Custody

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)