Modifying Parenting Schedule After Your Illinois Divorce
After a divorce, many couples realize that although some decisions looked great on paper, they don’t always work in real life. This is particularly true for parenting schedule agreements.
Once everyone has actually lived with the agreement, one parent may decide that they would prefer sole custody of the children rather than joint custody, or vice versa. However, it is not easy to modify the parenting agreement of a DuPage County divorce–especially right after the divorce is finalized.
PARENTING AGREEMENTS IN ILLINOIS DIVORCE LAW
Illinois courts encourage stability for the children of divorce in their custody decisions and generally will not modify a parenting schedule earlier than two years from the original implementation date. This means it will be very difficult to modify your parenting arrangements within the first 24 months after your divorce unless your situation meets the Court’s high standard of “serious endangerment” to the child.
Specifically, the requesting parent must provide affidavits stating that the child’s current situation may be seriously endangering his emotional, physical, moral or mental health. The Court then applies the standard of clear and convincing evidence to determine whether modification is in the best interests of the child.
A JOINT AGREEMENT IS NOT ALWAYS AN ADVANTAGE
It’s important to note that modifying the parenting agreement is not necessarily easier if a parent already has a joint parenting schedule. A joint agreement that provides for sharing major decisions but not sharing parenting time does not necessarily give an “every-other-weekend” joint parent an advantage when later requesting sole custody. A joint agreement and equal parenting time, however, could be more of an advantage for a parent seeking sole custody.
Parents, however, should be aware that equal parenting time is granted in very limited circumstances and only when parents can demonstrate an ability for frequent effective communication, mutual approval of the shared parenting time agreement, and acknowledgment that the parenting schedule has worked for a period of time.
Therefore, parents should be cautioned not to believe the myth that settling for joint decision making is a stepping stone to gain sole custody in the future. It is best to focus on the current parenting agreement as it may be binding for a very long time.
REQUESTING MODIFICATION OF THE PARENTING SCHEDULE
Any requests to alter a parenting arrangement must begin by meeting with a court-approved mediator. A custody evaluation with a mental health professional may follow and absent an agreement, the case will proceed to a trial in court.
If you have any concerns over how your agreement will work after your divorce, it would benefit everyone to work out the issues through DuPage County mediation prior to the actual divorce proceeding. Often a mediator will make suggestions such as enacting a proposed agreement pre-divorce to ensure that it meets the needs of both the parents and the children, which can potentially prevent modification after the divorce.
Contact me to learn more about my Illinois divorce mediation services and how I can help you create workable parenting arrangements.
*Illinois law has changed since this article was written in 2015. Please contact us to discuss the current laws re: Parenting Plans, Allocation of Parental Decision Making, and the new rules for Relocating with a child and how they may apply to you.
This article was originally published in 2015 on www.birtlaw.com