Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Custody and Divorce

Your inquiry states that the court has entered a child custody order, but it doesn�t state the context of the proceeding (e.g., dissolution, paternity, modification, domestic violence, shelter care, guardianship, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, etc.), nor the character of the order (e.g., permanent, temporary, custodian under placement by DCFS, etc.). And I am not familiar with what you refer to as "ancilarys." This information might make a big difference. If you had a lawyer in the proceeding where you obtained custody, you should direct your questions to him/her.

You ask what the next step should be to get the children to stay with you. Depending upon the terms and language of the actual court custody order, you may be entitled to simply pick the children up and take them home, and in that regard, depending on the custody order, you might be able to call upon the police to assist you to obtain possession.

No matter what the custody order says, you should never act rashly regarding your children. Indeed, before you do anything which creates a conflict, seek a lawyer�s advice. Child custody matters are serious business. And the hearts, minds, and well-being of the children are also at stake.

As for whether you are entitled to a change of judge because the judge lives near you, we don�t think so. It takes more than that to show that a judge would be biased, interested, or prejudiced.

This e-mail reply does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. We provide responses to email questions for information purposes only. The information is provided as a convenience, and we make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information. In sum, the information you obtain from this email is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.

To obtain legal advice, you should personally consult an attorney for individual professional services regarding your own situation. This is because, before rendering legal advice, attorneys have many, many points to consider. In most circumstances, before advising a client, other pertinent information would need to be elicited and considered. A transaction, legal dispute, factual issue, or point of law which at first seems simple may upon investigation be found to be quite involved. The individual client�s needs, problems, resources, goals, and expectations must also be measured.

Indeed, depending upon the nature of the legal matter, one-size-fits-all answers to legal questions may be very risky. For this reasons, we recommend that decisions in legal matters be based upon a personal, professional attorney-client relation. Please permit us to repeat: The information you obtain from this email is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice, and our email response to an email question does not create a personal, professional attorney-client relation.