How To Choose The Right Divorce Lawyer in Chicago
Choosing a Schaumburg divorce lawyer can shape nearly every part of your case, from how efficiently the divorce proceeds to how disputes involving children, property, support, and parenting time are handled. Divorce is not simply a matter of ending a marriage. Important financial and parental rights may have to be resolved before a final judgment can be entered. When children are involved, decisions made during the case can affect where they live, how much time they spend with each parent, and who makes major decisions concerning their education, medical care, religion, and other important matters.
I believe the right lawyer should understand both Illinois family law and the personal circumstances that make each divorce different. Before hiring an attorney, you should have a clear understanding of how that lawyer approaches cases, communicates with clients, and prepares for both negotiated settlements and contested court proceedings.
Look For A Lawyer Who Handles The Issues In Your Divorce
Divorce cases can involve far more than dividing property and obtaining a judgment dissolving the marriage. I regularly see cases involving child custody issues, parenting time, paternity, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, marital debt, business interests, retirement accounts, and disputes over the family home.
When choosing a Chicago divorce lawyer, consider whether the attorney regularly handles the particular issues you expect to face. A relatively cooperative divorce involving no children and limited property presents different challenges from a case involving disputed parenting arrangements, allegations of misconduct, substantial assets, or a closely held business.
A lawyer should also be prepared to represent either spouse. Illinois law does not favor one spouse simply because that person is the husband, wife, primary wage earner, or parent who historically provided most of the child care. The attorney’s responsibility is to understand the client’s legal position, identify the relevant evidence, and present the strongest lawful argument based on the facts.
Understand How Illinois Law Treats Child Custody And Parenting Time
Illinois has changed much of the traditional terminology associated with child custody. Courts generally address the “allocation of parental responsibilities,” which includes significant decision-making responsibilities and parenting time.
Under 750 ILCS 5/602.5, Illinois courts allocate significant decision-making responsibilities according to the child’s best interests. These responsibilities can include major decisions concerning education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. The statute allows the court to assign responsibility for different subjects to one parent or both parents, depending on the circumstances.
This is important when selecting a divorce attorney because a dispute over decision-making authority can require detailed evidence concerning the parents’ previous involvement, their ability to cooperate, the child’s needs, each parent’s relationship with the child, and other statutory considerations.
I want clients to understand that a parenting dispute cannot be evaluated simply by asking who should “get custody.” The legal questions are more specific, and an attorney should be able to explain exactly which parental responsibilities are disputed and what evidence may affect the court’s decision.
Choose A Lawyer Who Understands Illinois Parenting Time Law
What many people still call visitation is generally referred to as parenting time when discussing a child’s parents under Illinois law.
Under 750 ILCS 5/602.7, parenting time must be allocated according to the child’s best interests. When parents cannot submit an agreed parenting plan that the court approves, the judge determines the parenting-time arrangement. Illinois law presumes that both parents are fit, and restrictions generally require evidence satisfying the statutory standard.
Section 602.7 directs the court to consider numerous factors. Those include each parent’s wishes, the child’s wishes when appropriate for the child’s maturity, the amount of time each parent performed caretaking functions during the preceding 24 months, the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community, the mental and physical health of the individuals involved, transportation considerations, and each parent’s willingness to encourage a close relationship between the child and the other parent.
A lawyer handling a contested parenting case should help identify evidence related to these factors instead of reducing the case to accusations between parents. School records, calendars, communications, medical information, work schedules, child-care arrangements, and evidence concerning each parent’s historical involvement may all become important.
Ask How The Lawyer Approaches Parenting Plans
A parenting plan can govern much of a family’s daily life after divorce. The plan may address regular parenting schedules, holidays, vacations, transportation, communication, decision-making responsibilities, and methods for resolving future disagreements.
A good parenting plan should be specific enough to reduce unnecessary conflict. Vague arrangements often create future disagreements concerning pickup times, school breaks, holidays, travel, and schedule changes.
