At What Age Can A Child Choose Not To Visit The Non-Custodial Parent In Illinois?

Parenting children is not easy.  Parenting children is even harder when you’re not parenting in the same household as the other parent.  The shuttling back and forth of children to two different homes is hard on everyone involved. Children are by definition immature and cannot make decisions for themselves but that doesn’t mean children don’t have opinions.  How old does a child have to be before they can decide if they will visit a parent in Illinois? The Initial Parenting Plan And A Child’s Wishes Illinois visitation laws say that when determining the parenting schedule, the two parents are supposed to both submit proposed parenting plans to the courts within 120 days of the filing of the divorce or the parenting action. “All parents, within 120 days after service or filing of any petition for allocation of parental responsibilities, must file with the court, either jointly or separately, a proposed parenting plan.” 750 ILCS 5/602.10(a) Hopefully, upon perusing their respective proposed parenting plans, the parties can independently negotiate a final agreed allocation of parenting responsibilities and parenting time to be submitted to the court.  This final allocation of parenting responsibilities and parenting time will then govern where the children visit, spend the night, and with whom. The children are NOT consulted when preparing a final parenting plan in Illinois. If the parties remain disagreed after exchanging parenting plans, the parties are required to attend a mandatory mediation regarding the parenting schedule. “The court shall order mediation to assist the parents in formulating or modifying a parenting plan or in implementing a parenting plan unless the court determines that impediments to mediation exist” 750 ILCS 5/602.10(c)  If after mediation, there is an agreement, the parties can submit the mediation report to their attorneys for final preparation of the agreed allocation of parenting responsibilities and parenting time. Children are NOT allowed in mediation.  Children have no voice in the mediation. The parents can enter into the final agreement without consulting the children. If the parties still can’t agree on a parenting schedule after mediation, the Illinois courts can step in and decide what the children’s parenting schedule should be. “The court shall allocate parenting time according to the child’s best interests.” 750 ILCS 5/602.7(a) Illinois courts will consider the child’s wishes along with a multitude of other factors. “[T]he wishes of the child, taking into account the child’s maturity and ability to […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/at-what-age-can-a-child-choose-not-to-visit-the-non-custodial-parent-in-illinois/