Orland Park Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where an Orland Park case is heard

Orland Park sits in Cook County, so venue under 750 ILCS 5/104 is proper in Cook County if either you or your spouse lives here. Within Cook County you have two filing locations to consider.

• Bridgeview Courthouse (Fifth Municipal District), 10220 S. 76th Ave., Bridgeview, IL 60455. Phone (708) 974-6500. Hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Domestic relations cases are heard here, and the district serves Orland Park along with Alsip, Bridgeview, Burbank, Burr Ridge, Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, the Cook portion of Hinsdale, Hometown, La Grange, Lemont, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Tinley Park, Western Springs and Worth.
• Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602, home of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The presiding judge's courtroom is 1905 and the clerk's Domestic Relations office is Room 802. Division phone (312) 603-3025; clerk (312) 603-6441.

A Cook County resident may file downtown at the Daley Center or, living in one of the suburban municipal districts, in that district's courthouse. For Orland Park, Bridgeview is the local option and the downtown Domestic Relations Division remains available. If you are unsure which is better for your schedule, your witnesses, or the kind of relief you need, decide that before you file rather than after.

To get a judgment of dissolution, one spouse must meet the residency requirement in 750 ILCS 5/401: 90 days in Illinois (or military presence) before judgment.

Court locations and district assignments: Clerk of the Circuit Court, suburban districts.

What Cook County requires of you

Parenting education. Cook County's court-approved 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; an online alternative, Children In Between Online, is available. The cost is $50 unless the judge waives it. Register through Family Court Services at (312) 603-1540 or DRD.family@cookcountyil.gov, with a copy of your court order. Details: Parent education program.

Mediation. Mediation is mandatory in Cook County for 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. Program information: Mediation program for domestic relations cases.

Parenting plan deadline. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. Start drafting early; the plan is what the court works from when allocating significant decision-making under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7.

Financial disclosure. 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 follows the income shares method in 750 ILCS 5/505. All of that runs on documents: pay records, tax returns, account statements, business records. Gather them now.

If you need something before the case is over. 750 ILCS 5/501 covers temporary relief, including temporary support and exclusive possession of the marital residence under 501(c-2). 750 ILCS 5/603.5 covers temporary allocation of parental responsibilities, and 750 ILCS 5/603.10 addresses restriction of parental responsibilities where there is serious endangerment.

Later changes. Support and allocation judgments can be modified under 750 ILCS 5/510. Moving with a child is governed by 750 ILCS 5/609.2, which for a Cook County parent means notice and court involvement for a move of more than 25 miles, or more than 25 miles out of state.

Help available near Orland Park

If you are in danger. The Crisis Center for South Suburbia operates a 24-hour hotline at (708) 429-7233 (crisisctr.org). The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338 (Attorney General's hotline list). Orders of protection and the remedies available are set out at 750 ILCS 60/214; emergency orders without prior notice are at 750 ILCS 60/217.

Free and low-cost legal help. Legal Aid Chicago, (312) 341-1070, legalaidchicago.org. The CARPLS legal aid hotline, (312) 738-9200, carpls.org.

Family Court Services. Located at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60602, phone (312) 603-1540. It handles parent education, mediation, evaluations, emergency intervention and children's support groups. Overview: Family Court Services.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. Phone (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. Jonathan holds cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH).

How to start this week. Fill out the short online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls you back. You can also book a 15-minute screening call online. Before that call, it helps to have: the county each spouse lives in, whether children are involved and their school arrangements, a rough list of accounts and debts, and any court paperwork you have already been served with.

If your case will be heard in Bridgeview, say so at intake so scheduling accounts for it. If you would rather file downtown at the Daley Center, raise that on the screening call.