My ex husband has had custody for about 8 yrs. Our daughter has learning disabilites and when we got divorced we didnt want to take her out of the special classes she was in. Now our son is 18, has differences with his dad (his dad can be emotionally/verbally abusive at times) and wants to leave. I dont want to leave our daughter there alone with him. She will be in high school in the fall so I think if she were to change schools then would be the time to do it. I pay child support. Not sure if I need to reduce it now that son is 18 or when he graduates (June 2010). How can I get custody of her, have him pay child support (he lost his job and is just doing odd jobs so that may be hard) without a lawyer? State is Illinois. I am working 2 jobs already just to pay everyday bills and cannot afford a lawyer for this. I know it would cost at least $5000-$7500 with the way lawyers delay things around here so they can make more money! (Our divorce lasted over 2 years and cost me $14,000 and we agreed on everything...it was costly because of lawyer/court delays).Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?Either a mediator that gets you to both agree to terms or the two of you work it out. Once an agreement is made you can petition the court for a change order.
Your support order likely doesnt end when your son turns 18.. but when he leaves school.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?well you dont need a lawyer, you just have to sit down like mature adults and say;
%26quot;our son wishes to stay with me, as he is an adult, that is his decision. I felt that since he was going to live with me full time and visit with you, I might have a few years with our daughter as well. She would be changing schools anyway and if she feels comfortable with the change we can have her live with me until you get a steady job again. We could also do a trial over the summer. If you want some time with her, we can have her visit you on the weekends and all breaks...ect.%26quot;
You sit down and maturely talk bout it...obviously dont mention the abusive thing unless you get a lawyer involved...but technically speaking...you dont need lawyers to get divorced...if both parties are mature and civil (dont have to be best friends or anything) than you can savge a lot of money.
your husband should give you about waht you give him each month for support...cut in half for your son sinc he is 18 now? If you need more for one thing or another you communicate and say this is waht I am doing and it is not enough and I need x amount more and I would appreciate if you could give me a hand...
its a matter of you being civil and nice and he following suit...you cannot control him but it is a start and its worth a tryChanging Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?If he can prove that the child is doing well in his care then it's unlikely that a judge will change custody because you're fighting it after 8 years.
Your child support obligation to your son will end the month he graduates high school unless otherwise ordered, so make sure you call your child support agency in June and let them know that the child will be graduating.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?Well if you both come up with an agreement you wont need a lawyer.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?When your son graduates if he no longer is going to school the child support stops. As for your daughter you might have a fight on your hands so you will have to get a lawyer. If he agrees to the custody than have a paralegal draft up a custody order this would be cheaper and you would not have to go to court to do it. However your support for your daughter will continue until you get custody. So when your son is finished school cut the child support in half. If you get custody of your daughter he will have to pay support of some sort he is not off the hook on that.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?I'd use a lawyer.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?the only way you are going to do this without an attorney is if he agrees.. and if you did get an attorney your chance of winning custody back by court decision after EIGHT years is virtually impossible unless you can prove the father seriously unfit.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?If your son isn't going to school after he reaches 18, then your payments should be reduced. If he agrees that you take over custody, then you can find the forms online, or ask the clerk of courts where you could get them. Some items like that staples even sells. If he doesn't agree then you will need a lawyer. You will have to go to court to decide.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?You can go to Family Court and file your own Petition to Modify Custody. The court will schedule a hearing (you don't need an attorney for any of this) and then you can state your case as to why you believe it would be in the %26quot;best interests of the child%26quot; to be with you instead of remaining with her father. As for the 18 year old son. You can also file a Petition to Modify the Support Order since your son has attained the age of majority. He will be removed from the support order. And, if custody is changed to you, then your ex-husband will be required to pay support for his daughter. If custody remains with the father, the court may take judicial notice that even though your son has attained the age of majority, the expenses for your daughter have increased and the support order would remain the same. I would suggest that you file the petitions noted above and be proactive in the custody of your children. This will just take your time to do all this, but not have to pay for an attorney to do it at attorney rates.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?go online and get the child support worksheet.
you child support obligation will most likely be reduced due to your son attaining majority age.
petition the court for a Modification of Parenting Time and Modification of Child Support based on your parenting time change.
Just fill out the worksheets and file on your own. You don't need to pay a lawyer big bucks when they could care less.Changing Custody Without a Lawyer (IL)?The easy answer first: You need to continue paying for your son until he has graduated high school. There are stipulations where you pay while they are in college too, but I haven't dealt with those, so I can't say for sure.
You would have to take him back to court unfortunately to file for custody. You have to show just cause as to why after 8 years it's better for the CHILD to be with you now instead of with her father whom she's be with for years. The courts can arrange to have a lawyer represent you if you can't afford one, but the burden in on you as to why the sudden change of heart, and the judge isn't going to accept %26quot;I don't want our daughter there alone with him%26quot; as a reason to change custody.
