Arlington Heights Child Custody Attorneys

Family Law Practice Areas:

Sterling Lawyers, LLC
Exclusively Family Law

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Sterling Lawyers, LLC

4.6 out of 5
From 12,874 Divorce & Family Law

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Arlington Heights Child Custody Lawyers Attorneys at Sterling Lawyers, LLC

Samantha Witting

Based on 1 Client Reviews

Are you ready to move forward? Call (312) 757-8082 to schedule a strategy session with one of our attorneys.

About Sterling Lawyers in Arlington Heights

If you are worried about how much time you will have with your kids, or who gets to make the big decisions for them, those are exactly the questions Illinois law answers. For parents, Illinois law replaced the terms custody and visitation. What used to be custody is now the allocation of parental responsibilities, and it has two parts: significant decision-making about education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities, and parenting time, the schedule for when the children are with each parent.^[1] The court decides both based on the children’s best interests, and in setting parenting time it presumes both parents are fit.^[2]

Our Arlington Heights divorce lawyers represent parents on both pieces: who decides, and when the children are where. That covers a first allocation in a divorce or parentage case, changing an existing parenting plan, and responding when the other parent asks the court to restrict your time. Arlington Heights cases are heard in Cook County, where parenting disputes go to mediation before a judge decides them, unless the court finds a reason they should not.

For how Illinois handles these cases statewide, start with child custody in Illinois.

Why Arlington Heights Clients Choose Sterling Lawyers

Fixed Fees, Quoted Before You Sign

This is what most people call about, so here it is plainly. We do not bill by the hour. Before you sign anything, you get a fixed fee quoted for your case, and research, phone calls, emails, the drive to court, and the time your attorney spends on your file are covered by it.

That matters in a custody case, because parenting problems keep coming up while the case is open. When an exchange goes sideways, you can raise it with your attorney without wondering what the email will cost, because asking a question does not add to your bill. Our Illinois pricing page shows how our paths are priced, and we walk you through what your quote includes before you commit.

Family Law Is the Only Thing We Practice

No real estate closings, no estate plans, no criminal defense. Divorce, parenting, support, and property cases are all we do. In a custody case, that shows up in what a parenting plan actually needs to say to hold up: how holidays rotate, who calls whom when a child is sick, how exchanges happen, and what the two of you do the next time you disagree.

Straight Answers, Including the Hard Ones

If what you are asking for is unlikely given your schedule and history, we will tell you before you build a case around it. If the other parent is the one overreaching, we will tell you what it takes to show that to a judge. Your children are better served by a realistic plan than by a fight over one that was never going to happen.

Want to start thinking it through before you call? Our Illinois parenting plan template walks through what a plan covers, and you can bring a draft to the consultation.

We also match the path to the situation. If the two of you mostly agree, an uncontested or mediated path costs less than a contested hearing. If you do not agree, we prepare the case for a judge. And if you would rather handle the case yourself with an attorney checking your work, our Legal Coaching path is built for that.

Talk to an Arlington Heights Child Custody Lawyer

Whether you are setting up a parenting plan for the first time, changing one that no longer fits, or responding to a filing you did not see coming, the first conversation is about your children and your actual schedule. Book a consultation with Sterling Lawyers and we will match you with an attorney from this office.

Are you ready to move forward? Call (312) 757-8082 to schedule a strategy session with one of our attorneys.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get sole custody of my kids in Arlington Heights?

Illinois does not award sole custody by that name. If you and the other parent do not agree, the court can give one parent all of the significant decision-making responsibilities or divide them issue by issue, and it sets a parenting time schedule. A parent whose parentage is established and who is not given decision-making responsibilities is still entitled to reasonable parenting time unless the court finds, after a hearing, that it would seriously endanger the child or significantly impair the child’s emotional development.^[3] So the realistic question is usually how decisions and time will be divided, not whether one parent wins everything.

How does the court decide parenting time in Arlington Heights?

By the children’s best interests, weighing a list of factors that includes each parent’s wishes, the child’s wishes depending on the child’s maturity, how much caretaking each parent did in the 24 months before the case was filed (or since birth for a child under two), any prior agreement or pattern between the parents, the child’s relationships with parents and siblings, the distance between homes and everyone’s schedules, and any physical violence or threats by a parent against the child or someone in the household. The court does not consider a parent’s conduct that does not affect the parent’s relationship with the child. There is also no primary residential custody in Illinois law. A parenting plan also identifies the parent with the majority of parenting time for purposes of other laws, but that designation does not change either parent’s rights under the plan.

Where will my Arlington Heights custody case be heard, and do we have to mediate?

Arlington Heights is in Cook County’s Third Municipal District, so a case filed in the district is heard at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse, though a Cook County case can also be filed at the Daley Center downtown. Parenting disputes go to mediation unless the court finds an impediment, and if the two of you cannot agree on a mediator, the court’s Family Court Services mediates at no charge. Both parents generally also need to complete an approved parenting education program before the court enters a final judgment on parenting issues.^[4]

What evidence should I bring to my first meeting?

Start with a record of who has actually done the parenting over the last two years: school drop-offs, doctor and dentist visits, activities, homework, and sick days. Bring school records and report cards, medical records, both parents’ work schedules, the schedule the children actually follow now, and your texts, emails, or co-parenting app messages with the other parent. If there have been police reports, orders of protection, or child welfare investigations, bring those too, along with the names of teachers, coaches, or caregivers who know the children’s routine. Each parent must file a proposed parenting plan, generally within 120 days after the petition is filed or served, or after the other parent appears in the case when you cannot agree. The court can extend that deadline for good cause or excuse it while you are in mediation, but it helps to start drafting yours early.^[5]

How does domestic violence affect a child custody case in Arlington Heights?

Physical violence or threats by a parent against the child or someone in the household is one of the factors the court weighs in allocating parenting time. Separately, the court can restrict a parent’s decision-making or parenting time, including ordering that parenting time be supervised, if it finds after a hearing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the parent seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or significantly impaired the child’s emotional development.^[6] In Cook County, abuse is also one of the issues the court considers in deciding whether mediation should go forward. If you are in danger now, an order of protection does not have to wait for the custody case to be decided.