this could constitute a "significant change in circumstances" which could lead a Judge to ask for an updated JPA which takes into account the distance between the parties. It should further be noted that the JPA and/or the Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) should specifically say which court's jurisdiction is to be used in all future matters. If an Iowa court is to be used, you should seek help from a licensed Iowa attorney for further guidance; likewise, if an Illinois court is to retain jurisdiction, you should contact an Illinois attorney for additional help. I hope this helps get you on the right track in your matter.   (This answer does not create a binding attorney-client relationship and should be used for information purposes only.)... Read More

She has the right to seek payment. You signed a retainer agreement in which you agreed to pay your attorney for the services rendered. If she rendered the services and the court finds the fees to be reasonable, your former attorney is entitled to be paid. Your inability to pay those fees is really not relevant to whether they are owed. You have to understand that once your former attorney has a judgment against you that judgment accrues interest at 9% per annum.... Read More