Child Custody: What Does "Best Interests of the Child" Mean?

 Posted on July 19, 2024 in Family Law

If you are going through a divorce and you have minor children, you are probably familiar with the term "best interests of the child." Do you know how Illinois defines this term and what it means for parental responsibilities?

Co-parenting is rarely easy, but an experienced Illinois parental responsibilities attorney can help you create an effective parenting plan that protects your children’s best interests.

What Are the Best Interests of a Child?

When parents with minor children separate or divorce, they must establish a parenting plan. This legal document lays out how parents will make decisions for their children and the amount of time each parent gets with them.

If you and your ex cannot agree on a parenting plan, the courts will decide. They will use what they deem to be the child’s best interests when making the determinations about parental responsibilities (custody), decision-making responsibilities, and parenting time (visitation).

Unfortunately, some couples use their children as pawns in a divorce to punish the other parent. Prioritizing a child’s best interests is a way of focusing on what is best for the children rather than their parents.

Decision-Making

When a child is with a parent, minor decisions need to be made every day, such as whether a child must finish homework before watching TV. It is usually unnecessary to consult the other parent in these cases.

Decision-making in this context typically refers to major decisions about healthcare, religion, extracurricular activities, and education.

Parenting Time

If both parents are fit, the amount of time a child spends with each parent usually does not have any restrictions. If the courts believe the child’s mental, moral, emotional, or physical health would be endangered by parenting time with one parent, they can place restrictions on parenting time.

These restrictions might include supervised visits, shorter visits, or the removal of parenting time altogether.

What Factors Do Courts Consider?

By law, the courts must consider several factors when they draft parenting plans. These factors include:

• The child’s wishes, depending on his or her age
• Both parent’s wishes
• The child’s needs
• The amount of time and effort each parent has invested, to date, in caring for the children and making decisions for them
• The child’s and both parent’s emotional and physical health
• The daily schedules of the child and each parent
• A history of either parent abusing or threatening the child or instances of domestic violence
• Each parent’s ability to cooperate with the other when making decisions for the child
• Each parent’s desire for the child to continue a healthy relationship with the other parent

The court can also weigh other case-specific factors it decides are relevant. If the court makes a parenting decision, you must follow it, regardless of whether you agree.

Contact a Will County, IL Child Custody Attorney Today

Although the court has to approve an agreed parenting plan, you do not have to let a judge draft it. With the help of an experienced parental responsibilities attorney, you can negotiate a reasonable plan with your ex that should meet with the court’s approval.

At Reeder & Brown, P.C., we have decades of combined experience and will help you protect your child’s best interests. Call us at 815-885-5980 to request your free consultation with a competent Joliet, IL parental responsibilities lawyer today.