Divorce and Family Law

Visitation & Parenting Time

Every Illinois divorce case carries its own set of challenges, and this is certainly true for parents with minor children. Though the state now uses the terms allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time to refer to child custody and visitation, the general concepts remain the same. In most cases, parents will share in joint custody for making the important decisions involved with raising the child. For convenience and practical purposes, the child will usually reside with one parent. The non-residential parent has visitation rights.

Of course, this summary does not detail the complications involved with a real-life case. Emotions play a powerful role in issues related to minor children, so retaining skilled legal counsel is essential. Our team at Bruning & Associates, P.C. is committed to supporting parents with the complexities, so please contact us today to set up a free consultation. An Illinois visitation and parenting time lawyer can offer advice on the details, while an overview of the laws is also helpful.

At Bruning & Associates, P.C., we know that your time with your children is precious. Our divorce lawyers are rigorously trained to maximize your parenting time, formerly called visitation, with your children. Disputes about visitation or parenting time are sometimes the most hotly contested issues in divorce cases. The divorce lawyers at Bruning & Associates, P.C. will fight hard to make sure that you will always be a strong, important, and constant part of the lives of your children.

Temporary Visitation & Parenting Time

Temporary parenting time, also known as temporary visitation, is an award by the court during the divorce case scheduling the time the children will spend with each of the divorcing parents before the entry of a final divorce decree. The divorce attorneys at Bruning & Associates, P.C. work diligently to complete your divorce case as quickly as possible.

However, some divorce cases take longer to resolve, and many cases involve a request by one of the divorcing parents for temporary visitation or parenting time with the children. The skilled divorce lawyers at Bruning & Associates, P.C. have substantial education, training, experience, and expertise with respect to temporary visitation and parenting time proceedings in the divorce court.

Supervised and Restricted Visitation or Parenting Time

Supervised and restricted visitation or parenting time is a restriction on one parent’s ability to spend time with the children. Such restrictions are imposed by the divorce court and usually requested by the other parent. Supervised and/or restricted visitation or parenting time can only be imposed if the divorce court determines that the parent to be supervised or restricted is a danger to the physical, mental and/or emotional well-being of the children.

Examples of restricted visitation or parenting time include:

Reducing the amount of time spent by one parent with the children;
Requiring that the time spent by one parent with the children be supervised by another adult; and,
Prohibiting one parent from having overnight visitation or parenting time with the children.

The skilled divorce lawyers at Bruning & Associates, P.C. have substantial education, training, experience, and expertise with respect to supervised and restricted visitation or parenting time proceedings in the divorce court.

Addressing Visitation & Parenting Time in Divorce

As with child custody issues, determinations on parenting time must be made in accordance with the child’s best interests standard in Illinois. There are numerous factors listed in the statute, so a judge will review:

Each parent’s relationship with the child
The mental and physical health of all parties
The child’s adjustments to the home, school, and community
The parents’ abilities to cooperate with each other on parenting time;
The child’s wishes, when appropriate given age and maturity level,
Many others

With the child’s best interests factors in mind, keep in mind that there are multiple options for resolving visitation and parenting time issues. Our attorneys at Bruning & Associates P.C. will guide you in assessing strategies related to:

Parenting Time Agreements

Illinois law encourages parents to agree on visitation, which will typically become part of an agreed-upon parenting plan entered as part of your final divorce decree. You can also enter into an agreement for a temporary parenting time schedule during divorce proceedings. A judge will still review the arrangement to ensure it serves the child’s best interests.

Mediation

Even when it seems you are far apart on a compromise for parenting time, it may be possible to reach an accord through mediation. During this process, the parties sit down with their respective lawyers and a mediator who oversees the session. This professional has special training that aims to guide parents in having productive conversations about visitation. Often, the parties can work out their differences through mediation instead of litigation.

Contested Hearings on Visitation

When disputes about visitation remain, parents will need to go to court to have the judge decide. Because parenting time is so closely linked to custody and allocation of parental responsibilities, these issues could all be addressed at the trial. The child’s best interests are parament, so the court will review each factor.

Grandparents’ Rights

The divorce lawyers at Bruning & Associates, P.C. have substantial experience fighting for and protecting the rights of grandparents to play a meaningful and important role in the lives of their grandchildren. Grandparents, you may have significant rights to visitation with you grandchildren in the event that your child is deceased or otherwise unable to exercise parenting time with his or her children.

Trust an Illinois Visitation & Parenting Time Lawyer for Personalized Advice

Bruning & Associates, P.C. has offices conveniently located near you in Chicago, Schaumburg and Crystal Lake, Illinois. Please contact Bruning & Associates, P.C. to schedule your free consultation regarding matters concerning parenting time and visitation, temporary parenting time and visitation, supervised and restricted parenting time or visitation and grandparents’ rights.

Serving divorce clients in visitation and parenting time, temporary visitation and parenting time, supervised and restricted visitation or parenting time and grandparents’ rights matters in Northern Illinois, including Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Will County, Boone County, DeKalb County, Kendall County, LaSalle County, and Winnebago County.

Chicago

Crystal Lake

Schaumburg