Schaumburg Child Custody Attorneys

Illinois Child Custody Lawyers: Putting Your Children First

When you are in the midst of a marital breakup, your concern is often for your children. Who will have custody? What is the difference between physical custody and legal custody? How will you ensure that you have the opportunity to participate in important decisions about your child's education and medical care?

At Gabe ∙ Calzaretta LLC, in Schaumburg, Illinois, each of our family law attorneys has more than 15 years of experience representing clients in child custody disputes. Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation.

Your Child's Best Interests

We understand that your future relationship with your children is at the heart of the child custody dispute. We believe that children should be spared from ugly court battles and should be as uninvolved in the child custody determination as possible. However, your children's best interests should guide the child custody decision. We encourage our clients to work with their ex-spouse to come up with the best child custody solution for the family as a whole.

When you are unable to agree about where your children will live during and after the divorce, the personal and emotional issues can be every bit as challenging as the legal concerns. As your lawyers, we will help you realistically assess your options.

Your Options for Child Custody

There are many options to consider when determining child custody, including:

• Physical custody: When a child lives primarily with one parent, that parent has physical custody of the child and is considered the "custodial parent." The "noncustodial parent" usually has visitation rights.
• Legal custody: Legal custody is the ability to make important decisions for your child, including healthcare and schooling decisions.
• Sole custody: When only one parent has physical and/or legal custody over a child, he or she has sole custody.
• Joint custody: When parents share physical and/or legal custody, they have joint custody.

While it is common for one parent to have primary physical custody (sole physical custody) and for both parents to have legal custody (joint legal custody), you and your ex-spouse can work out any arrangement that will work for you and your child.

The small firm attention you want … the experience and maturity you need.

Child Custody Mediation in Illinois

Mediation is required in all Illinois child custody disputes. Child custody mediation can be a long and expensive process. Our attorneys will work closely with you to make sure that your goals and decisions are realistic and that they are based on a clear understanding of your rights and responsibilities under Illinois law. Once you have established and prioritized your goals, we work to help you achieve them with minimal impact on your children.

Child Custody Modifications

Once a child custody order is in place, it is not set in stone. Circumstances can change. Your child may want to move in with the noncustodial parent or a parent could become more or less suitable to take care of the child over time. Our family law attorneys also work with parents who need legal advice about modifying or enforcing the terms of a child custody decree.

Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation. Credit cards are accepted. Evening and weekend appointments are available upon request.

Located off of Route 53 and Algonquin in Schaumburg, Illinois