The first consideration people have when getting a divorce is related to child custody and parental responsibilities. Each case is different; no two families are alike. In Chicago, you may benefit from a parenting time attorney who can help you understand the ramifications of divorce on your parental responsibilities and that of your partner. It helps to understand the difference between parenting time and parental responsibilities, and to keep in mind always what your needs and hopes are so you can clarify them for the judge.
Parents are legally responsible for their children, period. When a divorce happens, the courts will decide issues like who retains the primary decision-making responsibility. The primary decision-making responsibility for the child refers to decisions like health care options, schooling, and even religion. There are no easy answers when it comes to parental responsibilities. A parenting time attorney can help inform you of the likeliest outcome with the judge based on your circumstances. In some cases, both parents are awarded equal responsibility, but in other cases the responsibility will be rewarded to one or the other parent.
Parenting time is different from primary decision-making responsibilities. Parenting time is what it sounds like: the amount of time the child or children spend with each parent over the course of a day, week, month, or year. To ensure the child’s domestic stability and ensure psychological and social wellbeing, judges do tend to want the child to have a primary residence with one parent. This means that one parent generally has more actual parenting time, but a parenting time attorney might be able to help you create an equitable parenting timetable that you and your partner can agree on together. The judge should always try to do what is in the best interest of the child, and a parenting time attorney can help you to understand the most likely scenario.
