Joseph asks…
Can I find free child custody lawyers in Chicago?
My soon to be wife has been trying to get some type of visitation rights to see her 5 year old daughter and her father makes it so hard to do. There is no court ordered custody but we would like to get joint custody so my wife and can actually be a mother. As of right now she is only allowed, by her fathers rules, to see her when it is convienient for him and if she wants to spend the night with his daughter it has to be at his house, under his roof. She is a good mother but we can not afford a child custody attorney….is there any free services in the Cook County Chicago area that can help us?
Child Custody Center Staff answers:
Do some research and see what you guys can do on your own before reaching out to a lawyer. I realized very quickly that lawyers, while they do help out in court, really just take your money for work you can do on your own. Including the write up of certain documents.
Check out this website (free) for some GREAT information to help out Mom’s and Dad’s in court cases. Or to establish custody. Www.deltabravo.net. (Check the articles section)
Also, as you start all of this, documentation is key. Keep track of what’s been said, document the way things are going right now, and keep a log.
Honestly, the visitation agreement right now is foolish. She should absolutely NOT have to sleep over her house in order to see her daughter for an overnight visit. A judge would agree to that as well.
If they live within 15 minutes of one another, I’d say you’re wife should be entitled to 50/50 joint custody.
A judge would request you guys try for mediation first anyways. So I say you try all this first, before seeking an attorney. However, consultations are usually free so it can’t hurt to see what a lawyer has to say.
Check out the website I gave above though, as it does have good information to get you started. Good luck!
Helen asks…
Can’t afford an attorney for a child custody custody case in Chicago?
My fiance has already paid a lawyer over $5000, draining my 401K and now the lawyer wants another $4300 dollars or else he’s dropping the case. What can I do? Please, we need phone numbers, names, anyone that can help us. His 7 year old daughter is being physically abused by her new stepfather in Alabama, and we are supposed to go to court on the 20th of this month to request custody. DCFS has already gotten involved, but they are working too slowly and the child is probably going to be returned to Alabama with her mother and stepfather next week. And now, not only is she going to an already abusive home, but she is probably going to get hit twice as bad because she told on them. Please help!!!!
Child Custody Center Staff answers:
I would also contact your state BAR Association. I don’t think a lawyer can ethically drop a client mid-case for failure to pay. You have not even gone to court yet and he has already blown through 5 grand. Definitely contact the bar association.
David asks…
child custody in Texas?
what steps do i take to get joint custody of my child. last week the mother of my child came back to Texas telling me she was moving back but took my child when i was in the bathroom and headed back to chicago she has been living with me for the last 8months. how much will an attorney cost me?
Child Custody Center Staff answers:
This manual will teach you how to prepare and how to hire an attorney. Also consider joining Dads House. Note that jury trials are allowed in child custody cases in Texas. Note, you cannot record your phone calls from her, but you can legally record your calls to her as Texas allows it.
Http://dads-house.org/EducationalManual
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dads_House_Ed_Ctr/
James asks…
my husband filed for divorce and we have one child. as a mother,how much is my chance to win the custody?
i moved in chicago with mywife’s consent and leave my daughter in his care.i went to school at the same time working part time job. will this situation will lessen my chance to get the primary physical placement of my child?
Child Custody Center Staff answers:
If you are a good parent and you have a solid plan for day or night care you will be just fine.
Maria asks…
does anyone know anything about getting custody of an abused child but are not related to the child?
okay well my best friend moved last year with her mother to missouri. then earlier this year she came to me, while on vacation here in chicago, and said they she does not want to return home to her alcoholic mother. so we got a lawyer and everything and our lawyer said it would be easier to take care of it in the summer and to maybe give her mom one more chance. so we did and she came this summer and still wanted to. so this summer we met her mother half way, which her mother thought was a vacation. so we had been living together for a while and now we were like sisters. so today her mother thinks she is picking her up, but this morning we called her and told her she shouldn’t even waste her gas. but she just gave the phone to her mother (my best friends grandma) and her grandma said we like brainwashed her into doing this and stuff. so anyways she gets here in the afternoon today and she then starts like fighting with my mother about the whole situation. so me and my best friend called
the cops. and we had already spoken to them and warned them that we were going to call. and we called dcfs, too. by the way her mother only has possession of her not custody, her father has full custody but is in a halfway house in colarado. so they tell us that she is going to go to the police station and get evaluated then would make phone calls to dcfs. well they called dcfs, and they said they will not even touch the story. so they give her two options to go home with her mother or go to her aunts house. so she chooses to go to her aunts house but the police say that her mother will have to drive her there. so they are on their way now. but i was just wondering if there is anything we can do to get her back here cuz i know that her mother isn’t going to drive her to dixon shes going to drive her home. so can anyone help??? by the way this is only a brief summary if u want more details please ask.
thanks. by the way we are 15 yrs old.
Child Custody Center Staff answers:
I know it may seem like it’s not right, but a mother – even a bad one – has legal rights.
Your friend does not need someplace to run away to, even though she and you see that as the only option. She and her mother need counseling, and possibly need intervention by her local DFCS office.
What you are feeling right now is love for your friend, and you want to take care of her, and that’s OK. But it’s also a little selfish. You are not the best qualified person to help her right now, so if you love her, help her get the help she needs.
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