Arlington Heights Child Custody Lawyer

The City of Good Neighbors is the largest “village” in the United States. Arlington Heights was a very sleepy town until around 1960 when the population began to grow significantly. So, Arlington Heights began to grow at about the same time the American family began changing. These alterations have continued. Today, what seemed revolutionary in family law a generation ago is essentially routine.

At the Andrea Heckman Law, we work hard to keep abreast of the changing laws in this area. We also stay on top of the latest developments in child psychology, so we can effectively represent our clients. That representation includes both aggressive advocacy in court and solid legal advice that your family can count on.

Common Parenting Time Issues in Arlington Heights

In the 19th century, women had basically no legal rights. So, divorced men almost always received full physical and legal custody of their children. In the 20th century, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. Most courts applied the “tender years” doctrine and sent children to live full-time with divorced mothers, sometimes with no questions asked.

Today, because of the changing nature of the American family, family law has changed as well. These changes mean new issues in parenting time disputes. Some of them include:

• Co-Parenting: For the most part, the 70-30, every other weekend and every other holiday divisions are gone in Illinois. Parents must be able to work together and they must be able to iron out routine difficulties.
• PAS: In Parental Alienation Syndrome households, the alienating parent tries to drive an emotional wedge between the children and the targeted parent. An attorney must be vigilant for things like last-minute scheduling changes and disparaging remarks about the other parent.
• Division of Responsibility: Many workaholic parents try to take advantage of the new rules by suddenly expressing an interest in the children’s activities. An aggressive lawyer will not allow these things to stand.

Generally, even serious issues like these can be resolved outside a trial setting, as outlined below.

Resolving Parenting Time Issues in Illinois

In many ways, disputes like the ones described above never go away entirely. They may lie dormant for months or even years, but sooner or later, they come back to the surface. So, at the Andrea Heckman Law, we do more than resolve today’s dispute. We also give Arlington Heights families the tools they need in the future.

That is why we encourage family law mediation whenever possible. Mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution save millions of dollars in legal fees each year. These processes are also private and therefore more civil than trials. Finally, mediation gives people more control over the outcome. At the same time, mediation empowers families to resolve disputes on their own.

In most Cook County mediations, a retired judge or unaffiliated family lawyer conducts shuttle diplomacy between the two parties. The parties wait in separate rooms during this process, so there is little or no emotional drama.

Reach Out to Dedicated Lawyers

Disputes are almost inevitable in child custody cases. For a free consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Arlington Heights, contact the Andrea Heckman Law Convenient payment plans are available.