Family Law Attorney Palatine

Family Law Attorney Palatine

Family law is an important area of law that addresses issues related to family relationships and the dissolution of marriages. These matters tend to be critical to your family’s future, which makes having an experienced family law attorney in Palatine in your corner well advised. 

Common Family Law Matters

Family law covers a broad spectrum of legal concerns – all of which relate to your close family relationships. While no two family law cases are ever exactly alike, there are certain kinds of cases that are most common, including:

• Divorce proceedings (both contested and uncontested)
• The division of marital property
• Spousal maintenance (also known as alimony)
• Parental responsibilities (often called child custody)
• The enforcement and modification of existing court orders
• Orders of Protection and other situations related to domestic violence
• Paternity and other concerns related to parental rights
• Name changes and other administrative concerns of the court
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

If you have a family law concern, an experienced family law attorney can help. 

Parental Rights

One of the most common concerns covered by family law relates to parental rights. In the State of Illinois, child custody arrangements are called parental responsibilities, which are all about who will be making important decisions related to the following (on behalf of the children):

• Education 
• Health care
• Extracurricular activities
• Religious upbringing

These responsibilities can be shared by both of you, which means you will make the decisions in tandem, or it can be the sole responsibility of one of you. The other major component of parental rights involves your parenting plan (what you may think of as visitation). While the state has basic parenting plans that it typically falls back on, you and your children’s other parent are welcome to negotiate terms that work for you in your unique circumstances (as long as you are both prepared to sign off on them). Only under dire circumstances will the court completely deny a parent time with his or her children, so parenting time is typically divided between both parents (though not necessarily equally). 

The Division of Marital Property

Another important element of family law is the financial component, and concerns related to the division of marital property are common. In Illinois, those assets that you acquire throughout your marriage are considered marital property, which is to be divided equitably (or fairly) between the two of you in the event of divorce. There are wide-ranging factors that can complicate this division of assets, and because the outcome is so critical to your financial future, it is in your best interest to work closely with an experienced family law attorney throughout the process. 

Discuss Your Concerns with an Experienced Family Law Attorney in Palatine Today

If you are experiencing a family law concern, its resolution is important to you and your children, and the dedicated family law attorneys at Andrea Heckman Law in Palatine have the compassion, experience, and skill to help. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.