What Must Be Included in an Illinois Parenting Agreement?

 Posted on February 06, 2019 in Kane

If you are an unmarried parent or a parent who is getting divorced, you probably have many questions about how parental responsibilities and allocation of parenting time of your child or children will be handled by Illinois courts. If you can come to an agreement on parental responsibilities and allocation of parenting time with the child’s other parent, you and the other parent will be asked to create a parenting plan or parenting agreement. A parenting agreement is a document which you and your child’s other parent use to outline parental responsibilities and allocation of parenting time and other decisions about the child’s upbringing.

Parents have 120 days after filing a parentage action or divorce petition to file a parenting plan. This initial plan is a temporary placeholder for the more permanent parenting arrangement. This initial plan may be filed jointly or separately. Eventually, parents will be asked to agree on all of the parental duties including who will make decisions about the child as well as how the parenting time will be shared. Parents who do not reach an agreement about these issues before the “status date” will most likely be sent to mediation. Parents can be granted an extension for one of three reasons:

• To continue working on the agreement in mediation;
• To continue working on the agreement outside of mediation; and
• For a good cause such as when parents’ schedules have not allowed enough time in mediation.

In Illinois, a parenting plan must include, but is not limited to, directions about:

• The distribution of decision-making responsibilities;
• The child's living arrangements and for each parent's parenting time;
• The child's residential address;
• Communication with the child during the other parent's parenting time;
• Each parent's residence, address, phone number, and employment address and phone number;
• A designation of the parent who will have the most parenting time and responsibilities;
• Transportation arrangements;
• Each parent's right of access to medical records, child care registers, and school and extracurricular reports;
• A requirement that if a parent is changing his or her residence, they must provide at least 60 days prior notice of the change
• Each parent’s obligation to notify the other of health care issues, travel plans, emergencies, or other significant concerns;
• A mediation provision addressing any proposed changes to parenting responsibilities in the future; and
• The right of first refusal.

Contact a St. Charles, Illinois Family Law Attorney Today

Divorce can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you do not have to face it alone. For help with creating a parental allocation agreement or any other family law issues, call an experienced Kane County family law attorney. Call MKFM Law at 630-665-7300 today.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?ActID=2086&SeqStart=8300000&SeqEnd=10000000