If you are a parent currently working through the divorce process, the issue of child custody will inevitably come up. The term “custody” is actually a bit outdated – in 2016, Illinois adopted changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act that replaced the concepts of child custody and visitation with the terms “parenting time” and “parental responsibilities.”
Parental responsibilities include the following:
Parenting time is the time the child spends in each parent’s household. Under most parenting plans, parents share parenting time and parental responsibilities.
When the court creates a parenting plan for a child, it strives to create a plan that is in the child’s best interest. To determine what would best fit the child’s needs, the court considers a set of factors that include, but are not limited to the following:
Under most circumstances, a parenting plan may be reviewed and modified every two years. When there is an urgent need to change a parenting plan, such as a child’s risk of being harmed under the current plan or a parent’s desire to move beyond the 25 or 50 miles he or she is permitted to move without court approval, a parenting plan can be modified before this point.
If parents agree to a proposed change, they can submit their new plan to the court and have it approved. If one parent does not agree to the other’s proposed change, the parent seeking the change must demonstrate how the proposed modification is in the child’s best interest.
Going through a divorce can be financially and emotionally exhausting. When you have children, this exhaustion and its accompanying frustration can be magnified. Make the divorce process as straightforward as possible for yourself by working with an experienced divorce lawyer. Contact our team at The Law Offices of George M. Sanders, P.C. today to set up your initial consultation in our office, during which we can answer all of your questions.