Practice AreasÂ
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Children & Parenting
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Parenting Time
Parenting Time Attorney in Illinois
The schedule that determines when you see your children is one of the most consequential outcomes of any family law proceeding. Getting it right from the start — and protecting it when a co-parent doesn't follow it — requires an attorney who prepares thoroughly.
More than a schedule —
a framework for your relationship.
Parenting time governs the physical schedule — when each parent has the children for overnights, weekdays, weekends, holidays, and school breaks. In Illinois, it is legally distinct from the allocation of parental responsibility, which governs decision-making authority. A parent can have equal parenting time and limited decision-making authority, or vice versa.
Illinois courts determine parenting time based on the best interest of the child — evaluating a specific set of statutory factors including each parent's relationship with the child, work schedules, geographic distance, the child's adjustment to home and school, and the ability of the parents to cooperate. There is no presumption of equal parenting time in Illinois. What a court orders depends entirely on the facts presented.
When parents agree, courts generally approve a parenting plan that serves the child's best interest. When parents can't agree, a judge decides — and the quality of the evidence presented on each side shapes the outcome significantly. We build parenting time cases as if they will be tried, which produces better negotiated outcomes and ensures we're fully prepared if the dispute reaches a hearing.
Illinois courts are required to allocate parenting time in a way that maximizes the child's relationship with both parents — unless that contact would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. The statute lists specific factors courts must consider, and how those factors are documented and presented at the trial level shapes what a court can and will order.
From first filing to final parenting plan.
Parenting time can be established as part of a divorce proceeding or in a separate allocation of parental responsibilities case. The process follows a defined sequence — though the timeline and intensity at each stage depend heavily on whether the parties can reach agreement.
Petition & Temporary Orders
A parenting case begins with a petition filed in the circuit court. Courts may enter temporary parenting orders early to provide stability while the case proceeds — these can set the tone for the final arrangement and are worth taking seriously from the start.
Parenting Plan Submission
Illinois courts require each parent to submit a proposed parenting plan within 120 days of service. The plan covers the regular schedule, holidays, vacations, transportation, and decision-making. We draft plans that are detailed, enforceable, and strategically positioned for the negotiation that follows.
Mediation
DuPage County and most Illinois courts require mediation for contested parenting disputes before scheduling a hearing. Mediation gives parents a structured opportunity to reach agreement with a neutral mediator — and many parenting cases resolve here without a hearing.
Guardian ad Litem (if ordered)
In contested cases the court may appoint a Guardian ad Litem — an attorney who independently investigates the child's situation and makes recommendations to the court. Their report and testimony can significantly influence the outcome, and how we position your case before and during their investigation matters.
Evidentiary Hearing or Agreement
If mediation doesn't resolve the dispute, the case proceeds to an evidentiary hearing before a judge. We build every parenting file as if it will be heard — which consistently produces better outcomes in negotiation and ensures nothing surprises us in the courtroom.
What Illinois courts weigh when parents disagree
Under 750 ILCS 5/602.7, Illinois courts evaluate specific statutory factors when determining parenting time. How these factors are documented and presented — and which ones are most relevant to your case — shapes what a court is likely to order.
Factors focused on the child
The child's wishes, given appropriate weight based on age and maturity. Older children's preferences carry more weight — but they are never the sole determinant.
Adjustment to home, school, and community. Stability matters to courts. A child who is settled in school and neighborhood carries real weight in the analysis.
The child's needs — including any special educational, medical, or developmental considerations that affect what schedule serves them best.
Distance between the parents' homes and the practical impact on the child's routine, school schedule, and time with each parent.
Factors focused on each parent
Each parent's relationship with the child — who has been the primary caregiver, the quality of the bond, and the history of involvement in the child's daily life.
Willingness to facilitate the other parent's relationship. A parent who actively undermines the co-parent's relationship with the child is viewed unfavorably by Illinois courts.
Physical and mental health of both parents — including any history of domestic violence, substance abuse, or mental illness that bears on parenting capacity.
Ability and willingness to cooperate. How well — or how poorly — the parents communicate and co-parent is a factor courts take seriously, particularly for joint arrangements.
What happens when a co-parent doesn't comply.
A parenting plan entered by a court is a binding legal order. Violations — missed exchanges, withheld parenting time, interference with communication — are taken seriously in Illinois and carry real consequences.
Document violations carefully. Dates, times, and specifics matter when you bring an enforcement action. We advise clients on documentation from the beginning of the case, not after the fact.
The most direct enforcement mechanism. A parent who willfully violates a court-ordered parenting plan can be held in contempt of court — with consequences including makeup parenting time, attorney fee awards, fines, and in serious cases, modification of the parenting arrangement or incarceration.
Illinois courts can order makeup time for parenting time that was improperly withheld. We pursue makeup time as a remedy in enforcement proceedings — particularly in cases involving repeated violations where a pattern is being established.
When a child is being withheld in an emergency — a parent who refuses to return a child, abducts a child, or takes a child out of state without consent — courts can act quickly on an emergency motion. These situations require immediate legal action, and we respond accordingly.
A pattern of violation can support a petition to modify the parenting arrangement itself. When a co-parent consistently refuses to follow the schedule, courts may reallocate parenting time to protect the child's relationship with the complying parent — particularly when the violations are willful and documented.
What clients ask about parenting time in Illinois.
These are the questions prospective clients most often raise before their first consultation. We've answered them honestly — because informed clients make better decisions, and that's better for everyone.
Is there a presumption of equal parenting time in Illinois?
What is a parenting plan and what does it need to include?
What if my co-parent is consistently late or misses exchanges?
Can parenting time be modified after a final order is entered?
Yes — parenting time can be modified at any time under 750 ILCS 5/610.5(a) upon a showing of changed circumstances that requires modification to serve the child's best interest. Unlike modifications to decision-making responsibilities (which are subject to a two-year bar absent serious endangerment), there is no waiting period for parenting time modifications. Common grounds include a significant change in a parent's work schedule, the child's changing needs as they get older, a parent's relocation, or a material breakdown in the co-parenting relationship. The standard requires the change to be tied to the child's best interests, not just a parent's preference.
What happens if one parent moves away?
Does a Guardian ad Litem always get appointed?
"The schedule that determines when you see your children deserves the same preparation as any other contested legal matter."
Parenting Time Attorney Serving Chicagoland
O'Brien Family Law handles parenting time matters — initial allocations, enforcement actions, and modifications — throughout Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and Will County. We appear regularly in the circuit courts of each county and understand the local rules, including DuPage County's mandatory mediation requirements for contested parenting disputes.
Whether your matter is in Wheaton, Aurora, Joliet, Waukegan, or Yorkville, we're positioned to represent you effectively from the first consultation.
Your time with your children is worth protecting.
Whether you're establishing a parenting schedule for the first time or enforcing one that isn't being followed — the first conversation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.
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