Custody Formal Hearing

David Siegel: Is there going to be a formal hearing in Aurora?

Jesse Barrientes: Oh, there will be, yes.

David Siegel: Will the parties have to testify?

Jesse Barrientes: They will have to testify.

David Siegel: Will the child have to testify?

Jesse Barrientes: Generally they don’t want the child to testify. It’s a bad idea you know to put your child against one parent against the other.

David Siegel: Can the court demand that the child testify?

Jesse Barrientes: The court could do what they call - depending on the age of the child the court could also do an in camera interview with the child.

David Siegel: The child is 11 let’s say.

Jesse Barrientes: They can do an in camera interview with the child.

David Siegel: In camera means?

Jesse Barrientes: In camera means back in chambers where nobody else is there except the two attorneys and it’s kind of informal.

David Siegel: Away from the intimidation of the court room.

Jesse Barrientes: Away from the intimidation. Away from the judge, you know the judge stepping down off of his bench. You know I don’t think judges really like to do that unless they have to. Although I know in Cook County there are a few judges that do it with quite frequency.

David Siegel: Well there could be some egregious situations where one of the parties is telling the child you know you’re not going to be able to see your father until he starts doing this, that, and the other. So if that evidence were to come out that would be contemptible I believe on the part of the spouse who’s denying visitation. Let’s move on to something else, Jesse, that involves litigation and that is asset dissipation. When you’ve got a married couple that are going through a divorce and all of a sudden the bank account that might have had $15 thousand in it joint is down to $500. Where did that $14,500 go? One of the spouses took it. What do we do?

Divorce Book

Child custody

Written response on a child custody filing

Custody agreements

Parenting class requirement

Divorce court costs & fees

Guardian ad litem cost

604B evaluation

Fighting over child custody

Visitation

Rule to show cause

Custody Formal Hearing