PROTECTING Father's Rights

The Witt Law Firm, P.C. regularly represents fathers in family law matters. A lot of dads today are very involved in caring for their children. When the parents are unmarried, Illinois law presumes that the mother has sole allocation of parental responsibilities (“child custody”). Unmarried fathers need a court order to overcome the presumption that the mother of the child has sole custody.

If the parents share in the parenting tasks such as taking the children to and from school, preparing meals, attending doctors’ appointments, etc., it may be in a child’s best interests that both parents continue doing so. In Chicago family law cases, the allocation of parental responsibilities (“child custody”) is determined based upon what is in the child’s’ best interest and the law is gender-neutral. Women do not receive the custody of minor children just “because they are the mom”.

EQUAL 50/50 PARENTING TIME & FATHER’S RIGHTS

There is a growing trend in Chicago family law cases for the parents to have equal parenting time with their child. More courts are finding that it is in a child’s best interest to have both parents equally involved in the child’s life. In some cases, the allocation judgment provides that neither parent is the “primary custodian”. The child may live with each parent during alternating weeks or another schedule that provides each parent with 50% of the child’s time. Equal parenting time is not in every child’s best interest but it is in the best interest of some children.