Many divorcing parents have strong opinions about how parental responsibilities and parenting time should be divided. Parents may disagree about the child’s primary residence, parenting time schedules, how major decisions about the child should be made, and much more. If you are a divorcing parent in the middle of a child-related dispute, or you suspect that you soon will be, you may have questions about how child custody decisions are made in Illinois. You may wonder about the impact that your child’s opinion could have on the outcome of your case. In Illinois, child interviews may be used to gather information about the child’s thoughts and opinions during a custody dispute. However, these interviews are only one element of the court’s decision-making process.

Disagreements about Parenting Time and Parental Responsibilities

Although many family law cases address child custody in a general sense, Illinois law no longer uses the terms “child custody” and “visitation.” In the actual law, child custody is described by the “allocation of parental responsibilities,” meaning the parents’ decision-making authority, and “parenting time,” which is the actual time a parent spends with their child. Decisions about parental responsibilities, parenting time, and other custody-related issues must be stated in the parents’ “parenting plan.” If you and your spouse cannot agree on how to allocate parental responsibilities or parenting time, you may be able to negotiate an agreement with help from your attorneys or through an alternative dispute resolution method like mediation. However, if you still cannot reach an agreement, your case may go to court.

How Illinois Courts Make Decisions in Child Custody Disputes

If your child custody dispute cannot be resolved out of court, a judge will hear arguments from both parties and then issue a judgment about the unresolved issues. Illinois courts consider the wishes of the parents as well as those of the children in many child custody cases. Often, a special representative called a guardian ad litem (GAL) is assigned to represent a child’s best interests during a child custody dispute. The GAL may gather the child’s testimony during an interview and incorporate that information into his or her formal recommendation to the court. 

Couples in Illinois who choose to legally dissolve their marriage have the option of determining the terms of their divorce. Decisions about issues like property division and child custody are largely left up to the spouses. While some couples are able to negotiate a settlement, others are unable to reach an agreement about one or more issues. If a divorcing couple cannot reach an agreement outside of court, the case goes to litigation. A judge evaluates the evidence and arguments presented by the parties and then issues a judgment. Parties have the opportunity to appeal the judge’s decision; however, a successful appeal is only possible in certain circumstances.

What if I Disagree With the Court’s Decision?

The outcome of a divorce is likely to have a significant impact on the parties’ lives. Your divorce decree may influence everything from how often you see your children to where you live. If your divorce does not turn out the way that you had hoped, you may wonder if you can file an appeal. It is possible to appeal a divorce judgment, but only under certain circumstances. In most cases, disagreeing with the court’s decision or thinking that the decision is unfair is not a valid reason for an appeal.

Appeals Must Be Based on an Alleged Error

While it is not possible to successfully appeal a divorce judgment simply on the basis of being unhappy with the decision, there are circumstances when a successful divorce appeal is possible. Divorces and other court judgments can only be appealed if the ruling stemmed from a misinterpretation of the law. For example, if you disagree with the judge’s decision about child support because you believe that your ex-spouse should pay more, this disagreement alone does not justify an appeal. However, if the judge failed to follow Illinois law when calculating child support, you may have grounds for an appeal.

As any grandparent can tell you, the relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is special. Grandparents offer guidance, wisdom, and support to grandchildren that is informed by decades of life experience. When a married couple with children divorces, grandparents are often worried about whether they will get to see their grandchildren as often as they would like. If you have found yourself in this situation, you may wonder if grandparents have a legal right to spend time with their grandchildren or may be granted “grandparent visitation.” As with many Illinois family law concerns, the answer to this question is complex.

Under What Circumstances Are Grandparents Granted Visitation?

Family dynamics can be very complicated – especially when divorce is involved. If you are a grandparent who wants to ensure that you still get to spend time with your grandchild, you may wonder if you can petition the court for visitation. Typically, court-ordered parenting time only involves the child’s two biological parents. However, the court may grant grandparent visitation in certain circumstances. You may have a legal right to visitation if:

• Your grandchild’s parents are divorced, and one or both of the parents approves of grandparent visitation

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If you are a married parent who is thinking of getting divorced, you probably have concerns about how this will impact your child. You may also have concerns about how you and your child’s other parent will share custody of your child. In Illinois, child custody is divided into two primary components: allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. Parental responsibilities involve the decision-making authority a parent has regarding important issues in a child’s life, while parenting time is the actual time a parent spends caring for their child. If you are like many parents facing a potential child custody dispute, you may wonder if your child will have any say in how parental responsibilities and parenting time will be divided.

Negotiating a Parenting Plan

According to Illinois law, you and your child’s other parent have 120 days after filing for divorce to submit a parenting plan. Your plan must contain decisions about many different issues including:

• How you will make major child-related decisions

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COVID-19 has deeply affected millions of Americans. Many have faced job loss or reduced work hours because of shutdowns. Others have had to quit their jobs to be at home with their children during remote learning. If you are in a difficult financial position and want to file for divorce, you may have concerns about how your financial hardship may affect your situation. You may have heard that there was a mandatory separation period before a couple could get divorced but are unsure of what exactly is required. If you and your ex cannot afford to live in separate homes, can you still be granted a divorce?

Changes to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act Address the Separation Period

Major changes to the laws that govern marriage and divorce in Illinois were enacted in 2016. Among the many changes was a modernization of the “grounds” or reasons that a spouse may request a divorce. Before the changes, spouses could claim fault-based grounds for divorce, such as impotence, infidelity, abuse, or drug addiction. Following the change, all of the fault-based grounds have been abolished.

There is now only one no-fault ground available for divorce in Illinois: irreconcilable differences. If you wish to file for divorce under no-fault grounds, you must state that: