Can I Change the Child Custody Order in Kane County?

 Posted on May 22, 2023 in Family Law

When married parents divorce or unmarried parents have a child together, they are often subject to a child custody agreement. Life is full of changes, and circumstances may arise in which you need to change your custody order.

The term “child custody” is still frequently used to describe parenting arrangements for unmarried or divorced parents informally. However, Illinois law does not use this phrase. Instead, your custody agreement will refer to parenting time, which is the amount of time each parent spends with the child, and parental responsibilities, which refers to a parent’s decision-making authority. The rules and procedures for modifying parenting time and parental responsibilities depend on a few different factors. Read on to learn more.

Modifying Parenting Time or Visitation

Countless situations may necessitate an adjustment of the parenting time schedule. A parent may get a new job, relocate to a new residence, or go back to school. Sometimes, the child's needs change and the parenting time schedule must be modified to meet these needs.

Modifying the parenting time schedule, commonly called the visitation schedule, is much easier than changing the allocation of parental responsibilities.

Illinois law states that the court will approve a parenting time modification if the change is in the child's best interest and at least one of the following is true:

• The modification constitutes a minor adjustment to the parenting time schedule

• The parents have already been following the new parenting time schedule for at least six months

• The parents agree on the parenting time modification

• The modification is needed to change a parenting plan that the court would not have approved if the court knew of all of the relevant circumstances at the time the plan was put in place

Modifying The Allocation Of Parental Responsibilities In Illinois

Changing the allocation of parental responsibilities, or the authority each parent has to make major decisions about their child, is a more significant legal undertaking.

The requirements you will need to make to modify parental responsibilities depend on when the child custody order was established or last modified. If more than two years have passed since the allocation order was put in place or was last changed, you must demonstrate to the court that there has been a significant change in circumstances requiring a modification of parental responsibilities. Secondly, you will need to demonstrate that the proposed modification is in the child's best interest.

If it has been less than two years since the last parenting order was put in place or modified, the court will only modify parental responsibilities if there is a significant, immediate need for the modification. The court does not want to disrupt the child's life unnecessarily.

To modify the allocation of parental responsibilities within two years since the last order was put in place, you must demonstrate that the current arrangement seriously endangers the child's mental, emotional, physical, or moral health.

Contact our Kane County Child Custody Modification Lawyer

if you need to modify your parenting plan or custody agreement, our Kane County family law attorneys can help. Call Serrano Hanson at 630-844-8781 for a confidential initial consultation.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K610.5.htm