I believe clients should ask a prospective lawyer how parenting plans are prepared and how potential areas of disagreement are identified before an agreement is signed. A carefully drafted plan can sometimes prevent repeated trips back to court.
Illinois law also permits consideration of a right of first refusal under 750 ILCS 5/602.3 when both parents receive parenting time. Depending on the circumstances, this can require a parent who needs child care during that parent’s scheduled time to first offer the other parent an opportunity to care for the child.
Know How Serious Parenting Time Restrictions Can Become
Some parenting cases involve allegations of domestic violence, substance abuse, child abuse, dangerous conduct, serious mental health concerns, or other behavior alleged to threaten a child’s well-being.
Under 750 ILCS 5/603.10, a court can restrict parental responsibilities after a hearing if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent’s conduct seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or significantly impaired the child’s emotional development. Available measures can include reducing parenting time, requiring supervision, imposing conditions on exchanges, or entering other protective orders.
These allegations must be taken seriously regardless of which side of the case I represent. A parent requesting restrictions must be prepared to present credible evidence supporting the request. A parent accused of dangerous behavior needs a lawyer who understands the consequences of such allegations and can scrutinize the evidence supporting them.
The right divorce lawyer should not automatically escalate every disagreement into an accusation of parental unfitness. At the same time, genuine safety concerns should never be ignored simply to make settlement easier.
Consider Experience With Paternity And Unmarried Parents
Family law disputes involving children do not always arise from divorce. Unmarried parents may first need to establish parentage before addressing parenting time, child support, or allocation of parental responsibilities.
The Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, including 750 ILCS 46/201, governs methods of establishing the parent-child relationship. Once parentage issues are resolved, a judgment may address parenting time and allocation of parental responsibilities. Section 750 ILCS 46/802 specifically provides that courts apply relevant standards from the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act when deciding matters such as parenting time and parental responsibilities.
If parentage is uncertain or disputed, I consider it important to address that issue correctly rather than treating the matter exactly like an ordinary divorce case.
Evaluate The Lawyer’s Approach To Settlement And Litigation
Not every divorce should become a courtroom fight. Many cases can be resolved through negotiation, mediation, or agreements between counsel. Settlement can reduce expense, provide greater predictability, and give spouses more control over the terms of their divorce.
That does not mean an attorney should pursue settlement at any cost. There are cases in which one spouse refuses to disclose financial information, makes unreasonable parenting demands, dissipates marital assets, violates court orders, or simply refuses to negotiate reasonably.
I believe a divorce lawyer should be capable of pursuing a practical settlement while preparing the case carefully enough to proceed to a hearing or trial when necessary. Preparation gives a client choices. A person should not feel pressured into accepting an unreasonable agreement merely because the lawyer wants to avoid litigation.
Ask How Financial Issues Will Be Addressed
Even when parenting issues receive most of the emotional attention, financial decisions made during divorce can affect a person for years.
Illinois divorce cases may involve determining which property is marital or non-marital, valuing assets, allocating debts, dividing retirement benefits, evaluating business interests, addressing maintenance, calculating child support, or examining claims that marital funds were improperly spent.
When interviewing a lawyer, ask how financial records will be obtained and reviewed. Bank statements, tax returns, credit card records, mortgage documents, investment accounts, retirement plans, business records, and employment compensation information can become significant.
The lawyer should be willing to explain what information is needed and why it matters.
Be Cautious About Promises Of Guaranteed Results
No divorce lawyer can responsibly guarantee the outcome of a contested family law case. Judges make decisions based on Illinois law, admissible evidence, witness credibility, and the specific circumstances before the court.
Be cautious if an attorney promises that you will receive a particular parenting schedule, obtain sole decision-making authority, avoid paying support, receive a specific percentage of the marital estate, or unquestionably win a contested hearing.
A better attorney-client relationship begins with realistic expectations. I would rather explain both the strengths and weaknesses of a legal position than give a client certainty that the facts and law do not support.
Consider Whether You Feel Comfortable Discussing Difficult Issues
Divorce often requires clients to discuss finances, relationships, parenting disputes, allegations of misconduct, substance use, mental health concerns, domestic violence, and other private matters.
