Highland Park Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where Highland Park cases are heard

Highland Park is in Lake County, so a dissolution or parenting case for a Highland Park resident is handled by the 19th Judicial Circuit. Under 750 ILCS 5/104, venue lies in the county where either party resides, which means a Highland Park address supports filing in Lake County even if the other spouse has moved elsewhere.

The building you will be going to is the Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building, 18 N. County St., Waukegan, IL 60085. The main number is (847) 377-3600, and the building is open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• Family Division courtrooms are on the main level, numbered C-101 to C-107, and on the fourth floor, C-401 and C-402.
• Parking is available in the City of Waukegan garage and in lots D, E, and F.
• Confirm your courtroom and start time before you travel; the assignment on your notice controls.

Before a judgment of dissolution can be entered, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence in the state). If you recently moved to Highland Park from out of state, that clock affects timing, not whether you can file and begin seeking temporary relief.

If you need something decided before the case is over — temporary support, or exclusive possession of the marital residence under 750 ILCS 5/501(c-2) — that is a motion you can bring early. Temporary parenting arrangements are addressed under 750 ILCS 5/603.5.

Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building information

What the Lake County court requires of parents

If you have minor children, two requirements shape the early part of a Lake County case: a parenting education course and, where parenting issues are contested, mediation.

Parenting education. 750 ILCS 5/404.1 provides for a court-approved parenting education program in dissolution cases, and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924 addresses those programs. In the 19th Circuit, the program is the Family Parenting Program at the College of Lake County — the Children First 4-hour course. It applies to parents with minor children who have filed for dissolution and to parents in post-judgment parenting petitions.

• Format: in person at CLC Waukegan, Grayslake, and Vernon Hills (Saturday mornings, Monday and Thursday evenings), or online.
• Cost: $60 per person in person, $100 online. Fee waivers are available for inability to pay.
• Register: (847) 543-2185. Family Parenting Program

Take the course early. It is a requirement either way, and completing it removes one item from the list before your first substantive hearing.

Mediation. Local Court Rule 4-3.19 requires mediation where parenting issues are unresolved, and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905 governs circuit mediation programs. Mediation in Lake County covers parenting time, decision-making, and relocation disputes before a contested hearing, and is conducted by court-approved family mediators from a roster published by the circuit. Exemptions exist for domestic violence, intimidation, substance abuse, child abuse, mental illness, and cognitive impairment — if any of those apply, say so early rather than waiting for a mediation order. Family Mediation in the 19th Circuit

The parenting plan. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. Decision-making is allocated under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. Where a parent's conduct seriously endangers a child, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows restrictions.

Money. Property is divided under 750 ILCS 5/503. Maintenance, including the guideline formula, is governed by 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1), and child support by the income shares calculation in 750 ILCS 5/505. All of these depend on complete financial disclosure, so start gathering pay records, tax returns, account statements, and business records now.

Moving with a child. Lake County is named in 750 ILCS 5/609.2, so a move of more than 25 miles from a Highland Park residence — or 25 miles to an out-of-state address — is a relocation requiring notice and, if contested, court approval. Post-judgment changes to support or an allocation judgment go through 750 ILCS 5/510.

Local help for Highland Park residents

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

• A Safe Place — hotline (800) 600-7233. A Safe Place provides order-of-protection accompaniment at the Waukegan courthouse, so you do not have to walk into that building alone. asafeplaceforhelp.org
• Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline — (877) 863-6338, statewide. Illinois Attorney General hotline listing
• Prairie State Legal Services (Waukegan office) — (815) 965-2134, for people who qualify financially. pslegal.org

The remedies a court can order on an order of protection are listed in 750 ILCS 60/214, and an emergency order can be entered without prior notice to the other party under 750 ILCS 60/217. If you are filing on your own, A Safe Place's courthouse advocacy is the practical first call.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Phone: (312) 621-4394. Highland Park cases are filed and heard in Waukegan; the office appears in Lake County matters from the Chicago office.

How intake works. Prospective clients start with a short online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls back, and a 15-minute screening call can be booked online. The screening call is for figuring out whether the matter is a fit and what the next step should be; no attorney-client relationship exists until an engagement is signed.

Scope of the practice: 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. Mr. Steele holds cybersecurity credentials: CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, and EC-Council CEH.

What to do this week. If you have children, call (847) 543-2185 and register for the Children First course; ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a problem. Start a folder of financial documents. If safety is the issue, call A Safe Place at (800) 600-7233 first. Then submit the intake form so the conflict check can run and you can get a callback.