English
EspañolCan a parent who committed domestic violence or sexual abuse get parenting time or significant decision-making?
When a judge decides whether to award parenting time or significant decision-making, they must consider many factors. One important factor is whether a parent has committed domestic violence or sexual abuse.
Domestic violence
The judge will look at whether the other parent committed abuse against you, your children, or another household member. This includes whether the parent:
- committed physical violence, including sexual abuse;
- kept someone against their will;
- purposely prevented someone from sleeping;
- threatened physical violence;
- forced a child or a person with disabilities to take part in or witness physical violence (intimidation of a dependent);
- committed harassment;
- forced someone to do something, or not to do something, out of fear (interfered with personal liberty); or
- purposely kept someone from basic needs like food, shelter, medicine, or an assistive device for a disability (willful deprivation).1
The judge will also consider all other factors related to parenting time and significant decision-making. A parent who committed abuse may still receive parental responsibilities if the judge decides this is in the children’s best interests.2
Even if a parent does not receive significant decision-making, they will usually receive a “reasonable” amount of parenting time unless the judge decides, after a hearing, that this would:
- create a serious risk to the children’s physical, mental, or moral health; or
- really harm (significantly impair) the children’s emotional development.3
Sexual abuse convictions
The judge will also consider whether a parent, or someone the parent lives with, is a convicted sex offender. The judge will look at:
- what happened during the sexual abuse (the exact nature of the offense); and
- whether the offender completed treatment.4
If the parent was convicted of sexually abusing a child, they cannot receive parenting time:
- while they are:
- in jail or prison;
- on parole or probation;
- released under certain court-ordered conditions for a felony offense;5 or
- until they meet the conditions the judge sets to protect the children’s best interests.5
1 750 ILCS 5/602.7(b)(11), (b)(14); 5/602.5(c)(12), (c)(13); 5/600(a); 60/103(1), (7), (9), (10), (14), (15)
2 750 ILCS 5/602.7(a)
3 750 ILCS 5/602.8(a)
4 750 ILCS 5/602.7(b)(15); 5/602.5(c)(14)
5 750 ILCS 5/603.10(e)
Can I get parental responsibilities for my child in my order of protection?
As part of the order of protection for domestic violence, you can ask the judge to give you physical care and possession of your children and temporary significant decision-making. What the judge can give you depends on the type of order you get:
| Type of order of protection: | The judge can: |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
The judge can also decide whether it is safe for the abuser to have parenting time with the children. If the judge allows parenting time, the order must clearly state the dates, times, and any rules the abuser must follow. The abuser can be prohibited from coming to your home to pick up the children.3 To learn more about when the judge can deny or limit the abuser’s parenting time, go to Can the abuser be denied parenting time as part of the order of protection?
Note: In an order of protection, having the child with you is called “physical care and possession,” and visitation for the other parent is called “parenting time.” This is slightly different from an allocation of parental responsibilities judgment, where “parenting time” may refer to either parent’s time with the children.4 To learn more about allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time in a custody case, go to What are “parental responsibilities,” “parenting time,” and “significant decision-making”?
1 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(5); 60/217(a)(3)(i); see also 750 ILCS 60/218
2 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(5),(6); see also 750 ILCS 60/218; 60/219
3 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(7)
4 See 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(5),(7); 5/600(d), (e); 5/602.7; 5/602.8
If I am the child’s relative, can I get visitation?
The following relatives may file for visitation with a child if certain circumstances are met:
- grandparents;
- great-grandparents;
- stepparents; and
- siblings, including half-siblings and stepsiblings.1
Visitation may mean:
- in-person time with the child;
- electronic communication, like phone calls, emails, online chats, or video calls with the child; or
- some combination of both kinds of contact.2
You may file for visitation by filing a petition in the county where the child lives. You may also file for visitation as part of a current divorce case or other case involving parental rights and responsibilities for the child, such as a custody case.3
You may only file for visitation under this law if a parent has unreasonably denied visitation, and the denial has caused the child unnecessary mental, physical, or emotional harm.4 You can see more information at Under what circumstances can a relative file for visitation?
1 750 ILCS 5/602.9(c)(1)
2 750 ILCS 5/602.9(a)(1), (a)(4)
3 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(1)
4 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(3)
Under what circumstances can a relative file for visitation?
