Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

My stepdaughter would like to file to get custody of her children back from us. DCFS took custody from her and both of the fathers involved. She had a drug problem and disappeared when DSS stepped in and the father was incarcerated during the whole ordeal so DCFS gave us custody, the DCFS case is closed. Since then she has done rehab, he is out of jail and has held a full time job for over a year. We have given them extended visitation over the summer (they live together). We do not object to them getting custody. Our concern is they have a 1 bedroom apartment for 3 children (2 girls 1 boy 5-7-9). Right now when the kids stay there they all sleep in 1 room (as they do in our home) in a set of triple bunk beds. Will a judge transfer custody back under those circumstances? Also the father has not done any rehab at all, although tells us he will pass a drug test; will that be a problem? She wants to be with him, but even so she cannot financially do it without him and he needs her to assist with the children. Neither can do it on their own. We live in cook county, I'm looking for a little guidance, right now we have full discretion over all visitation and our concern is if we go in front of a judge too soon; we will run into more restrictions then we want


Asked on 9/02/14, 8:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sue Roberts-Kurpis, Esq. Law Office of Sue Roberts-Kurpis

The rules require that the children have their own rooms. The minimum that will be required is for the girls to be in one room and the boy in another. It probably wasn't an issue with you because the children were very young when given to you. It will be a definite issue at this time. Until the parents can show sufficient funding to provide more adequate housing and greater stability (i.e., rehab, job history, random drops, marriage(?)), it is unlikely that a change of custody will be made. You could also run into problems because you don't have an adequate number of bedrooms yourself. I don't know how to fix the problem. You may be able to apply for some state assistance for yourself and the children but your daughter is unlikely to be eligible for any similar assistance. You may also be able to go after one or the other father for the payment of child support but it sounds like there may not be any money there.

My advice is not to rock the boat. Changing the status quo will not benefit the children and may cause serious consequences all the way around. Sometimes it is best to leave things be.

You both should probably talk to a lawyer who has experience in dealing with DCFS before you do anything. My advice is to do nothing but a more experienced lawyer might see a way around your situation.

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Answered on 9/03/14, 3:26 am


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