Tools for DuPage County Guardians ad Litem, Therapists and Mediators

A co-parenting app and case tools you can recommend to the DuPage County families you work with, whether you serve as a guardian ad litem, a therapist, or a mediator. Messaging between co-parents is free for both parents, and every message is time-stamped and tamper-evident.

If you serve as a guardian ad litem, a therapist, or a mediator for families in DuPage County, you already know the pattern: two parents, one child, and a record of what happened that lives in two different phones. FamilyCourtHelp.com gives the parents you work with one organized place for co-parent messages, schedules, parenting plans, expenses, and records, so the time they spend with you, and in front of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, Wheaton, goes to the children instead of the screenshots.

Illinois uses its own words, "allocation of parental responsibilities" where many states say custody and "parenting time" where they say visitation, and the tools follow Illinois's terms so the papers parents bring you read the way the court reads them.

Area covered: DuPage County.

Court for custody cases: 18th Judicial Circuit Court (DuPage County), Wheaton.

Appointed for the child: Guardian ad litem.

Custody mediation: Often ordered by the judge.

Parenting coordinators: Set by state law or court rule (Ill. S. Ct. R. 909).

Parenting class: Required statewide.

State family law: Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5).

What Illinois calls custody: allocation of parental responsibilities.

Co-parent messaging (Free): One time-stamped, tamper-evident thread, free for both parents, with a Tone Meter that offers calmer rewrites.

Invite a professional into the conversation (Free): A parent can add a guardian ad litem or mediator to the co-parent conversation with a single-use link.

Parenting plan, built and shared (Free to build): Parents draft a parenting plan and can share it with you to read and comment on.

Verify a chat export (Free): Check that an exported message record (the JSON file) has not been changed. No account needed.

Court-Grade Journal (Paid plan): A dated, no-delete journal; a parent can send you a packet of chosen entries.

Expense Tracker (Paid plan): Shared child costs with receipts; a parent can give you a view-only look.

Parents can create an account and message their co-parent for free, with no credit card. Building a parenting plan is free; sharing, downloading, and printing it, and the tools marked as a paid plan, are part of a monthly plan a parent can start and stop.

For guardians ad litem in DuPage County

In Illinois, the court can appoint a guardian ad litem in a custody case. What the role involves is in the FAQ below.

Nothing here opens a family's account to you on its own. When a parent wants you in, they send a single-use invitation into the co-parent conversation; you join with your own free account, see the full thread and the shared calendar's change requests, and can post. They can also share the parenting plan for you to read and comment on.

For therapists and counselors in DuPage County

Court-involved therapists, reunification therapists, co-parenting counselors, and custody evaluators in DuPage County get no seat in the conversation and no access to accounts. Parents keep their own time-stamped record and decide what to show you, which keeps your role clear. For co-parenting work, the Tone Meter in the free messenger shows a parent how a message will land and offers a calmer version before it is sent.

For mediators and parenting coordinators in DuPage County

In Illinois, custody mediation is often ordered by the judge. Parenting coordinators are set by state law or court rule (Ill. S. Ct. R. 909). The details are in the FAQ below.

Parents can bring you in before the first meeting in DuPage County: a single-use link adds you to the co-parent conversation, and a shared parenting plan lets you read the draft and comment on it. After the session, what was agreed stays in writing in the thread, and schedule changes run through the shared calendar's request and approval record.

Parenting coordinators can be added to a shared plan as a viewer who reads and comments.

Family court programs in DuPage County

Custody cases in DuPage County are heard in the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, Wheaton. The court-connected programs below were checked against official sources.

DuPage County Family Center: County center in Wheaton that provides the court-required parent education class, mediation, supervised parenting time and neutral exchanges for separated parents.

If you searched for a guardian ad litem, a family therapist, or a custody mediator in DuPage County, the court that has your case, the order in it, or your lawyer is the place to find who is appointed or approved. This site does not appoint professionals or refer you to one. What you can do here is come prepared: keep every message with your co-parent in one time-stamped thread, write down what happened with dates while it is fresh, and work on a parenting plan before the meeting.

Free help for parents in DuPage County: the court help desks and legal aid offices below were checked link by link for the site's free pro se help directory.

DuPage: DuPage County Legal Self-Help Center, (630) 407-8811. Free walk-in help with court forms and basic court information for people representing themselves, no legal advice given.

DuPage legal aid: Prairie State Legal Services, (815) 965-2134.

FamilyCourtHelp.com is a self-help platform, not a law firm and not a court, and nothing on this page is legal, clinical, or mediation advice. Court rules and local programs change, so confirm anything that matters for a case with the court, the order that appointed you, or the program itself.

Frequently asked questions

Where are custody cases heard in DuPage County?

Divorce and parenting cases for Naperville and the rest of DuPage County are heard by the 18th Judicial Circuit Court at the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton.

Where can parents in DuPage County get free help with a family court case?

Free court help for parents without a lawyer: DuPage County Legal Self-Help Center. Free legal aid: Prairie State Legal Services. Phone numbers and links are in the parents section above, checked link by link for the site's free pro se help directory.

How can parents prepare for custody mediation in DuPage County?

Bring the family calendar, a draft parenting plan, a list of the issues still open, and a list of shared costs with receipts. Parents can put all of that together on FamilyCourtHelp.com before the first session.

What does a guardian ad litem do in a DuPage County custody case?

Illinois judges can appoint a lawyer for the child in one of three roles. A guardian ad litem investigates and gives the court a written report. A child representative argues for what they find is best for the child. An attorney for the child acts as the child's own lawyer. You may also see "child representative", "attorney for the child" and "GAL". The rule is in 750 ILCS 5/506. This is general information, not legal advice; the order in the case controls.

Is custody mediation required in Illinois?

Every Illinois judicial circuit must run a mediation program for parenting time and parental responsibility disputes. Judges commonly send contested parenting issues to mediation, and can excuse it when something like abuse makes mediation unsafe. Each circuit sets its own details by local rule.

Does Illinois use parenting coordinators?

An Illinois Supreme Court rule lets each circuit set up a parenting coordination program by local rule. A parenting coordinator is a licensed mental health or family law professional appointed by the court to help high-conflict parents carry out their parenting plan. Not every circuit has a program.

Do parents in Illinois have to take a parenting class?

Parents in Illinois divorce and parentage cases involving children must finish an approved parenting education program of at least four hours. Each circuit or county approves its own class. The court excuses it only with a written finding that skipping it is in the child's best interests.