While typically a minor is under his or her parent's’ care and control until the age of 18, there may be some circumstances where it makes sense for a minor to be legally emancipated before this age. If you need to know more about emancipation, you should contact a knowledgeable family law attorney to answer any of your questions.

If you are considering or are in the process of divorce, you may be overwhelmed with the actions you must perform. However, you do not need to do it all alone; there are professionals and experts who can help you throughout each step of the process. Moreover, a skilled divorce attorney can help you to identify the types of professionals that will be beneficial for your circumstances. 

While it may be difficult, it is important for both parents of a child to support the child’s relationship with his or her other parent. Not only is it important for the child’s emotional well-being, but the court will insist on it as a part of allowing the child to live with one of the parents.

When a woman gives birth, she may or may not know who is the father of the child. Even if the mother knows who the father of the child is, the father may dispute this. Further, the law makes assumptions about the paternity of the child in some cases and if this is not correct, then legal action may need to be taken to set the record straight.

Dividing property can be a very stressful part of a divorce. There may be some items of sentimental value to you that you want to keep, and there are certain steps you can take to make sure that you hold on to property that is important to you in case of a divorce. If you are considering divorce and want to protect certain property, you should contact a skilled property division attorney to find out the best way to make sure your assets are protected in a divorce.

It is every parent’s worst nightmare: you receive a knock on the door and the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) is there to investigate a call of child abuse and neglect. In order to protect children, DCFS takes reports of suspected child abuse and neglect very seriously and will investigate any credible reports. However, just because DCFS is called does not necessarily mean that there is abuse or neglect taking place. Still, it is their job to investigate credible reports. If you are accused of child abuse or neglect, you should contact a knowledgeable DCFS …

At the beginning of the year, Illinois family law made several changes to the way it divides up parenting time, formerly known as visitation, and parenting responsibilities, formerly known as custody. While parenting time is somewhat straightforward—it has to do with when each parent has time with the children—parental responsibility can be a little more tricky.

If you are thinking about a divorce, you may be wondering how much time you will be able to spend with your child. In Illinois, this is referred to as “parenting time.” How much time you will have with your child is extremely fact specific, though there are some general guidelines that the court will take into account.

Guardians are people who are appointed by the court to manage the affairs of someone else, known as the “ward.” Guardianship is often misunderstood, though there are specific circumstances where a guardianship may be warranted and defined processes as to how a guardianship can be put into place. If you think that a loved one may benefit from a guardianship, you should speak to a skilled guardianship attorney who can help you with the process.

November was National Adoption Month. Currently, almost 15,000 children are in foster care in Illinois. Many potential adoptive parents are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community and may have questions about the laws in Illinois around adoption, whether through foster care or another way. If you are thinking about adoption, you should work with a skilled adoption lawyer who can help you navigate the process.

NOTE: As of July 2017, the law governing child support in Illinois has changed. Please see our Child Support page for more information.

As technology has progressed, more people are using these advances to help with conception. Different assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques allow single people, LGBT people, and couples struggling with infertility to have biological children. ART includes such techniques as in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and sperm donation through known or unknown donors.