Illinois has enacted many changes to divorce and family laws in recent years. Child custody is now broken down into two main categories: A parent’s right to make decisions about his or her child’s education, healthcare, and other vital issues is referred to as “parental responsibilities.” The time that a parent spends directly caring for his or her child is called “parenting time.” Read on to learn more about parenting time in Illinois.
Parenting Time Schedules and Parenting Plans
Divorced parents are required to draft a parenting agreement or parenting plan. The plan contains important information about how the parents will divide parenting time and responsibilities. Some parents alternate weeks or months which their children. Others use a 2-2-3 schedule in which the children switch homes every two days and parents alternate who has parenting time on the last three days of the schedule. Sometimes, one parent has the child on weekdays, and the other parent has the child on the weekends.
If parents can agree to the terms of the parenting plan, they can submit one parenting plan to the court for approval. If they cannot agree, each parent can submit his or her own plan to the court and allow the court to make the final decision.
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