What Does a Child Custody Lawyer Do in Illinois?

Custody in Illinois means parental responsibilities and parenting time

Since January 1, 2016, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act has used the term allocation of parental responsibilities in place of custody. The allocation has two parts.

• Significant decision-making. Major decisions about education, health, religion and extracurricular activities (750 ILCS 5/602.5). The court can give each area to one parent or to both.
• Parenting time. The schedule of when the child is with each parent (750 ILCS 5/602.7). Illinois presumes both parents are fit. The court can restrict parenting time only if it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a parent's time would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional health.

The court decides both parts based on the child's best interests, using factors in the statute. For parenting time, the factors include each parent's wishes and the child's wishes, given the child's maturity. They also include who did the caretaking in the 24 months before the case was filed and how the child is doing at home, at school and in the community. A custody lawyer connects your facts to those factors.

These issues come up in divorce cases, in parentage cases between unmarried parents and in post-judgment cases when a parent wants to change an existing order.

What a custody lawyer does before filing

Strong custody cases are built before anything is filed. A lawyer will ask about the child's routine, who has handled caretaking, what the other parent wants and whether there are safety concerns.

Gathering school, medical and communication records

• Report cards, attendance records and notes from teachers.
• Medical, dental and counseling records, and who attends appointments.
• A calendar of the parenting time each parent actually exercises.
• Texts, emails and co-parenting app messages, kept in full.
• Activity schedules and who drives the child.
• Any police reports, DCFS contacts or orders of protection.

The goal is evidence about the child's needs and each parent's involvement, not a list of complaints about the other parent.

Choosing between agreement, mediation and litigation

Many parents reach an agreed schedule with some help. In Cook County, mediation is mandatory for initial allocation of parental responsibilities, modification of an allocation, relocation and non-parent visitation. Family Court Services conducts the mediation when parents cannot agree on a mediator. Under section 602.10(c), the court orders mediation unless it finds impediments to mediation, so tell your lawyer about any domestic violence or safety concern early. A lawyer prepares you for mediation, reviews proposed terms and handles the court case if mediation does not resolve everything.

Drafting and negotiating the parenting plan

Under section 602.10, each parent must file a proposed parenting plan within 120 days after service or the filing of a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities. An agreed plan must be in writing and signed by both parents. It binds the court unless the court finds it is not in the child's best interests.

A lawyer drafts a plan that works in daily life. It should cover the weekly schedule, holidays and school breaks, exchanges and transportation, how major decisions are made, communication between parents and how disputes will be handled. Some parents also want a right of first refusal. Vague plans tend to lead to more conflict and more court dates.

The schedule also affects child support. Through December 31, 2026, the shared physical care calculation applies when each parent has at least 146 overnights a year. Starting January 1, 2027, Public Act 104-0733 lowers that threshold to 110 overnights, with an adjustment for parents who have 110 to 145. Our guide to the 2026 and 2027 child support rules explains the change.

Working with a guardian ad litem or evaluator

In contested cases, the court may appoint a lawyer to serve the child under 750 ILCS 5/506. A guardian ad litem investigates the facts and interviews the child and the parents. Unless the court directs otherwise, the guardian ad litem gives the court and the parties a written report or recommendations at least 30 days before a final hearing or trial. A child representative instead advocates for what the child representative finds to be in the child's best interests. The court also orders who pays these fees, which can be either or both parents.

The court may also seek advice from a professional, and a parent can ask the court to order an evaluation (750 ILCS 5/604.10). In Cook County, Family Court Services handles child custody evaluations on referral.

A custody lawyer helps you prepare for interviews and gives the guardian ad litem the documents that matter. The lawyer also responds to the report and can question the guardian ad litem about it. Read more about the role of a guardian ad litem in Illinois and how to request a guardian ad litem.

Emergency and modification cases

Some custody problems cannot wait. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 first. A lawyer can then ask the court for emergency relief, such as limiting or pausing parenting time. A lawyer can also help you seek an order of protection that covers the child's care. See our emergency child custody lawyers page.

Changing an existing order follows 750 ILCS 5/610.5:

• Parenting time can be modified at any time on a showing of changed circumstances that make a modification necessary for the child's best interests.
• A motion to change decision-making cannot be filed within two years of the order unless the parents agree. The exception is when affidavits show the child's current environment may seriously endanger the child or significantly impair the child's emotional development.
• More broadly, the court modifies a parenting plan when a substantial change has occurred and the change is necessary to serve the child's best interests.

Our custody modification lawyers page and our guide on when to modify a parenting plan go further.

How a custody case moves through Cook County

1. File a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities in a divorce, parentage or post-judgment case. The Domestic Relations Division at the Daley Center hears these cases, and filings are electronic.
2. Serve the other parent, who can file an appearance and a response.
3. Complete any parent education or mediation the court orders through Family Court Services.
4. File proposed parenting plans within 120 days after service.
5. If issues remain, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem, child representative or evaluator.
6. The judge enters an allocation judgment by agreement or after a hearing.

While the case is pending, the court can enter temporary orders on decision-making and parenting time (section 603.5). It does so after a hearing or, if no one objects, based on a parenting plan.

What to bring and mistakes to avoid

What to bring to a consultation

• Any existing orders, including support orders and orders of protection.
• The child's school, medical and activity information.
• A calendar of the last few months of parenting time.
• Key messages with the other parent.
• Your proposed schedule and your main concerns.

Mistakes that hurt custody cases

• Speaking badly about the other parent in front of the child, or asking the child to choose.
• Withholding parenting time without a court order.
• Moving with the child without following Illinois relocation rules.
• Posting about the case or the other parent online.
• Missing mediation, parent education or meetings with the guardian ad litem.
• Focusing on the other parent's faults instead of the child's needs.

How the firm handles custody cases in Cook, DuPage, Will and Lake Counties

Chicago Family Attorneys, LLC practices only Illinois family law, from an office at 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 752, in Chicago. Our Chicago child custody lawyers handle:

• Petitions and responses for allocation of parental responsibilities.
• Parenting plans and agreed allocation judgments.
• Temporary parenting time and emergency motions.
• Mediation preparation and review of proposed terms.
• Cases with a guardian ad litem, child representative or evaluator.
• Modification, relocation and parenting time enforcement.

Full representation is an initial payment of $1,500 to $2,500, then $500 to $650 per month beginning 30 days after the initial payment while representation remains active. For limited-scope help, drafting a custody or parenting time motion for you to file starts at $500, and appearing for you at one custody or parenting time hearing starts at $1,200. For an initial custody case you handle yourself, Self Represented Documents is a $399 flat fee. See child custody lawyer fees. The judge decides based on the child's best interests, and no lawyer can promise a result.

Related reading: how to start a child custody case in Illinois, Illinois parenting time and decision-making laws and what a divorce lawyer does.