Protecting Parental Rights Before a Child is Born

A recent New Jersey case made waves when a Judge held that a mother could exclude the father of her unborn baby from the hospital delivery room at the time of the baby’s birth. Some people were surprised that the parents were involved in child-related litigation before the baby had taken its first breath. However, initiating court proceedings while a baby is in utero could be beneficial for both the mother or the father. In Chicago, mothers may be able to recover the costs of birth from the father, and this could be easier if the case is pending close to the time of birth. A Chicago mother may also want to bring a case while she is pregnant to expedite obtaining a child support order once the child is born. A father might worry that his child’s mother might refuse to let him have parenting time with his baby once he or she is born, so he may want to take proactive steps towards creating a reasonable parenting time schedule memorialized in a Court Order. It is also common for newborn babies to require medical treatment and parents may need to make important medical decisions, so a formal custody determination in the form of a Court Order can make the decision-making process smoother. Some of our previous blog posts generally discuss the differences between Illinois sole legal custody and Illinois joint legal custody. A top Chicago family law attorney can help you pursue your Chicago child custody and Illinois child support goals.