Divorce is not something most people think about every day. When a baby is born, the parents generally do not think about how they would continue to care for her if they were to get divorced. In a prenuptial agreement, a couple can make a plan for how they might divide their assets if they end up divorcing later on. But there is no parallel document to plan future custody in the event of a future divorce. 

That is why the words describing this topic are not necessarily familiar to everyone. If you are a parent considering a divorce and are trying to make sense of all the custody possibilities, a Lombard, IL attorney can help guide you through the entire process.

Getting a divorce can be a challenging process, filled with hardships and heartbreak. This is especially true for children affected by their parent's divorce. Depending on the divorce circumstances, children may carry the pain of their parent's divorce for the rest of their lives. However, supporting your children during difficult times is what being a parent is all about.

You are not alone if you are getting a divorce and are worried about how your children will deal with it. A looming divorce can seem overwhelming. But, with so much to deal with, where should you begin? Your first action should be to hire an experienced divorce attorney. Your attorney will work with you through the process, ensuring that your best interests are protected and always at the forefront of decisions made.  

Helping Your Children Navigate this Difficult Time 

This advice is applicable whether you have one child or several. To be the most helpful you can be, here is what you can do during your divorce to ensure that your kids are protected: 

Starting a family can be one of the happiest and most rewarding things someone can do with their time on earth. In life, however, few things ever go according to plan. For various reasons, what could have started as a happy marriage may dissolve and end in a divorce. In times of familial crisis, such as during a divorce, parents are often most concerned with protecting their children and are focused on minimizing the traumatizing effect a divorce can have on a child's life. 

Any parents' worst nightmare is that during the divorce process, they may be denied a say in making decisions where their children are concerned, or that they may even be denied visitation and parenting time with their child. It used to be assumed that during a divorce, the mother, seen as the nurturer, would be granted custody of the children. However, times have changed, and fathers are recognized as equally important in their children's lives. If you are a father and have been denied visitation or parenting time with your child and believe you do not have enough say in matters, consider contacting experienced Illinois family law attorneys who are passionate about protecting a father's rights during divorce. 

Protecting Your Parental Rights as a Father

Under Illinois law, the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act definitively states that parents possess the right to have reasonable parenting time unless there is sufficient reason to believe that a parent should be denied access to their child. For instance, a court may bar a parent from access to their child if there is reason to believe the child's physical or mental health would be significantly compromised if allowed unsupervised time with one of their parents. In addition, unless a parent has a history of domestic violence or has been previously convicted of a violent crime, they have a legal right to spend time with their child.

When divorce in Illinois is a messy emotional affair, it typically comes on the heels of an equally messy relationship. Couples often experience many years of difficult interpersonal conflict before deciding to get divorced, with the result that they may not want anything to do with each other once the divorce is finalized - even if they share minor children.

It is easy for partners who changed their last name when they got married to revert to their original last name after a divorce is finalized - doing so can simply be part of the divorce judgment. However, parents who want to change their minor child’s last name as well can run into significant challenges.

When Can a Child’s Last Name Be Changed After Divorce?

Every decision that affects a child’s life after divorce is under scrutiny by the court. Parenting time, allocation of parental responsibilities, where a child lives - these things must all be approved by a judge and parents can be penalized for not following a court-ordered child custody order.

In 2016, a new law came into effect changing the way that Illinois’ courts handle child custody issues during and after divorce. Rather than calling a parent’s time and decision-making authority “custody,” the new law divides the parental relationship with a child into “parenting time” and “allocation of parental responsibilities.” 

Parents going through a divorce may find these phrases confusing, especially since parenting time and parental responsibilities are often still colloquially lumped into the word “custody.” However, there are important differences. This blog post will define and discuss these terms. 

Why Did Illinois Stop Using the Term “Custody”? 

Finding the old terms “custody” and “visitation” to be too vague and old-fashioned, Illinois law replaced them with phrases that are more specific and reflect modern reality. “Custody” and “joint custody” are no longer legally recognized at all, and “visitation” is only used in the context of third parties, such as grandparents’ visitation rights. Although the words “custody” and “visitation” are no longer meaningful in the legal sense, the concepts they described are still very much relevant.