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Legal Information: Illinois

Custody

Updated: 
January 23, 2024

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)