Barrington Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where a Barrington case is heard

Barrington is served by the Rolling Meadows Courthouse (Third Municipal District) at 2121 Euclid Ave., Rolling Meadows, IL 60008, phone (847) 818-3000, open 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Domestic relations cases are heard there. The Third Municipal District also serves Arlington Heights, Barrington Hills, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Wheeling, among others. See the Clerk of the Circuit Court's suburban districts page.

A Cook County resident may also file downtown with the Domestic Relations Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602. The presiding judge's courtroom is 1905 and the clerk's Domestic Relations office is Room 802. The division line is (312) 603-3025; the clerk's line is (312) 603-6441. Details are on the Domestic Relations Division page. The suburban courthouse is the local option; downtown remains available.

Two threshold points. Venue under 750 ILCS 5/104 is the county where either party resides. For a judgment of dissolution, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence in the state) before judgment.

Barrington straddles a county line

Barrington straddles Cook and Lake counties, with small portions in Kane and McHenry. Where you file follows your address, not the village name.

• If your Barrington address is in Cook County, the Rolling Meadows Courthouse or the Daley Center applies, and the Cook County programs described below apply to your case.
• If your Barrington address is in Lake County, you file in Waukegan, and Lake County's own parenting-education and mediation requirements govern — not the Cook County programs on this page.

Confirm which county your parcel sits in before you file or pay a filing fee. Under 750 ILCS 5/104, venue is the county where either party resides, so if you and your spouse are on opposite sides of the county line, there may be more than one proper county. That choice affects the courthouse, the assigned calendar and the local programs you will be ordered into, so it is worth deciding deliberately rather than by default.

What Cook County requires of parents

Parenting education. Cook County's program is Focus on Children, required of litigating parents in dissolution and parentage cases under 750 ILCS 5/404.1 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924. It is a four-hour in-person class, with Spanish sessions twice a month and interpreters by arrangement, and an online alternative, Children In Between Online. The cost is $50 unless waived by the judge. Register through Family Court Services at (312) 603-1540 or DRD.family@cookcountyil.gov with a copy of the court order. See the parent education page. If the $50 is a real problem, say so to the judge rather than skipping the class.

Mediation. Mediation is mandatory for the initial allocation of parental responsibilities, modification of allocation, relocation, and non-parent visitation. It is discretionary for financial and discovery disputes. If you and the other parent cannot agree on a mediator for a child-related dispute, Family Court Services handles it; otherwise you may use a court-certified or agreed private mediator. Contact (312) 603-1540 or read the mediation program page. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905 governs these mediation programs.

A parenting plan. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. Start drafting early — school-year and holiday schedules, transportation, and how decisions get made. Decision-making is allocated under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7.

Money. Child support follows the income shares calculation in 750 ILCS 5/505; maintenance, including the guideline formula, is 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1); property is divided under 750 ILCS 5/503. Gather pay records, tax returns, account statements and business records now, because everything in those sections runs on documented income and assets.

If you need something before the case ends. Temporary support and exclusive possession of the marital residence are available under 750 ILCS 5/501, including 501(c-2). Temporary allocation of parental responsibilities is 750 ILCS 5/603.5. Where a child is seriously endangered, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows restrictions. After judgment, support and allocation judgments are modified under 750 ILCS 5/510, and moving with a child is governed by 750 ILCS 5/609.2, which for a Cook County household sets the threshold at more than 25 miles.

Local and county help

Family Court Services — 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60602, (312) 603-1540. Parent education, mediation, evaluations, emergency intervention and children's support groups. See the Family Court Services page.

Safety. The WINGS Program hotline is (847) 221-5680 (wingsprogram.com). The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338. Orders of protection and their remedies are set out at 750 ILCS 60/214; emergency orders without prior notice are available under 750 ILCS 60/217.

Legal aid. Legal Aid Chicago at (312) 341-1070, and the CARPLS legal aid hotline at (312) 738-9200. If cost is the obstacle, call one of these before you decide to proceed without any advice.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 621-4394. The work covers divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, child support and maintenance, orders of protection, and post-decree enforcement, with particular experience in cases that turn on financial records and digital evidence — concealed assets and crypto, message and parenting-app records, spyware and account intrusions. He holds cybersecurity credentials: CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC and EC-Council CEH.

How to start. Prospects begin with a short online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls back, and a 15-minute screening call can be booked online. Before that call, it helps to know your Barrington address's county, whether anything has been filed or served, whether children are involved, and roughly what income and accounts are in the picture.