Dealing With Parenting Time Disputes and Interference in Illinois

 Posted on February 25, 2021 in Child Custody

In today’s world, most divorces are settled in some sort of amicable fashion. As the understanding of family, child, and adolescent psychology has evolved in the past couple of decades, family courts have increasingly advocated for couples to settle their issues in agreement with one another, which can lessen the burden on everyone. Unfortunately, however, not everyone is able to do this. Some couples end up in contentious situations that breed resentment that follows them into their post-divorce life.

Child-related issues such as parenting time and parental responsibilities are very emotionally driven topics that are often the cause of disputes after the divorce is final. Sometimes, a parent can take a dispute to the extreme and begin to interfere with the court-ordered parenting plan, which causes even more stress for the family.

Creating a Parenting Plan With Court Intervention

When you get a divorce as a parent in Illinois, one of the things you are required to do prior to finalizing the split is submit a parenting plan to the court. A typical parenting plan contains detailed information about how you and your spouse will parent your child from this point forward. This information will include things such as how parental responsibilities will be allocated to each of you and how parenting time will be distributed. If you and your spouse cannot agree on the terms of your parenting agreement, the court will intervene and make the final determination, though this can leave some parents unhappy with the court’s decision.

Handling Parenting Time Interference

It can be extremely frustrating and stressful for the entire family when a parent interferes with the other parent’s scheduled parenting time. In Illinois, it is illegal to interfere with parenting time, which is also known as visitation. Parenting time interference can come in many different forms and can appear in situations such as:

• A parent picking up the child before the specified pick-up time

• A parent purposefully being habitually late to drop off a child at a time that was previously agreed on

• A parent insisting on staying with their child during the other parent’s court-ordered parenting time

• A parent refusing to let their child contact the other parent during their parenting time, even though the parenting plan allows for such contact

If your child’s other parent is engaging in any of these behaviors, you can work with an attorney to petition the court for enforcement of your parenting agreement.

Contact Our DuPage County Parenting Time Lawyers Today

Getting a divorce can be taxing on both an emotional level and a financial level. At the Goostree Law Group, we can help you and your spouse come to an agreement on anything pertaining to your divorce, from property allocation to parenting time. When it comes to child-related issues, things can get heated quickly, but our skilled Wheaton, IL parenting time attorneys can help you work things out. To schedule a free consultation, call our office today at 630-364-4046.

Sources:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt%2E+VI&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=8350000&SeqEnd=10200000

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K10-5.5