Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Being scared is difficult. If he's the sold breadwinner you may be entitled to "separate maintenance" and to receive "child support" meaning he pays you something like alimony pending the divorce and then afterwards, and under Illinois law he may even have to pay the attorney fees for your attorney. The problem is he may not make enough to support two households and this could be devastating on you (or him, meaning both of you) financially. What happens to the child can not be guaranteed if there is a contest but moms still have the edge in custody (subject to joint custody) unless there is something going on that would be dangerous for the child. And while I understand what you're saying , I strongly recommend that you don't use the word "odds" when you're talking about the future of your child. The other thing of course is not knowing his temperment and how he would react if you went and found an attorney; considering the way he's already intimidated you, I can certainly see why you are scared..... Good luck.