Generally, a judge will presume that a fit parent’s decisions about who sees the child are reasonable and not harmful to the child.1 However, if you are one of the relatives who can request visitation under the law, you may file for visitation if you can prove:
- the child is at least one year old;
- the child’s parent has unreasonably denied visitation;
- denying visitation with the child has caused the child unnecessary mental, physical, or emotional harm;2 and
- one of the following factors is true:
- The child’s other parent had died or has been missing for at least 90 days. The child’s parent may be considered missing if:
- no one can determine the parent’s location; and
- the parent has been reported missing to a law enforcement agency.
- One of the child’s parents is “incompetent as a matter of law.”
- One of the child’s parents has been in jail or prison for more than 90 days before you file for visitation.
- The child’s parents are divorced, and at least one parent agrees to let you have visitation with the child.
- *The child’s parents are legally separated, and at least one parent agrees to let you have visitation with the child.
- *One of the parents is part of a current divorce case or other court case involving parental responsibilities or visitation, and at least one parent agrees to let you have visitation with the child. This does not include the following cases:
- the adoption of an unrelated child;
- a case involving a child who has run away, refuses to return home, and requires court intervention for his/her own safety; or
- a court case for a civil or criminal order of protection because of domestic violence.
- *If the child’s parents are not married and are not living together, then:
- If you are the child’s grandparent or great-grandparent, the parent to whom you are related must have legally established his/her relationship to the child. For example, if you are related to the child’s father, the father must have legally established his paternity rights.
- If you are the child’s step-parent, your spouse must have legally established his/her relationship to the child. For example, if you are married to the child’s father, the father must have legally established his paternity rights.3
Note: For the situations with asterisks (*), the visitation with the child cannot take away from the parenting time of the parent to whom you are not related.
1 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(4)
2 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(3)
3 750 ILCS 5/602.9(c)(1)(A)-(E)
What factors will a judge consider when deciding if a relative should get visitation?
Once the judge determines that you are one of the relatives who can request visitation under the law and that the circumstances are appropriate for you to file, the judge will decide if it’s in the child’s best interest for you to have visitation. The judge will consider the following factors:
- what the child wants, after considering how mature the child is and the child’s ability to tell the judge his/her reasons and independent wishes about visitation;
- the child’s mental and physical health;
- your mental and physical health;
- the length and quality of the existing relationship between you and the child;
- whether you are filing the petition for visitation in good faith;
- whether the parent who is refusing visitation is doing so in good faith;
- how much visitation time you want with the child, and the possible negative impact visitation would have on the child’s usual activities;
- any other fact that shows how the loss of the relationship between you and the child is likely to cause unnecessary harm to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health; and
- whether visitation can be organized in a way that minimizes the child’s witnessing conflicts between you and the parents.1
A judge should also consider the following factors:
- whether the child has lived with you for at least six months in a row with or without the parent;
- whether the child has had frequent and regular contact or visits with you for at least 12 months in a row; and
- whether you were a primary caretaker for the child for at least six months in a row within the 24 months immediately before you filed for visitation.2
1 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(5)
2 750 ILCS 5/602.9(c)(2)
What circumstances would automatically disqualify a relative from getting visitation?
Even if you meet all of the circumstances and requirements that would normally allow a relative to file for visitation, you cannot file for visitation under the following circumstances:
- There is a petition pending to make the child a ward of the state; place the child under an order of protection; or terminate parental rights because the child has been abused, neglected, or dependent under Section 2-13 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
- An unrelated person is petitioning to adopt the child under the Adoption Act, or an unrelated person has already legally adopted the child.
- The child has been voluntarily surrendered by one or both parents, unless the child was surrendered to the Department of Children and Family Services or a foster care facility.
- The child’s parents have given him/her up under the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.1
In addition, the following criminal convictions will affect a relative’s ability to get visitation:
- If you have ever been convicted of committing an illegal sex act against a victim who is under 18 years old, you cannot get visitation while you are in jail or prison, or while you are on parole, probation, conditional discharge, periodic imprisonment, or mandatory supervised release. You may also be denied visitation after you are released from the above conditions based on the factors a judge must consider when deciding visitation.2
- If you have ever been convicted of first-degree murder for killing the child’s parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling, a judge cannot grant you visitation. 3
1 750 ILCS 5/602.9(b)(2)
2 750 ILCS 5/602.9(e)
3 750 ILCS 5/602.9(f)
