Information on child visitation in Illinois and Illinois family law and child custody issues.
If you have kids and want to get divorced, you’re probably concerned about child custody issues. as in Illinois child custody lawyer, I’ve written this article to answer frequently asked questions about child custody.
You can contact us online, or text or call 312-554-5433 to get started with your case.
(more…)Divorcing parents in Illinois often have conflict over who will spend what time with the kids. As a Chicago divorce lawyer, I find that one way to maximize each parent’s time with the kids is to include a “right of first refusal” in a joint parenting agreement (JPA).
You may contact me, Chicago divorce lawyer David Wolkowitz online – and read below to learn a bit about the right of first refusal.
It is never easy to allocate parenting time in an Illinois divorce or child custody dispute – but the right of first refusal can help make this easier. Right of first refusal in custody situations commonly means that one parent must first offer the other parent the opportunity to look after their kids before contacting a babysitter or another family member to care for the children.
Right of first refusal typically applies to both planned and last minute situations. Therefore, if a parent makes plans for night out with friends two months, or even two days, prior to the actual event, they must offer the other parent the option to care for their children before making any other arrangements. If the other parent decides not to take the kids during this time, then a third party caretaker such as a friend, babysitter or other family member may be asked to care for the children instead. Right of first refusal may also apply to situations such as doctor’s appointments, vacations, after school daycare, and many other instances.
The right of first refusal helps parents avoid conflict because it helps maximize each parent’s time with the children. Further, when the right of first refusal is included in a JPA, parents are more likely to keep each other informed – and that can lead to better parenting. Ultimately, some of the stress inherent in divorce can be reduced.
I know that visitation and parenting time can be one of the most contentious issues in a divorce. As an Illinois family law attorney, I think helping my clients spend as much time as possible with their children is one of my most important goals.
If you are concerned about your time with your children, that’s understandable.You might be interested in a consultation with me, Chicago divorce lawyer David Wolkowitz. You may contact me online or at Three-One-Two-554-5433 .
If the the other parent is violating a visitation order, you can take action to protect your rights to see your child. If you are having a problem with visitation interference, contact me, Chicago, Evanston and Schaumburg child custody lawyer David Wolkowitz. I may be able to help. Further, you might want to see my previous posts entitled “Court orders: Get them enforced!” and “The crime of visitation interference in Illinois.”
There are several things you should know about the violation of a visitation order:
If you have reason to believe the other parent is going to violate an order in the future, you can have your lawyer file a “motion to compel.” A motion to compel is essentially an order in which the court restates that the other parent should follow a previous court order. For instance, you have visitation with your child next weekend, and the other parent emails you “I’m going to take our child out of town next weekend and there is nothing you can do about it,” that would be sufficient justification for filing a motion to compel. In order words, since the other parent threatened not to follow an order, you may be able to get a court order which essentially repeats the a previous order must be followed. Why the redundancy? If the other parent violates the order even after a motion to compel, then court will probably take an extra-harsh view of the violation.
When judges issue court orders, they expect them to be followed. When parties don’t follow court orders, the judges get mad. And when judges get mad, the parent that has violated the order can be punished.
If any court order is violated, including a visitation order, a lawyer can attempt to have the violating party held in contempt of court. For instance, if a court order designates that on a certain holiday the child is to be with Mom, but Dad refuses to turn over the child, then the court could hold Dad in contempt.
The good news is that if someone is held in contempt of court, the court can require that person to pay the attorney’s fees the innocent parent incurred in trying to enforce the court order. In other words, the person who violated the court order can be made to pay the bill of the parent trying to enforce the order.
For a more detailed explanation of contempt of court, you may wish to read my post “Court orders: Get them enforced!.”
Previously, I wrote a post titled “The crime of visitation interference in Illinois.” Some lawyers like to publicize the fact that interfering with visitation can be a crime in Illinois. But as I noted in my post, it is difficult to have a parent prosecuted for that crime.
Instead, a parent who has had his or her visitation interfered with can file a petition for a finding of unlawful visitation interference. At it’s most basic, visitation interference where one parent consistently and habitually deprives or obstructs the other parent’s parenting time.
The best thing to do if you are having problems with your visitation is to contact me, Illinois child visitation lawyer David Wolkowitz. I will take a look at the facts of your case, and advise you regarding my preception of the strength of your case and the likely outcome.
Since I understand that it can be difficult to schedule time with a lawyer, it is possible for us to meet near your location, and I offer evening and weekend consultations. To find out more about how I meet with clients, you might view my posts titled “Yes, I’m a Schaumburg Divorce Attorney” or “Yes, I’m an Evanston Divorce Attorney!”
The violation of visitation orders and interference with visitation is serious. If either one is happening to you, it benefits you to act quickly. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get the results you want.
Visitation interference is common in Illinois child custody disputes. It is also a crime in Illinois pursuant to Section 10-5.5 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/10-5.5). Aside from committing a crime, a person who interferes with visitation would most likely be in violation of a court order; for more information about getting someone to follow a court order, see my post “Court orders: Get them enforced!”
The law states that “Every person who, in violation of the visitation, parenting time, or custody time provisions of a court order relating to child custody, detains or conceals a child with the intent to deprive another person of his or her rights to visitation, parenting time, or custody time commits the offense of unlawful visitation or parenting time interference.”
Below are some important points about the crime of visitation interference:
A party to a legal proceeding, including an Illinois family law dispute, can be found to be in contempt of court when he or she disobeys a court order.
If you are involved in an Illinois family law case and the other party is not obeying a court order, then you should take action to see that the court order is enforced. For instance, the other party may refuse to follow an order from visitation, may not be paying child support according to a court order, or may otherwise be in violation of an Illinois family law court order.
The good news about seeking to have another party held in contempt of court is that, if the court finds the other party to be in contempt of court, the other party often has to pay your attorney fees. In other words, you can hire an attorney to get your court order enforced, and often the other person has to pay for it!
If you are having problems getting the other parent to follow court orders, contact me – Chicago divorce lawyer David Wolkowitz. I may be able to help. Also, check out my post titled “The Crime of Visitation Interference in Illinois.”