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Family Law

Legal issues involving your family are some of the most difficult challenges to navigate alone. At Scott W. Sheen & Associates, we are committed to helping families with their highly disputed issues. Our firm is here to help you secure a favorable resolution of your family law issue with compassion, respect, and a breadth of legal experience.

Our family law attorneys act as your strong advocate and adviser throughout your case. We continuously seek to resolve disagreements within the family structure and protect your interests when faced with life-changing family decisions.

Divorce

The emotional strain of divorce can be difficult for anyone to bear. At Scott W. Sheen & Associates, we recognize that divorce is not just a legal issue but a life-changing experience. Our family law attorneys understand your concerns and will guide you through the complexities of divorce. We will look at your case with objectivity and compassion to determine a course of action that will best benefit you and your children.

In Illinois, there is no waiting period to file a petition for divorce. However, you must be a legal resident of the state for 90 days. During the divorce proceedings, the judge needs to find irreconcilable differences that “have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.” The court must also determine that reconciliation efforts have failed or that future reconciliation would not be in the family’s best interest.

Parenting Plans

A parenting plan is a court order awarding the parental rights and responsibilities for one’s children. The purpose of a parenting plan is to address all the issues involved in the child’s welfare, including the allocation of health, education, religion, extracurricular activities, and parenting time.

When the parents of a child have a cordial relationship and communicate well with each other, they may be able to develop a parenting plan to determine the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time for their child. However, not all parents can come to mutually agreeable terms.

If you and your ex-spouse want different things for your children, it is best to seek assistance from an experienced family law attorney. Scott W. Sheen & Associates offers knowledgeable and caring guidance in complicated family matters. We have helped countless families find a schedule and develop parenting plans that balance parental rights with the best interest of the children involved.

A parenting plan is a court order awarding the parental rights and responsibilities for one’s children. The purpose of a parenting plan is to address all the issues involved in the child’s welfare, including the allocation of health, education, religion, extracurricular activities, and parenting time.

When the parents of a child have a cordial relationship and communicate well with each other, they may be able to develop a parenting plan to determine the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time for their child. However, not all parents can come to mutually agreeable terms.

If you and your ex-spouse want different things for your children, it is best to seek assistance from an experienced family law attorney. Scott W. Sheen & Associates offers knowledgeable and caring guidance in complicated family matters. We have helped countless families find a schedule and develop parenting plans that balance parental rights with the best interest of the children involved.

Parentage

Parentage is the legal relationship between a parent and a child of unwed parties. Parentage cases are filed by either the mother or the father of a child born out of wedlock. Her giving birth establishes a mother’s parentage. However, a father’s parentage must be legally established in Illinois. In order to enforce a father’s rights you must file a case and seek allocations of parental responsibilities.

Scott W. Sheen & Associates is prepared to address the complex issues associated with parentage cases. Typically, a father will bring the parentage case to establish that he is the legal father so that he may request parental responsibilities or parenting time with the child. A mother will bring a parentage case to prove that a man is the child’s father so she can initiate the legal proceedings for child support.

Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Cases involving the allocation of parental responsibilities can be highly disruptive and emotional for any family. From the court’s perspective, children are best served by having two involved, fit parents. While some families can easily arrange a 50/50 split, many families require more intricate parenting plans. At Scott W. Sheen & Associates, we work with our clients to find creative solutions based on their unique family circumstances.

We offer sensitive, strategic advocacy focused on the rights of our clients and their children. Our attorneys take great pride in guiding our clients through their case and educating them on how their decisions regarding parental responsibilities may impact their children’s lives. We take an informed and compassionate approach to understand your needs and concerns. Together, we will find a solution that works for all parties involved and is in the best interest of your children.

DNA Paternity Tests

When a child’s parents are not married at the beginning of the pregnancy or birth, the father’s name is not automatically placed on the birth certificate. This means he is without the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent. He will not have legal rights or established parentage to the child until further action is taken by both the mother and father to establish paternity through DNA testing or agreement of the parties.

Paternity is the legal relationship between a father and his child. The father, mother, or a third-party on behalf of the child must seek a declaration of paternity to legally establish a parent-child relationship with the father. This process gives the father specific parental rights while imposing a legal obligation upon him to provide financial support for the child.

Our experienced attorneys can provide the legal counsel you need, whether you’re a mother who wants to identify your child’s father with a paternity suit or a father who aims to gain allocation of parental rights and rights to parenting time. We also represent those who wish to establish that they are not a father in a given case.

Child Support

In a divorce, parents must consider how their split will emotionally and financially affect their children. They must take responsibility for their children’s financial needs, even after their marriage or relationship has ended. Although parents want the best for their children, child support can be a highly contested subject. Still, it is critical to protect your children’s future.

As family law attorneys, our goal is to help you obtain a fair and reasonable child support agreement that will promote a healthy future for your child. We represent both mothers and fathers who require the creation of an equitable, enforceable support plan that positively contributes to their children’s well-being.

Whether you are trying to initiate child support for the first time or trying to increase or decrease the amount, our experienced attorneys will work to achieve results that are in the best interest of you and your children.

Rights of Single Parents

Parenthood comes with significant responsibilities and individual rights, but single parents often face a unique set of barriers. Being a child’s biological father does not give you parental rights in Illinois. Fathers’ rights do not come automatically and must be granted by the court through a parentage case. This means that, until parentage is established, the father will have no enforceable right to parenting time and will also have no financial commitments to support the child.

Fathers seeking to forge a relationship with their children require an experienced family law attorney for legal guidance.

At Scott W. Sheen & Associates, our attorneys pay close attention to the details of our clients’ individual histories and their children’s needs. We recognize that all single parents, within reason, should have fundamental rights when it comes to maintaining a relationship with their children. We aim to give you the parental rights you deserve while considering the best interest of your children.

Orders of Protection

Domestic violence is one of the most delicate and tragic family matters we take on within our family law practice. Helping victims obtain the protection they need is our utmost priority. Our attorneys provide a compassionate, helping hand with orders of protection for domestic violence matters.

If you are a victim of domestic violence or faced domestic abuse, filing an order for protection should be your first step. Obtaining an enforceable order of protection is another way that you can achieve safety and a sense of security.

Orders of protection generally bar contact with alleged victims. This order places severe restrictions on your alleged abuser’s movements and can even result in them being forced out of the residence and losing parental responsibilities. Scott W. Sheen & Associates helps people obtain orders of protection with immediate action.

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