Parenting Time

Illinois has eliminated the use of the word “visitation” when describing the time that a parent spends with their child and has replaced it with the word parenting time. A court will either accept a parent’s proposed schedule in a Parenting Plan or will set parenting time in accordance with the child’s best interests.

The parenting schedule should include time for regular parenting time, holiday parenting time and vacation parenting time. If parents cannot agree on a parenting schedule, then the court will order the parties to attend mediation in an effort to resolve any dispute. A major addition contained in the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 is the presumption that each of theparents is fit. Absent a finding by a preponderance of evidence that a parent poses a serious endangerment to a child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health, each parent is entitled to parenting time absent restrictions.