When you and your child’s other parent part ways but you both want to remain active, involved parents, you made need to ask the state of Illinois to help allocate parenting time. When doing so, the state’s courts typically refer to a specific set of factors to assess what living situation might benefit your child the most.
What are some of the areas that may undergo review when it comes to allocating parenting time?
Your child’s own desires
If your son or daughter has feelings about where he or she wants to live, Illinois’ court system may consider them. How much weight your child’s own wishes may have may depend on his or her age and maturity level, among other variables.
Your child’s current level of stability
If your child is already thriving in a particular living arrangement, the court may try to keep him or her in the situation that is already working. The same may hold true if he or she is excelling in a particular school or community setting.
Your degree of cooperation with your ex
Your willingness to cooperate with your child’s other parent, and vice-versa, may also factor into custody decisions. If you two have a history of working well with one another and abiding by agreed-upon terms, you may both get parenting time. If one of you has historically been hard to work with, it may lead to less parenting time for that party.
While these are some of the key areas Illinois courts may consider when allocating parenting time, this is not an exhaustive list of all areas that may undergo review.