What do DuPage County Judges Consider in Deciding Child Custody Issues?

 Posted on February 25, 2022 in Family Law

Child custody proceedings can be nerve-wracking for parents. You may be worried about who will be given primary custody and how much time you will be able to spend with your children. In most cases - although certainly not all - both parents will be awarded some parenting time. A child’s upbringing is critically important. Courts do not take these decisions lightly. There are a number of factors that must be considered before judges will decide on the child’s living arrangements. If you are anticipating child custody proceedings, you will want to be represented by a qualified family law attorney. 

What Factors Does the Court Consider When Making Custody Decisions?

There is a list of factors that a judge will take into consideration before deciding who children will live with and what type of visitation schedule is appropriate. None of these factors alone is the deciding factor. Rather, the factors are considered together as a whole. These factors include:

• Wishes - Both the wishes of the parents and the wishes of the children are considered. The children’s wishes are given weight depending on the children’s age, maturity, and education. 

• Relationship - The court will consider each parent’s interactions with the children.

• Health - Both the mental and physical health of all parties, parents and children, is important. 

• Adjustment - How well the children are adjusted to their home, school, and community, and how well they may adjust to a new one is relevant. 

• Abuse - If one parent has been violent towards the children or towards the other parent, courts may hesitate to leave the children unsupervised with the violent parent. 

• Parental cooperation - If the court finds that it is in the children’s best interest to continue a relationship with both parents, the court will consider each parent’s willingness to help the children maintain a relationship with the other parent. If one parent has disparaged the other parent to the children or would attempt to prevent the children from enjoying a close, loving relationship with their other parent, the court may see this as problematic. 

In many cases, a guardian ad litem will be appointed. The guardian ad litem’s role is to speak with each child alone in order to assess what their needs and interests are and what type of custody arrangement would benefit them the most. 

Overall, the children’s best interests come first. The court will ultimately do what it feels is going to be best for the children. 

Call a DuPage County Child Custody Attorney 

Davi Law Group can provide you with skilled legal representation during your child custody proceedings. Our Wheaton child custody lawyers are experienced at addressing child custody concerns in a variety of contexts, including divorce cases. Call 630-657-5052 for a free consultation. 

Source: 

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=2497&ChapterID=59