Hyde Park, IL Black Family Lawyers

Respected Lawyers Working with Black Families to Resolve Legal Concerns in Hyde Park, Illinois

Family law issues are deeply personal, affecting the lives of parents, children, and other family members. For Black families in Hyde Park, determining how to approach these matters can be difficult. They will want to work with an attorney who understands their lives and who can address their unique family relationships. The Foray Hurst Firm offers family law representation that centers the experiences of Black clients, addressing their legal concerns and focusing on helping them maintain long-term stability.

Addressing Unique Family Law Concerns in the Black Community

Some common concerns that Black families may face when dealing with issues related to parents, children, or other family members include:

• Raising Children With Multiple Partners: Managing parenting responsibilities across multiple households can be difficult. The Foray Hurst Firm helps clients address issues related to child custody, visitation, and child support, ensuring that each child's needs are addressed through enforceable legal arrangements.
• Unmarried Long-Term Partnerships: When a couple has remained unmarried for many years, separating their lives can be complex, especially when they share children, property, or financial responsibilities. In a divorce, the laws for property division ensure that both spouses will receive a fair and equitable share of their marital property. However, these laws will not apply to unmarried couples, and resolving disputes over property ownership can become more difficult. The Foray Hurst Firm assists clients in resolving disputes regarding shared assets and parenting responsibilities when long-term relationships end.
• Unpaid Child Support: Children have the right to receive financial support from both parents. When child support goes unpaid, a parent may struggle to provide for their child's needs. In addition to establishing child support obligations in divorce cases or situations where unmarried parents are separated, The Foray Hurst Firm helps clients enforce child support orders and recover back child support that is owed.
• Domestic Violence: Abuse within families can put children or other family members at risk. Swift and sensitive legal intervention may be required to put a stop to abuse and protect the safety of a person or their children. Black survivors of domestic violence may face additional barriers when seeking help, such as fear of biased policing or distrust of the court system. The Foray Hurst Firm provides compassionate support to clients in these cases, helping to obtain orders of protection and working to ensure that child custody or other family law concerns are addressed correctly.

Establishing Paternity and Protecting Parental Rights

In cases where Black parents are unmarried, steps will need to be taken to name a man as a child's father. Paternity establishes a legal relationship between a father and child, which can be essential for securing child support, gaining parental rights, or establishing child custody orders. The Foray Hurst Firm assists clients with:

• Voluntary Acknowledgment: We help parents complete legally binding paternity acknowledgment forms and file them with the appropriate state agencies.
• Court-Ordered DNA Testing: When paternity is disputed, The Foray Hurst Firm represents clients in proceedings to establish parentage through court-supervised genetic testing.
• Parenting Rights and Responsibilities: After paternity has been established, The Foray Hurst Firm can help clients resolve concerns related to child custody and visitation and put the proper child support orders in place.

Resolving Child Custody Disputes

Disagreements about the role that parents will play in children's lives, where children will live, or other issues related to child custody can lead to ongoing stress for both parents and children. The Foray Hurst Firm approaches these cases with a firm understanding of Illinois law and a deep appreciation for the importance of co-parenting arrangements that promote a child's stability. Our lawyers can help clients address issues related to:

• Parenting Time (Visitation): Determining how children will divide their time between parents is often a source of disagreement. The Foray Hurst Firm works with clients to create parenting plans that are practical while focusing on children's best interests.
• Allocation of Parental Responsibilities: Decision-making authority addresses different issues, such as education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. The Foray Hurst Firm helps clients determine whether different areas of authority may be shared by parents or allocated to one parent.
• Modification of Custody Orders: When a family's circumstances have changed, The Foray Hurst Firm assists in modifying existing custody arrangements through the courts. We can address any necessary changes to parenting time schedules or decision-making authority, and we can also provide guidance on the steps that will need to be followed during a parental relocation.

Legal Assistance in Other Areas of Family Law

The Foray Hurst Firm works with clients to address a broad range of family law issues, including:

• Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements: Couples who wish to clarify financial arrangements before or during a marriage can benefit from clear and enforceable agreements. The Foray Hurst Firm can help negotiate and draft these contracts to ensure that they will be enforceable in a potential divorce.
• Adoption: In cases involving private adoption, step-parent adoption, or adoption of a relative's child, The Foray Hurst Firm can help clients take the correct legal steps to secure parental rights and responsibilities.
• LGBTQ+ Family Issues: Our attorneys work to protect the rights of people who are involved in same-sex relationships or who may face biases due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. We provide compassionate representation in family law cases to ensure that people in the LGBTQ+ community can resolve legal concerns effectively.

Contact Our Hyde Park Family Law Attorneys

Whether you are dealing with a custody issue, seeking to enforce child support, or confronting domestic violence, The Foray Hurst Firm is here to support your family through every stage of the legal process. Reach out to our Hyde Park Black family law attorneys today at 312-702-1293 to arrange a consultation and get the legal help you need.