Restrictions On Child Visitation In Illinois: Talk With A Lake Forest Child Custody Attorney

As a general rule, when parents of a child do not live together or are divorced, both parents have a right to visitation with their child. The preferred term is parenting time, rather than visitation. Usually, the child lives primarily with one parent, often referred to as the custodial parent, and the other parent, often referred to as the noncustodial parent, has visitation rights, or rights to parenting time, in order to the see and spend time with the child. Typically, the courts do not interfere with a parent’s parenting time with their child.

However, there may be situations where the court believes that it is in the best interest of the child to place restrictions on a parent’s visitation rights or even prohibit visitation all together. The parent may have engaged in conduct that is seriously endangering to the child or may have placed the child physically, mentally, or morally at risk of harm. When it comes to children, the Illinois courts always focus on what is in the best interest of the child, and sometimes restricted or no visitation whatsoever with a parent is the best course of action concerning the safety and well-being of the child. These visitation restrictions are provided for under 750 ILCS 5/603.10, and only the most extreme cases result in a parent being completely prohibited from visitation with their child.

What Types of Restrictions Could Be Implemented?

Restrictions to visitation are generally formed in response to certain instances of behavior that are considered not in the best interest of the child, so these restrictions can be specifically tailored to cover certain acts or behaviors. For instance, restrictions could include:

• Visitations must be limited to the custodial parent’s home;
• Visitations must be monitored or supervised by another adult;
• No guests of the opposite sex can stay the night when the child is visiting;
• No alcohol, or drug use is allowed; or
• The parent must refrain from specific behaviors when with the child, such as not drinking and not doing illegal drugs.

Complete Prohibition of Visitation

It takes a lot to warrant a complete prohibition, or suspension of parenting time privileges. Circumstances must be extreme to warrant such action. Several examples of reasons why a parent’s visitation privileges could be suspended include, but are not limited to:

• Situations where the parent has been found guilty of a crime against the child;
• Situations where the parent is struggling with a substance abuse problem; or
• Situations where the parent has a history of causing harm to the child. The harm could be physical, emotional, or psychological harm to the child.

The Potential For Review of Circumstances

Even if a parent has restrictions placed on his or her visitation privileges with their child, these restrictions are not going to be in place forever. The court can reevaluate the situation and will consider whether circumstances have changed that would make it safer or appropriate for the child to have visitation with the noncustodial parent.

Work with a Lake Forest Child Custody Lawyer

If you are concerned that you may be facing parenting time restrictions or are concerned that your child’s other parent needs to have restrictions placed on his or her parenting time and visitation, please consult with the Lake Forest child custody attorneys at the Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group serving the Chicago, Lake Forest, and Lisle communities. Please give us a call at 312-445-8830 or visit us on the web to schedule your free legal consultation.