Recent Changes to Illinois Custody Laws 2023 (2023)

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This article gives you a high-level overview of Illinois child custody laws for 2023, including changes to parental leave and parental responsibilities, the best interests of the child, and the factors determining joint custody versus sole custody.

Illinois no longer refers to child custody as custody

The Illinois Marriage anddissolution of marriageThe law removed the word “detention” from the law back in 2016. This may seem confusing and it is, but we'll walk you through the new concepts of:

1. maternity leave- the time each parent spends with the child or children.

2. responsibility of parents- The decision-making responsibility that each parent has towards their children's decision-making is divided into health decisions for the child, educational decisions for the child, and religious and extracurricular activities of the child.

Illinois considers the best interests of the child when determining custody

In Illinois, the courts will look into thatwelfare of the childin the making of “child custody” (as notedcaredoes not exist in the provisions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act). Many people believe that the mother automatically gains custody of the child or children, but that is simply not true.The judgewill consider all facts and circumstances as a whole and will weigh many factors to determine what is in the best interests of the child.

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Decision Making vs. Maternity Leave

Custody nowdecision makingincludes important decisions about the upbringing of the child, such as B. Religious decisions, educational decisions, medical decisions, extracurricular activities.

The period of upbringing can be defined under the old concept of physical care.

The Illinois court will consider the best interests of the child in determining the allocation of decision-making authority. Here are the following factors the court will consider:

1. The child's desires

2. The needs of the child

3. Parents' wishes

4. Previous agreements on decision-making are taken into account

5. The prior involvement of each parent in decision-making relating to the child or children

6. The physical andMental healthof everyone involved

7. The adjustment of the child or children to their new life situation in the school community

8. The ability of both parents to make appropriate arrangements to make decisions related to their child or children

9. The ability of both parents to make decisions and work together for their child or children

10. The spatial distances between theparental homesand their impact on their ability to cooperate.

11. Whether or not a parent endangers the health or safety of the child.

12. Any abuse of the child

13. Any acts or threats of physical violence by a parent to a child or children.

14. ObOne of the parents is a sex offender, the nature of the sex offense, the extent of the charges or convictions involved, and any subsequent treatment related to addressing the parent's propensity to commit sex offenses against a minor or otherwise.

15. Any other relevant factors to be decided by the court.

The Illinois Best Interest Factors for purposes of assigning parental leave, the court will consider the following factors, always considering the best interests of the child:

1. The wishes of every parent when looking for parental leave.

2. The child's desires

3. The amount that each parent has spent taking care of the child in the 24 months prior to submitting a request for shared parental responsibility or, if the child is two years old or younger, since the child was born

4. Any conduct or prior agreement between parentsto the caregiving dutiesin relation to the child.

5. The child's interrelationship and interaction with their siblings and parents and with any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests.

6. The adjustment the child makes to his or her community school and family life.

7. The mental and physical health of all parities

8. The needs of the child

9. Thedistance aparton which the parents live from each other, the difficulty and cost of the child's travel and transportation, the daily routine of each parent and the child, and the willingness of each parent to be involved in arranging the child's travel.

10. Whether a cap on parental leave is appropriate.

11. Physical violence or threats of physical violence by the parent towards the child or another member of the child's household.

12. The willingness of each parent to put the needs of the child ahead of the needs of the parents.

13. The ability of each parent to nurture and nurture a close and enduring relationship between the other parent and the child.

14. The abuse against the child or another member of the child's residence

15. Whether a parent is a convicted sex offender, and if so, the type of offense and what treatment, if any, the sex offender's parent participated in.

16. Parent's Military Family Care Plan, which a parent must complete prior to deployment if a parent is a member of the US military on active deployment.

17. Any other factor that this court deems relevant

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Joint custody

In Illinoisjoint custodyHere both parents share both decision-making and parenting time 50% and 50% between each parent. Joint custody in Illinois requires both parents to be able to agree to communicate effectively and work together to co-parent and raise their children.When a parent objects to joint custodybecause they do not find it possible to work effectively with the other parent, that parent may advise the judge that joint custody will not work because the parents cannot work together. The court grants more parenting time to the parent who is willing to cooperate with the other parent.

For detailed information on Illinois joint custody, see our article:Joint Custody Plans.

Sole custody in Illinois

Sole custody in Illinois is possible but rare. Illinois courts refuse to grant sole custody unless there is abuse or neglect of the child that endangers or endangers the child's health or welfare. When an Illinois judge, after a court hearing, finds, by weighing all the evidence, that a parent acted in a manner that seriously endangered the child's physical health orSecurityor conduct that significantly impaired the child's emotional development, the court will issue a child protection order. If the judge finds that a parent committed this behavior, the judge will do one of two things:

1. Supervised parental leave is the step before sole custody

2. Reducing or eliminating parental leave or both parental leave and decision-making responsibility.

Assisted parental leave is when one parent is supervised by a relative or close friend who both parents know and trust and who can manage the parental leave.A guardian ad litem will be appointedIn order to investigate what is going on in the case, the guardian ad litem has a duty to the child to act in the child's best interests and must advocate for the child. Read our articlePreparing to Work with a Guardian Ad Litem in Your Custody Casefor more information on this.

If a person both parents know, such asa relative or friendof parents who are unable to supervise children's visits, the supervised parent must hire a guardian. Because the guardian is paid, she can witness the behavior of the parents. The parent's supervision will not cease until the supervised parent has accomplished a feat, such as B. Requiring the parent to complete drug or alcohol abuse treatment, or requiring a parent to complete an abuse treatment program, or other reasons for which parental leave was limited ranked first.

Cared for parents either step on the plate and change or disappear from the child's life. If the supervised parent disappears from the child's life, the other parent automatically receives sole custody. Once a parent has been separated from children for an extended period of time, it would not be in the child's best interest to reintroduce the parent into the child's life.

To learn more about the rights and responsibilities of the custodial parent, read our articleFrequently asked questions about Illinois ancestry.

Rights of Married Parents

In Illinois, married parents have both decision and parenting time for the child or children resulting from the marriage while the parents remain married.

Rights of Unmarried Parents

UnderIllinois lawforunmarried parents, the mother has the sole decision-making and upbringing time for the child or children until the father reports andestablish paternityor the court establishes paternity, or the father applies to the court for any form of custody.

Disagreements between parents regarding custody

If the parents cannot agree on custody, parenting time, or decision-making for the child or children, the judge must decide what is in the best interests of the child or children. This could resulttermination of parental rightsfor one or both parents. Usually, the court allows more decision and parenting time for the parent who is more cooperative and willing to foster the parental relationship between the other parent and the child. The courts don't like it when parents can't communicate with each other about the children, it's in the best interests of both parents to work together to develop a solid parenting plan and work through their differences.

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