Child Custody, Support & Visitation
Child Custody and Child Support in Illinois
Chicago Area Child Custody Attorneys
Children need and deserve the care and support of both parents. Whether you are considering divorce or you were never married, it will be important to affirm your parental relationship and provide for your child's support and welfare.
At the law office of Ciesla & Ciesla, we represent mothers and fathers in the greater Chicago area in child custody and visitation cases. Our goal in all legal matters relating to your child is to minimize hostility between parents while ensuring your child has the emotional and financial support he or she needs.
We use every available method to help you arrive at a workable child custody and visitation agreement: mediation, collaborative law, and if those options are inadequate, family court. If you would like to know more about how we can help you and your child, contact our Northbrook law office.
Protecting Your Most Important Relationship
A thorough and detailed child custody agreement or parenting plan can prevent a host of problems from developing - and a visit back to court. Holiday and vacation residence, pick-up and drop off times and locations, how decisions will be made and disputes resolved, who will pay for insurance and college - these can all be covered in a child custody agreement.
The value of working with an experienced divorce and family law attorney, like those at Ciesla & Ciesla, is that we understand the range of issues involved in child custody arrangements. We can help you consider issues in advance, before they become a problem.
Parental Relocation and Removing a Child from Illinois
Sometimes it becomes necessary for a custodial parent to move to another town, another state, or even another country. When a parent must relocate, the non-custodial parent may object and seek to have the court change the custody order so the child remains in Illinois.
We represent custodial and non-custodial parents in move-away situations. We have taken relocation cases in state and federal courts. We have also handled international child custody issues and understand how the Hague Convention applies in child custody disputes.
Child Support: Obtaining Support, Enforcing Support Orders, and Modifications
In Illinois, child support is generally defined by state child support guidelines. We can review your income and advise you how the child support guidelines will apply to your case.
If you are a custodial parent who has not received child support, we can help you obtain it for the first time. We can also help you if you have an existing child support order but the non-custodial parent has not paid support.
Nonpayment of child support is extremely serious. Don't stop paying child support without going back to court. If you have had a substantial change in circumstance (lost your job, suffered a serious medical problem, etc.) and can no longer make you child support payments, you must obtain a modification to your support order approved by the court. If you are in arrears in your child support you could lose your drivers' license or you could be arrested and sentenced to jail time. Talk with a lawyer. Contact Ciesla & Ciesla.
From our office in Northbrook, Illinois, our child custody attorneys represent family law clients in the greater Chicago area of Cook County and Lake County.
