Effective January 2016, Illinois State Bill 57 amended the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA). To family lawyers handling divorce and custody cases, this current legislation clearly reflects the changing norms of society. For a parent in Deerfield or Chicago, the new stance affects the issues surrounding custody and who may be a custodial parent.
Bill 57 and Child Custody
- The passing of Bill 57 heralds in a number of changes. Of particular interest to lawyers and their clients are the following that pertains to custody cases:
- The court must look at the facts of each case individually Factors a court must consider before granting custody to either the father or mother include:
* Prior parental involvement
* Future involvement
* Ability to provide for the welfare of the child
Furthermore, the Illinois courts in such places as Deerfield must not exclusively consider the mother as the custodial parent.
The intent of the Parentage Act of 2015, according to many family lawyers, was to look at both parents equally as potential custodians of the child. In other words, the court was removing a bias and making the law, in theory at least, equal. It was allowing the father to have an identical opportunity for custodial custody. This approach also reduced the difficulty for same-sex couples. Male or female, one parent of a same-sex couple would be able to have primary custody.
Overall, Bill 57 alleviates some potential for custody battles. It also makes it feasible for both parents to share custody. This mitigates a potentially volatile situation. It mediates parental problems concerning custody.
Contacting Family Lawyers
Custodial cases do not have to be contentious. Family lawyers understand the needs of both parents to have some right regarding their offspring. Bill 57 helps to make shared parenting more feasible. In Deerfield, the law can work with the client – male, female or gender-neutral, to reduce the combative issues that arise from seeking custody.
A divorce can be very hard on the family in many ways. Contact in Deerfield, Family Lawyers understanding the importance of understanding the status of the law regarding your legal matter. With the help of lawyer Michael Craven, it is possible to avoid a contentious divorce trial. Find out more about the latest trends and changes in Illinois divorce law by checking out his blog and other material online at http://www.divorcelawyerschicago.org/.
