Divorce & Children

Contact us today to discuss your concerns with an experienced professional on staff or an attorney in Danya A. Grunyk's Naperville family law firm.

You want to be sure that throughout the divorce, your children’s best interests are being considered. Often parents disagree about what is in the children’s best interest—and when they cannot agree, professional intervention may be appropriate and in some cases, court intervention becomes necessary.

The court considers various factors in determining what is in your children’s “best interest.” We will help educate you so you understand the factors that the court considers in determining "best interest" and how those factors relate to your case, your children and their needs.

• Child custody: When you divorce, decisions have to be made about how your children will be cared for when you and your spouse begin to live in separate homes. "Custody" is a term that references how decisions will be made regarding your children after the divorce: will both parents have input into decisions regarding the children's health, education and welfare (joint legal custody), or will major decisions be made by one parent (sole custody)? We will help you assess, based on the facts of your case, what your options are and the reasonableness of your goals, given your family's situation. "Custody" is a decision you and your spouse agree upon, or if you cannot agree, that the court will impose. "Residential Custody" is another decision that refers to the home where the children will be primarily residing. "Custody", however, is different from "Visitation" or "Parenting Time."
• Parenting time / Visitation: If you have minor children, which in Illinois is usually defined as children who are less than 19 years old or have not graduated from high school, "Visitation" or "Parenting Time" as it is unofficially referred to, is another decision that you will need to consider. Visitation is generally the non-custodial parent's time with his or her children. Visitation may be affected by many factors, including the proximity of the parents' homes to each other after the divorce, the parents' works schedules, their prior involvement with the children and the children's needs and activities. Visitation is the actual schedule or amount of time each parent spends with their child. The underlying presumption is that children need both parents, even after a divorce, unless certain facts exist that would make such contact harmful for the children. The fact that someone made a lousy spouse, may, but does not necessarily mean, that parent should not spend time with the children. Families and their interrelationships are unique and can be complex. We will work with you to present parenting time schedules and options that are structured to meet your families' needs and circumstances. What works for one family, will not necessarily work for another.
• Grandparent custody and visitation: Grandparents have limited rights to have court ordered visitation or custody and the circumstances are fact specific. Courts acknowledge a parent's fundamental right to raise his or her child and to make decisions concerning the child free from state intervention, absent a threat to the child's health and safety. Court ordered grandparent visitation can be considered improper interference by the State in a parent's fundamental right to raise a child. However, under certain circumstances, grandparents have been awarded custody, visitation or guardianship of grandchildren when parents are unable or unfit to take care of a child. Requirements in each of these circumstances are very fact specific and cannot be approached lightly.
• Child support: Illinois has guidelines for child support and you can generally look up those guidelines on-line. Unlike many States, Illinois has not adopted guidelines that consider each parent's actual involvement and overnights with the child. The challenging issues in child support are those cases where a parent is trying to determine whether their case warrants a deviation from the standard child support guidelines. The time you spend with your child, the number of overnights you have with your child and the parents' incomes are all factors that could affect the application of the standard guidelines to support. Other issues related to support involve the children's living and educational expenses after high school, or expenses associated with children who have special needs. Expenses associated with raising children increase over time and a custodial parent's need for increased child support also changes over time. If your children were young when child support was initially set, and the expenses that you pay to raise your children have increased, or if the other parent's income has increased substantially, you may be entitled to receive increased child support. Again, work with us to realistically assess the facts of your case and the applicable law.
• Removal of children from Illinois: Minor children from a divorced family cannot be "removed" or permanently relocated out of State, without the consent of both parents or an order of the Court. Why not? Because courts try to protect and maintain the relationship each parent has with his or her children after the divorce. If a custodial parent wants to move out of State and take the minor children, if the parents cannot agree, the court will make a determination based on the children's best interests. These are challenging cases and fact specific, often requiring experts to be retained to help the court determine whether the move will benefit the child and whether the relationship of the child and the parent remaining in the State, can be preserved. These are serious cases and stressful cases; you want an experienced family law attorney working with you to develop a strategy and realistic approach to the issue.

Interstate and international custody and support: When a parent leaves the state or country, how is custody, support, and parenting time affected? Understand the steps that you can take to protect your child and to minimize the chance that your child could be removed from the United States without your knowledge or consent. The United States has treaties and agreements with different countries and each country's involvement in those treaties affects the steps that need to be taken or that can be taken to compel the return of a minor child improperly removed from this country. If you have concerns, talk to us about steps you can take to protect your children. Attorney Danya A. Grunyk has been practicing, lecturing, writing about, and teaching family law for almost 20 years. Danya and her professional staff are committed to being accessible to you, responsive and respectful.

Evening and weekend appointments available
Visa and MasterCard accepted

Conveniently located in the historic 5th Avenue Building in downtown Naperville
Evening and weekend appointments available
Visa and MasterCard accepted

Contact us today to discuss your concerns with an experienced Naperville family law and divorce lawyer.

Grunyk & Associates, P.C.
Naperville Divorce Lawyer
Naperville Family Law Attorney
5th Avenue Station
200 E. 5th Avenue, Suite 113
Naperville, IL 60563
Phone:  (630) 428-3300
Fax:  (630) 428-3313

Naperville divorce lawyer and collaborative law attorney Danya A. Grunyk primarily serves clients in DuPage County, Will County, Kendall County, Kane County, and Cook County, Illinois, including the communities of Naperville, Lisle, Aurora, Woodridge, Downer’s Grove, Darien, Westmont, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Oswego, Joliet, Plainfield, Warrenville, Wheaton, Geneva, St. Charles, and Batavia.