You should be comfortable giving your lawyer accurate information, including information that may hurt your position. Surprises can damage a case, particularly when opposing counsel discovers information that your own attorney did not know.
Attorney-client communication exists so your lawyer can understand the complete situation and advise you appropriately. Selecting someone with whom you can communicate openly can therefore be just as important as reviewing credentials or years of practice.
Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing A Divorce Lawyer In Chicago
Does Illinois Still Use The Term Child Custody?
Illinois law generally uses the term “allocation of parental responsibilities” rather than relying on the traditional concept of custody. Significant decision-making responsibilities are governed primarily by 750 ILCS 5/602.5, while parenting time is addressed under 750 ILCS 5/602.7.
Significant decision-making can involve education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. Parenting time concerns when the child is physically with each parent. A parent can therefore have substantial parenting time without necessarily sharing every category of significant decision-making responsibility.
How Does An Illinois Court Decide Parenting Time?
Illinois courts decide parenting time according to the child’s best interests under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. The statute identifies multiple factors that can affect the decision, including the wishes of the parents, the appropriate wishes of the child, prior caretaking responsibilities, the child’s needs, adjustment to home and school, the distance between the parents’ residences, and the ability of each parent to place the child’s needs first.
There is no automatic schedule that applies to every family. A practical parenting arrangement for parents who live five minutes apart may not work for parents who live an hour apart. School schedules, employment, transportation, medical needs, extracurricular activities, and a child’s age can also affect the arrangement.
I therefore focus on the particular circumstances of the family rather than assuming that one parenting schedule is appropriate for everyone.
Can A Parent Be Denied Visitation Or Parenting Time In Illinois?
Illinois courts can restrict parenting time under appropriate circumstances, but restrictions require more than ordinary disagreements between parents.
Under 750 ILCS 5/603.10, after a hearing, the court can impose restrictions if a parent’s conduct seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or significantly impaired the child’s emotional development. Potential restrictions may include supervised parenting time, reduced parenting time, limitations on decision-making, or other protective conditions.
If serious safety allegations arise, evidence becomes extremely important. Police records, medical information, witness testimony, communications, treatment records when legally obtainable, and other evidence may affect the court’s determination. Both the person requesting restrictions and the person opposing them should treat the issue carefully.
Can An Unmarried Parent Obtain Parenting Time In Illinois?
Yes, but legal parentage may need to be established first. The Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 governs the establishment of parent-child relationships.
Under 750 ILCS 46/802, a parentage judgment may contain provisions addressing parenting time and allocation of parental responsibilities, and Illinois courts apply relevant standards from the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act when deciding those issues.
A paternity or parentage case can therefore involve many of the same practical disputes seen in divorce cases, including parenting schedules, decision-making authority, child support, relocation, and enforcement of parenting orders.
Should I Hire The Most Aggressive Divorce Lawyer I Can Find?
Aggressiveness by itself is not a useful measure of a lawyer’s effectiveness. Unnecessary conflict can increase attorney fees, make settlement harder, and damage the parents’ ability to communicate long after the divorce is finished.
There are times when firm litigation is appropriate. A spouse may hide financial information, violate parenting orders, refuse reasonable settlement proposals, or engage in conduct that threatens a child’s safety. In those situations, decisive legal action may be required.
Speak With The Law Office Of Fedor Kozlov About Your Chicago Divorce
Choosing a divorce attorney is an important decision because the outcome may affect your children, finances, property, and future relationship with your former spouse for years. At the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov, I help clients address divorce proceedings, allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, paternity, visitation disputes, and other Illinois family law matters.
Whether you are preparing to file for divorce, responding to a case filed by your spouse, trying to protect your parenting rights, or dealing with a contested family law issue, I can review the circumstances and explain the legal options available under Illinois law.
The Law Office of Fedor Kozlov represents clients in Schaumburg and throughout Chicago, Illinois. Contact our Schaumburg divorce lawyer at the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov by calling (847) 241-1299 to receive a consultation.
