P. Andre Katz understands matters of parental responsibility and
custody well, having acquired extensive knowledge and expertise on the subject
during more than 25 years of service in the field of family law. A respected
family law attorney, Andre Katz recently chaired the Illinois Family Study Committee
(IFLSC), overseeing the review and revisions of then-existing Illinois marriage
and marriage dissolution laws that had direct impact on how parental
responsibilities and custody issues are viewed and litigated in and out of
court.
Per the recommendations of Andre Katz and the IFLSC,
significant changes were made to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage Act (IMDMA) and the Parentage Act by the Illinois General Assembly,
thereby altering how courts regard custody, visitation and the “Allocation of
parental responsibilities.”
One major change to
parental responsibilities is this allocation of responsibility. According to Paul Andre Katz, “family law is no longer a winner-take-all litigation process as it
pertains to parents’ decision making.” Rather than award custody or visitation
to one parent or another, as was the case under the old iteration of the IMDMA,
courts will instead allocate “parental responsibilities” and “parenting time,”
doing so based on the unique experience/expertise of each parent and what is in
the best interest of the child.
