Parenting Time is “physical custody” of the children and “Decision Making” is the “legal custody” of the children. Meaning, who makes major decisions on behalf of the children.
For example, a parent or both parents can be responsible for:
- Education
- Medical
- Extracurricular
- Religion
Parenting Time is separate from parenting responsibilities. A family could have equal parenting time, but one parent has sole parenting responsibilities. Or, a family could have joint parenting responsibilities, and one parent has primary parenting with specific parenting schedule to the other parent.
In Illinois, parenting time is decided utilizing 17-factors articulated under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. Whereas decision making responsibilities is decided utilizing 15-factors articulated under 750 ILCS 5/602.5.
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 900 outlines the trial courts’ special responsibility in cases involving the allocation of parental responsibilities of children. These rules aim to expedite such cases, ensure coordination of related matters, and focus proceedings on the child’s best interest while protecting the rights of the parents. Rule 900 states that the parties have 18-months to reach a resolution of parenting time and parenting responsibilities. If they are unable to do so, then the trial court will set the case for trial and decide parenting time and parenting responsibilities in the best interest of the children.
How Can Watson Law Help in Parenting Time
At Watson Law we work our clients to come up with a parenting plan that is in the best interest of our client’s children. We walk our clients through different parenting time options, using a software program to visualize proposed parenting schedules. We provide clear language in our Parenting Plans to allow co-parents to have clear, healthy boundaries and guidelines for decision making for Education, Medical, Extracurricular, and Religious decisions.
