What Are Signs It Might Be Time to Petition for Primary Child Custody?
Posted on June 26, 2020 in Child Custody
After your divorce, if certain circumstances change with regards to your co-parent, you might want to consider the modification of child custody orders. However, doing something like petitioning for sole custody of your children or significantly altering parenting time, child visitation rights, allocation of parental responsibilities, or parenting plans can often be a contentious and complex legal issue. You need to be sure you have a strong case to request such modifications. Below are some signs it might be time for you to request modifications of child custody orders or other orders pertinent to parenting.
5 Warning Indicators That Child Custody Modification Is a Good Idea
While many indications that you might need to assume sole custody of your children are more obvious than others, there are still plenty of warning signs—both blatant and subtle—that now might be the right time to take legal action. Overall, the most important thing to consider with any order modifications related to your kids is whether making such changes will be in your children’s best interests. Here are some of the most significant reasons to seek such modifications:
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You suspect your co-parent is abusing your children, be it physically, sexually, or in any other way that causes harm to them. In most cases, if your children are found to be in immediate harm’s way, this will expedite such modification orders.
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Your co-parent has been convicted of a crime that will prevent him or her from fulfilling parental obligations. If the co-parent is sentenced to prison time, then obviously changes will need to be made to the child custody orders. These will usually be uncontested since there is really not any argument the co-parent can make against most of these modifications.
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Your co-parent has a substance abuse or other behavioral problem that prevents him or her from upholding parental responsibilities. For instance, if your co-parent now has a drug addiction that puts your children in jeopardy or prevents your co-parent from parenting properly and safely, then the children need to be taken out of that situation. In addition, if your co-parent enters an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program, then the orders will also need to change.
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Your co-parent violates the court orders set in place for your shared parenting objectives. Especially if done repeatedly, lack of compliance with court orders and refusal to adhere to the guidelines set forth in your divorce agreement and original child custody orders might mean that the other co-parent needs to be excised from your children’s care for negligence and non-compliance.
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If any other circumstances change in your co-parent’s life that could significantly affect your children’s best interests, then modification of child custody orders might be necessary. Possible other examples of this include your co-parent’s relocation to a different state, making agreed-upon visitation rights/parenting time and frequencies impossible to achieve. Also, a change in your co-parent’s environment may make it increasingly difficult for your children to have their needs met when under the co-parent’s care.
Contact a Wheaton, IL Child Custody Order Modification Lawyer
If any of the aforementioned scenarios describe your current circumstances with your co-parent—or if anything your co-parent is currently doing might not be in your children’s best interests, you have the right to seek modification orders for child custody/allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation rights/parenting time, or any other number of parenting concerns. To do this, contact a DuPage County family law attorney at 630-871-1002 for a free consultation. The compassionate professionals at Andrew Cores Family Law Group will develop, file, and argue the appropriate modification orders to safeguard your children’s well-being.
Sources:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K602.9.htm
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=8300000&SeqEnd=10000000
https://www.womenslaw.org/laws/general/custody/changing-final-custody-order
