Elgin Family Law Attorneys Serving Kane County, IL

Family law touches on some of the most important and most sensitive areas of life: beginning and ending a marriage, bringing a child into your life, protecting your financial future and your relationship with your children and more. When it really matters, it pays to have knowledgeable, committed family law attorneys on your side. We can assist you with a wide range of family law issues, including:

Divorce

Ending a marriage can be stressful and emotional, but it’s important to be practical and well prepared. The decisions you make before and during your divorce case may impact your financial future, your access to your children and your peace of mind.

It’s our job to advise you of your rights, the options available to you and the cost of pursuing each. In addition, we’ll help you understand and prepare for the divorce process. Knowing what to expect can alleviate the anxiety associated with this significant life change. In the course of your divorce case, we’ll help you resolve property division, spousal maintenance (commonly called “alimony”), allocation of parental responsibilities (commonly referred to as “custody” and “visitation”), and child support.

In most cases, it’s best to resolve divorce issues amicably if possible, and that’s especially true when there are children involved. But, we understand that sometimes it’s not possible to reach a peaceful resolution and you need a strong advocate by your side. Whether you need help navigating the negotiation process and attending to the technical aspects of your divorce case or you’re fighting for a fair division of assets, custody of your children, or maintenance, we’re here to help.

Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

No one starts a marriage thinking about divorce, but if you have significant assets, disparate earning power or a previous life that includes separate property and separate children, it’s wise to ensure that you’re both protected before you take the next step. Even if you’ve already married, a post-nuptial agreement can help ensure a stable, predictable outcome should the worst occur.

Call us today for respectful, confidential advice regarding the need for a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement.

Paternity and Custody

In Illinois, a child’s biological father doesn’t necessarily automatically have parental rights. For the father of a child born outside of marriage, establishment of paternity opens the door to custody and/or visitation and an active role in the child’s life. It also means an obligation to support the child. Likewise, a mother seeking child support from a man not her husband must legally establish paternity.

If both parents agree, the paperwork necessary to establish paternity is relatively quick and easy. If either denies that the man is the child’s biological father, the court may order genetic testing to prove (or disprove) paternity. DNA testing is extremely reliable, and will generally be considered conclusive proof of paternity.

If you’ve fathered or given birth to a child outside of marriage, get the help you need to establish paternity as soon as possible. In addition to allowing for child support and visitation, establishment of paternity protects the father’s relationship with the child in the event of conflict between the parents, remarriage, or even the death of the mother. In some cases, a paternity order may even be necessary to protect other relationships, such as the child’s access to his paternal grandparents.

Modification of Child Support, Custody and Other Orders

A divorce decree is considered a final order, but in fact that order isn’t always final. Life changes. Sometimes, those changes are significant enough that they warrant a change in custody, visitation, child support or other aspects of the court order. Of course, courts don’t disturb those orders lightly, particularly where children are involved. Stability and predictability post-divorce is generally in the best interests of the children.

Some circumstances in which a court might modify an order after final judgment include a significant increase or decrease in income for one parent, job loss or serious illness, a residential move or change in work schedule that makes the current visitation schedule unworkable, or a problem in one household such as drug abuse or violence.

If there’s been a significant change since your divorce decree was entered and the current orders are no longer workable or just don’t fairly represent the current circumstances, we can help. Schedule a consultation to learn more about your options.

Family Law and Your Future

Whether you’re embarking on a new marriage or ending one after many years, establishing paternity of a newborn child or launching one into adulthood, good legal advice and guidance can remove the stress, smooth the process and allow you to focus on your family and your day to day life. When you need help preparing for the next step, call on us.

Family law includes all issues relating to families and domestic relations. Family law attorneys assist clients with divorces, allocating parental rights and responsibilities, establishing and enforcing child support obligations, dividing marital and non-marital property, maintenance, and all post decree issues that may arise after a divorce is final.

The attorneys at the Doyen Law Group can help you with whatever family law issue you may have, whether it is simple or complex. We have extensive experience helping clients navigate the divorce process and all other family related issues and disputes. Our senior attorney, Michael C. Doyen, has been practicing family law for more than twenty years and is known throughout Kane County as an attorney with integrity. Additionally, we are dedicated to keeping costs reasonable and crafting settlements that represent the best interests of our clients.

When you initially discuss your family law issue with us, we will make you aware of your legal options and the potential costs associated with helping you get the best result possible. We want you to be knowledgeable about the process and comfortable with us as your attorneys during what can be a stressful time.

We provide dedicated and skilled representation to clients throughout Chicagoland, including Elgin, Geneva, St. Charles, Aurora, Hampshire, Yorkville, Chicago, and throughout Kane, DuPage, McHenry, DeKalb, Kendall, Lake and Cook Counties.

We can help you with: