How Much Time Will I Get with My Kids?

 Posted on December 12, 2016 in Visitation

If you are thinking about a divorce, you may be wondering how much time you will be able to spend with your child. In Illinois, this is referred to as “parenting time.” How much time you will have with your child is extremely fact specific, though there are some general guidelines that the court will take into account.

For a more specific analysis that takes into account your specific circumstances, you should contact a knowledgeable parenting time attorney.

Best Interest of the Child

The standard used by the Illinois family court to make most decisions looks at the best interest of the child. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act list several factors that are considered to decide what is in the best interests of the child. These factors include:

• What the child wants;
• The desires of the parents;
• The child’s relationships with siblings;
• The parent’s willingness to preserve a relationship between the child and the other parent;
• The child’s relationship with each parent;
• The child’s school, home, and community life;
• Any history of abuse or domestic violence; and
• The physical and mental health of the parents, the child, and other people that would be involved in the child’s life.

Practical considerations of schooling, transportation, the distance between parents’ houses, and other circumstances may also influence the ultimate outcome.

Agreement Between Parents

A common way of deciding the parenting time schedule between parents, and also preferred by the court, is for the parents to come to an agreement themselves. The court will often mandate that parents try mediation to come to an agreement between themselves before the court will make a decision. Even if the parents do come to an agreement, it is still up to the court to approve the agreement using the best interest of the child standard. However, the court is likely to approve any reasonable parenting plan that allows both parents meaningful involvement in the child’s life.

Importance of Both Parents

The court has acknowledged that it is generally important for both parents to be involved in the child’s life, with the exception of abusive or other dangerous situations. In fact, the term “parenting time” replaced the term “visitation” to highlight that both parents should take on active parenting roles and neither should be merely a visitor.

Contact Our DuPage County Parenting Time Attorneys Today

Having both parents in a child’s life is very important for his or her wellbeing and development, with the obvious exception of abusive or unfit parents. If you are thinking about or in the process of a divorce, you should contact a skilled parenting time attorney to make sure that your rights to parenting time are preserved. Our passionate DuPage County parenting time attorneys at Davi Law Group, LLC can help you to make a parenting time agreement that works for all parties.

Source:

http://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-parental-responsibilities/article_f68105e4-c8f1-5791-a0bd-818c9f41faf4.html