Lake Forest Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where a Lake Forest case is heard

Lake Forest is in Lake County, so a dissolution or parenting case involving a Lake Forest resident is filed in the 19th Judicial Circuit. Under 750 ILCS 5/104, venue lies in the county where either party resides. Under 750 ILCS 5/401, a judgment of dissolution requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence in the state) before it can be entered.

Family matters are heard at 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. to 5 p.m.

• Family Division courtrooms are on the main level, C-101 through C-107, and on the fourth floor, C-401 and C-402.
• Parking is in the City of Waukegan garage and in lots D, E and F.
• Building details are published by the circuit at 19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us.

Confirm your courtroom on the notice or with the clerk before your first appearance. Relief you need while the case is pending is requested in the same Family Division case: temporary support or exclusive possession of the marital residence under 750 ILCS 5/501(c-2), and temporary allocation of parental responsibilities under 750 ILCS 5/603.5.

What Lake County asks of parents

Two requirements shape the early months of a Lake County parenting case: a parenting education course and, where parenting issues remain unresolved, mediation.

Parenting education. Illinois provides for a court-approved parenting education program under 750 ILCS 5/404.1, and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924 governs programs of this kind. In the 19th Circuit, the program is the Family Parenting Program through the College of Lake County — the Children First four-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.
• Registration: (847) 543-2185. Details are posted on the circuit's Family Parenting page.

Register early. Sessions run on set days, and finishing before a status date removes one item the court is waiting on.

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 here covers parenting time, decision-making and relocation disputes before a contested hearing, 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. See the circuit's Family Mediation page. If an exemption ground applies to you, raise it early rather than waiting for a mediation date.

Parenting plan. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. It addresses significant decision-making under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. Where conduct seriously endangers a child, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows the court to restrict parental responsibilities.

Money. Property is divided under 750 ILCS 5/503, maintenance is addressed under 750 ILCS 5/504 including the guideline formula at 504(b-1), and child support is calculated on the income shares model under 750 ILCS 5/505. Each turns on complete financial disclosure, so gather account statements, tax returns and pay records now.

After judgment. Support and allocation judgments can be modified under 750 ILCS 5/510. A move from Lake County is a relocation under 750 ILCS 5/609.2 when it exceeds 25 miles (50 miles elsewhere in Illinois, 25 miles out of state), which requires notice and, if contested, court approval.

Local help in Lake County

Legal aid. Prairie State Legal Services serves Lake County from its Waukegan office at (815) 965-2134. Intake and eligibility information is at pslegal.org. If you may qualify, call before your first court date; screening takes time.

Domestic violence. A Safe Place runs a hotline at (800) 600-7233 and provides order-of-protection accompaniment at the Waukegan courthouse, so you do not have to walk in alone. More at asafeplaceforhelp.org. Statewide, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338; see the Illinois Attorney General's hotline page.

750 ILCS 60/214 sets out the remedies a court can order in an order of protection, and 750 ILCS 60/217 allows an emergency order without prior notice to the other party. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first, then the hotline.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices with Beermann LLP at 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. The office phone is (312) 621-4394. For a Lake Forest client, the case proceeds in Waukegan; the Chicago office is where the file is built.

The practice 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. Jonathan holds cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH), which matters when the dispute is about what a device or account actually shows.

How to start. Prospects begin with a short online form. The office then runs a conflict check and calls back, and a 15-minute screening call can be booked online. The screening call is short by design: it establishes what your situation is, whether this office can take it, and what should happen next.

A reasonable sequence this week: complete the intake form, register for the Children First course if you have minor children, and start collecting the financial documents you already have access to.