Filing for a Fault Divorce and Determining Child Custody
The goal for most divorcing couples is to amicably split and agree on divorce terms so both parties can move on with their lives. However, if one party contests the divorce, the proceedings could be drawn out in court and take several months before the divorce is final. In fact, it isn't uncommon for a contested divorce to take up to 18 months to be finalized. Usually if a divorce is contested it is over the custody of minor children, but it could also be that one party does not want to be divorced from their spouse.
A spouse can have an attorney from Colosimo Law Office file for a "fault" divorce in Illinois for several reasons, but the court usually doesn't take the named fault into account when the assets are divided or when setting an alimony amount to be paid. However, when it comes to custody of minor children or visitation rights, the fault named by the filing party might be considered in those cases. Some of the faults, or grounds, for divorce include bigamy, adultery, abandonment, drug or alcohol addiction, attempts on the other spouse's life, extreme physical and mental cruelty or passing a sexually transmitted disease to a spouse. An attorney from Colosimo Website can offer advice to their clients about filing for divorce based on one of these faults.
Normally, the grounds are not considered except in deciding visitation or the custody of the couple's children. When the divorce is disputed and the custody of minor children is also disputed, the judge hearing the case will assign custody by what is in the best interest of the child. However, "the best interest of the child" is an ambiguous term as there are no set standards for judging what those best interests might be, so it may end up being decided based on a judge's beliefs.
Often the age of the child is taken into account and a judge may believe younger children need to be with the mother, especially if they are the primary caregiver. If the reason for the divorce is related to domestic violence, especially if the child has also been abused, judges will usually limit or sever the accused parent's contact with the child. To find out more information about filing for divorce based on fault, interested parties can to go www.colosimolawoffice.com and determine if a fault divorce is the best way to proceed in separating from their spouse.
