Parenting Time

Illinois assumes both parties are fit to parent the child and should have parenting time. This means both parties will get parenting time unless to do so would not be in the best interest of the child. Unless the parents present a mutually agreed written parenting plan and that plan is approved by the court, the court shall allocate parenting time. #parentingtime,

Common Law Marriages

Common law marriages are not valid in Illinois, so you need a license to be legally married in this state. Unless you entered into a common law marriage in another state that allows them, or allowed them while you were living together, you were not married.

Changes regarding custody and visitation rights

Prior to 2016, the parties were defined as a "custodial parent" or "non-custodial parent," and the "non-custodial parent" was allotted "visitation rights."  The terms "custody" and "visitation" have been done away with and replaced with "allocation of parenting time and responsibility."  The intention is to soften the blow for the parent who would have previously been labeled as "non-custodial" and to reduce disputes over custody. 

In addition, parenting responsibility is divided into four categories: medical, education, religious, and extra-curricular.  The responsibility for making decisions regarding each of these separate categories will be divided among the parents either by agreement or by order of the court.