Your Relationship With Your Child Doesn't End Because Your Marriage Did.

When a relationship ends, the parenting relationship continues. How time is divided between households — who has the children on school nights, weekends, holidays, summers, and birthdays — shapes your child's daily life and your relationship with them for years to come.

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Parenting time disputes are among the most emotionally charged matters in family law. They're also among the most consequential. The schedule established now — whether through agreement or court order — becomes the framework your family lives inside.

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Getting it right matters.

LaRocque Law represents parents in parenting time matters throughout Cook, DuPage, and Will County — from initial allocations through modifications and enforcement.

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What Parenting Time Means in Illinois

Illinois no longer uses the term "custody." Since 2016, Illinois law uses "parenting time" to describe the schedule that determines when each parent is physically with the child. The change in terminology reflects a broader shift in how Illinois courts approach these matters — both parents are presumed to have a meaningful role in their child's life, and the goal is a schedule that supports that for both.

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Parenting time is distinct from parental responsibilities — which covers decision-making authority over education, healthcare, religion, and extracurricular activities. A parent can have significant parenting time while sharing or having limited decision-making authority, and vice versa. The two issues are related but separate, and they are often negotiated independently.

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The Legal Standard: Best Interests of the Child

Illinois courts determine parenting time based on the best interests of the child — a multi-factor standard that considers the specific circumstances of your family rather than applying a one-size-fits-all formula. Factors courts weigh include:

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• The wishes of each parent

• The wishes of the child, if they are of sufficient age and maturity

• The amount of time each parent spent performing caretaking functions prior to the proceeding

• Any prior agreement between the parents regarding parenting time

• The child's adjustment to their home, school, and community

• The mental and physical health of all parties

• The willingness of each parent to facilitate a relationship between the child and the other parent

• Whether either parent is a sex offender or has a history of abuse or neglect

• The distance between the parents' residences and the difficulty of transporting the child

• The child's needs

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No single factor controls the outcome. Courts look at the totality of the circumstances with one question at the center: what arrangement genuinely serves this child?

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There Is No Standard Parenting Schedule

One of the most common misconceptions about parenting time is that courts follow a default schedule — every other weekend, alternating holidays, and summers with the non-primary parent. That was never really true, and it reflects an outdated model that Illinois law has moved away from.

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Modern parenting schedules are as varied as the families they govern. Common arrangements include:

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Week on / Week off Each parent has the children for alternating full weeks. This works well when parents live close to each other, the children are old enough to handle week-long transitions, and both parents are actively involved in day-to-day care.

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5-2-2-5 The children spend five days with one parent, two with the other, two with the first, and five with the second — rotating through a consistent two-week cycle. This gives both parents regular contact while providing some stability in routine.

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Primary Residence with Regular Parenting Time One parent has the majority of overnights and serves as the primary residential parent. The other parent has regular parenting time — often including one or two weeknights per week and alternating weekends. This works well when parents live further apart or when the children's school and activity schedules make transitions difficult.

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Customized Arrangements For families with unusual work schedules, children with special needs, or circumstances that don't fit a standard template, parenting schedules can be tailored entirely to fit. Courts are receptive to creative arrangements when both parents can demonstrate they serve the child's interests.

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The right schedule for your family depends on your children's ages, school locations, each parent's work schedule, the distance between households, and a dozen other factors specific to your situation. We help clients think through all of it.

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Holiday and Summer Parenting Time

A parenting schedule that only addresses the regular week is incomplete. Holidays, school breaks, birthdays, and summers are some of the most significant moments in a child's life — and some of the most contentious in co-parenting relationships when they're not addressed clearly upfront.

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A well-drafted parenting plan addresses:

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• Major holidays and how they alternate between parents

• School breaks — winter, spring, and fall

• Summer parenting time — extended blocks, vacations, and camps

• Each parent's birthday and the child's birthday

• Mother's Day and Father's Day

• School events, performances, and activities

• How conflicts between the regular schedule and holidays are resolved

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Gaps in holiday coverage don't just cause conflict — they cause litigation. We make sure every parenting plan we draft is complete.

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When Parents Can Agree

When parents can reach an agreement on parenting time, the court will generally approve it as long as it serves the child's best interests. An agreed parenting plan is almost always a better outcome than a litigated one. It gives families more flexibility, avoids putting a judge in the position of making intimate decisions about your children's lives based on limited information, and tends to produce arrangements that both parents are more willing to follow.

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Many parents come to us with a general sense of what they want but need help working through the details and putting it in writing properly. We facilitate that process and make sure the final plan is specific enough to be enforceable and complete enough to last.

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When Parents Cannot Agree

When agreement isn't possible, the court decides. Illinois judges apply the best interests standard, weigh the statutory factors, and in contested cases often appoint a guardian ad litem — an attorney who represents the child's interests independently of both parents. The GAL investigates the family situation, interviews the parties and the child, and makes a recommendation to the court that carries significant weight.

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Contested parenting time litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and puts the most personal decisions about your children in someone else's hands. We pursue negotiated resolutions aggressively before recommending litigation — but when litigation is necessary, we are fully prepared to try the case.

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Enforcement: When the Other Parent Isn't Following the Order

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A parenting time order is a court order. Violating it has consequences. If your co-parent is consistently denying your parenting time, interfering with your relationship with your child, failing to return the children on schedule, or otherwise violating the terms of the parenting plan, Illinois courts have remedies available.

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Those remedies include make-up parenting time, modification of the parenting plan, findings of contempt, attorney fee awards, and in serious cases, a change in the primary residential parent. We handle enforcement matters decisively and document violations in a way that builds the strongest possible record.

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If your co-parent is not following the court order, don't wait to address it. Patterns of violation are easier to establish when they're documented consistently from the beginning.

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Modification: When the Schedule Needs to Change

Parenting time orders are not permanent. They can be modified when there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the last order was entered. Common grounds for modification include a significant change in either parent's work schedule, a parent's relocation, a change in the child's needs or school situation, a deterioration in the co-parenting relationship, or a child's changing preferences as they get older.

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Illinois law generally prohibits modification of a parenting plan within two years of its entry unless the child's current environment seriously endangers their wellbeing. After two years, the standard is a substantial change in circumstances. Timing and documentation matter in modification proceedings — we help clients build the record they need before filing.

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Common Parenting Issues That We Handle:

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• Relocation involving a minor child

• Schedule Enforcement

• Return of a minor child back to Illinois

• Emergency motions

• Parenting Time Restrictions 

• Modifications when circumstances change

• High-conflict custody disputes

Why LaRocque Law

Parenting time cases sit at the intersection of law and the most personal aspects of family life. They require an attorney who understands the legal standard, knows how to negotiate and litigate effectively, and can navigate the emotional intensity of these matters without losing sight of what courts actually weigh.

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We handle parenting time matters from initial allocations through contested litigation, enforcement, and post-decree modifications. Our focus is always the same: an arrangement that genuinely serves your child and protects your relationship with them.

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LaRocque Law serves clients in Cook, DuPage, and Will County.