Creating an Illinois Parenting Plan That Fits Busy Holiday Schedules
If you have children and are recently divorced or are in the middle of the divorce process, issues related to parental responsibility and parenting time may be a significant source of stress right now. The reason: the holidays. As parents coordinate time family and friends, plan holiday activities, and determine schedules while kids are home from school during their winter break, a fair and reasonable allocation of parental responsibilities is imperative.
Illinois Law Requires a Parenting Plan
No matter whether you have an amicable or contentious relationship with your ex-spouse or ex-partner, when it comes to the allocation of parental responsibilities, you are bound by Illinois law to obtain a court-ordered parenting plan. With a well-crafted and drafted parenting plan, each parent and the state of Illinois will have total clarity as to the legal rights and obligations of both parents as concerns their children.
Decision Making and Parenting Time Are the Cornerstones of a Parenting Plan
The legal rights and obligations allocated to each parent in an Illinois parenting plan cover two major areas: 1) decision-making responsibility, and 2) parenting time (sometimes termed “visitation”). In other words, a parenting plan concerns all of the important things that go together …
Holiday Parental Responsibility and Parenting Time After Divorce
Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away, and many families are currently making plans for the holidays. For recently divorced parents and their children, this season can be a stressful and even contentious time of year. The transition to living in separate households and abiding by custody and visitation arrangements can be difficult when children are used to spending holidays under the same roof. While parents and children need time to adjust to new arrangements, parents can decrease post-divorce stress and anxiety during the holiday season by staying informed about their parental responsibility rights.
Child Custody vs. Parental Responsibility
In educating yourself about Illinois child custody, it is important to know that, though the state has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which most states have used to define jurisdictional matters related to child custody, it uses the specific terminology of “allocation of parental responsibility” with regard to laws and processes concerning custody. Here, the thinking is that the new terminology at once resists contentiousness and promotes collaboration in arriving at a custody arrangement that is agreeable to divorced parents and children alike.
Parental Responsibility and Parenting Time
In Illinois law, parental responsibility concerns the right …
Crafting a Mutually Agreeable Parenting Plan Under Illinois Law
Divorce is a foundation-rupturing event, especially for spouses who have children together. Whole worlds are upended for all involved – parents, children, and even grandparents and friends. Day-to-day life, living arrangements, holiday plans, and so much more are all subject to change in the wake of the dissolution of a marriage. This is especially the case when both spouses move out of what had been the family home or apartment, whether to new residences in the same town or city, or to a new state or even new country.
When the spouses have children, parental responsibility (formerly known as child custody) must be allocated between the parents. In some cases, one spouse is awarded primary parental responsibilities in the areas of healthcare, education, religion, and extracurricular activities. In most cases, however, parental responsibility is shared between the parents.
As you are surely already aware if you divorced, separated, or even considering a divorce or separation, working out an agreement for the allocation of parental responsibilities can be a complex matter, and in some instances, it can be an unfortunately contentious process. Here, a court approved parenting plan is a must. With so much already on your plate in terms of …