Lake County Illinois Family Law Blog

Some residents of Lake County, Illinois, may realize that they need to live separately from their spouses and want the necessary legal protection to be able to do so safely and securely. However, for religious, financial or emotional reasons, or some combination of these reasons, they may not prefer a full blown divorce.

As is the case with other states, Illinois law allows a couple to obtain a court order for legal separation. One can think of this process as a middle ground between spouses just agreeing informally to live apart and a traditional divorce, in which a couple's marriage ends in the eyes of the state.

Parents in Lake County, Illinois, and other parts of the suburbs of Northern Chicago may know enough about how child support works in this state to recognize that it in many cases follows a formula.

In other words, while parents might quibble about the numbers that should go in to a child support calculation, once these numbers are settled, the amount a parent must pay, to a great extent, is what it is.

It is easy to lose sight of the big picture in the midst of a separation or divorce. Raw feelings of anger, disappointment, and sadness can leave men and women itching for a fight and taking every opportunity to talk about what a poor spouse their ex was during the course of their marriage. 

Sometimes these feelings and accusations find their way to child custody and parenting time negotiations, where parents feel entitled to a more favorable outcome based on their virtues and their ex's perceived lack thereof.