Yes. All divorcing parents in Illinois generally have to attend a parenting education class before they will be granted a divorce. Those classes are held both in-person and online. 

It is VERY important that you take the exact parenting class that YOUR COUNTY requires. If you take the wrong parenting class, you may have to go back and take the right one before you can get divorced!  

Check with your divorce lawyer or the clerk of the court in your county to find the right parenting class for you. 

No. In Illinois, children of divorcing parents do not get to decide which parent they will live with until they are 18 years old. A judge “may” consider a child’s preference if that child is an older teenager, but the judge is not required to do so. 

For the most part, courts do not want to put children in the middle of their parents’ divorce. Most judges won’t even ask where the child wants to live after a divorce. However, even if a judge does ask for a child’s input, s/he will usually make it clear to the child that it always remains the JUDGE’S decision where that child will live after the divorce. 

No. The rules surrounding parental responsibilities, parenting plans, child support, and parenting issues are the same for unmarried parents as for divorcing parents. 

Illinois child support is based upon an “Income Shares” model. That is, it is based on the net income of both parents. It follows this guideline calculation.  

Step 1: Determine Net Income. 

Both parents net incomes are determined. “Net income” equals gross income minus: 

• Federal and state income taxes  

• Social Security and Medicare tax  

• Mandatory retirement contributions 

• Union dues 

• Health insurance premiums covering the children 

The parents’ net incomes are then added together to determine their combined monthly net income. 

Step 2: Find the Basic Support Obligation 

The parents’ combined net income is then applied to Illinois’ statutory tables to determine the baseline child support amount 

Step 3: Apportion the Basic Obligation by Percentages 

Divide the combined net income of both parents by each parent’s individual net income to determine the percentage contribution that parent must make toward child support. The parent with the higher income will have to contribute a greater percentage of support. 

Step 4: Adjust for Parenting Time 

If both parents have at least 40% parenting time with the child(ren), then the support obligation is adjusted to account for that fact. “Parenting time” for child support purposes is calculated based upon the number of overnight visits a parent has with his/her child. 

If a parent spends at least 146 overnights with their children, then the amount of child support that parent would otherwise pay is reduced due to the amount of time the parent spends with the kids. 

To calculate this adjustment, multiply the total child support obligation by 1.5 to calculate the shared care child support obligation. Then determine each parent's share of the shared care child support obligation based on that parent's percentage share of the combined net income. Then multiply that parent's portion of the shared care support obligation by the percentage of time the child spends with the other parent. The respective child support obligations are then offset, with the parent who owes more child support paying the difference between the child support amounts to the other parent. 

Step 5: Allocate the Payment of Additional Expenses for the Children 

In addition to child support, parents are required to contribute toward the payment of their children’s medical insurance, uncovered medical expenses, child care expenses, extra-curricular activities and, in some cases, educational expenses. 

FINAL NOTE:  Courts have the authority to deviate from this guideline support calculation (either up or down) in appropriate circumstances. However, deviating from the guideline amount of child support in most cases is RARE and requires judicial approval!  

If you want to get a rough idea of what your child support might end up being, you can use one of the Illinois child support estimators found online .

Illinois has abolished the term “custody.” It has replaced the concept of “child custody” with “Parental Responsibilities.”  

Divorcing Illinois parents have five areas of responsibility when it comes to their children: 

1. Decision making in the areas: 

• Education; 

• Health care; 

• Religion; and 

• Extra-curricular activities; and 

2. Parenting time (formerly known as “visitation.) 

Parents can either have joint decision-making responsibility for their kids for each of the areas noted above, or one of them can have decision-making responsibility for that area. (So one parent could make decisions about education and the other could make them about health care, etc.) 

Both parents are entitled to have parenting time with their children. In Illinois, the law recognizes that it is in the children’s best interest to have a relationship with, and spend time with, both parents. How parenting time is configured, however, is different in every case. 

No. There is no “standard” parenting schedule. However, in recent years, Illinois courts in most jurisdictions lean towards implementing a 50/50 parenting time schedule unless the parents agree to a different split of time, a 50/50 split doesn’t work based on the parents’ work schedules, or the court finds compelling reasons to divide parenting time in some other way. 

In most cases, parents see their children based upon a schedule that they agree upon. If the parents can’t agree on a parenting time schedule, then the court will determine the schedule upon which each parent will see the kids. 

The court makes its parenting time determination based upon what the judge finds to be in the best interest of the children. What is in the children’s “best interest” depends on the facts and circumstances of every case. 

In general, child support orders are enforced in court. So, if your ex isn’t paying child support, you need to go back to court and ask the judge to find your ex in contempt of court. 

If your ex is found to be in contempt of court, the judge can impose penalties (including the payment of past-due support, interest and attorney’s fees) on your ex for not paying the support s/he was supposed to pay. The judge can also put your ex in jail until s/he comes up with at least some portion of the back child support that is due.  

Enforcing child support orders can be a long and tedious process. It takes time and it costs money. However, the State’s Attorney in your county may represent you in a child support collection case for free. Contact your local State’s Attorney’s Office if you are interested in that service. 

NOTE: The ONLY thing that the State’s Attorney will represent you on is child support enforcement. If you want to argue with your ex about any issue other than child support, that’s on you. 

The "Right of First Refusal" is a parent's right to be asked to babysit for his/her child BEFORE anyone else can do so. For example, if it's your day to have parenting time with your kids, and you want to go out for a few hours, with the right of first refusal you would have to call your ex and ask him/her to babysit before you ask anyone else to do so. If your ex says, "No," THEN you can ask someone else to watch them. 

The Right of First Refusal is required to be in every parenting plan in an Illinois divorce, unless the parents agree otherwise. If you have older children, you may not want or need to have a right of first refusal for your kids. But, because Illinois law requires you to deal with this issue, you at least have to say that you and your ex agreed NOT to make this part of your parenting plan. 

While dealing with the right of first refusal required, the WAY you deal with that right can vary greatly. 

For example, some parents want to have the right to babysit their kids if the other parent is gone for an hour or more. Others don't want the right to kick in unless one of them will be gone overnight. Still others may want grandparents to be considered when dealing with this right. (i.e. You only get the right to babysit the kids if neither their other parent nor their grandparents are available to stay with them.) This gives grandparents a greater opportunity to spend time with their grandchildren. 

How you configure the right of first refusal in your divorce is up to you. If you and your spouse can't agree on the terms of this right, however, the court will decide it for you. 

Yes. All divorcing parents in Illinois MUST have a Parenting Plan in order to get divorced. In Illinois this is called a “Parenting Allocation Judgment.” It allocates parental rights and responsibilities. 

Illinois has abolished the term “custody,” in divorce and parentage cases. It has replaced that term with the concept of “parental responsibilities, which include decision making in the areas of healthcare, education, religion, and extracurricular activities. Parenting time is also now treated as a parenting responsibility.  

An Illinois parenting plan must contain provisions regarding all of those parental responsibilities. It must contain a parenting time schedule that deals with regular (ordinary) parenting time, vacation parenting time and holiday parenting time. It must also include a provision about the right of first refusal. Finally, it needs to contain a dispute resolution clause. This clause typically requires parents to go to mediation before returning to court regarding any parenting dispute. 

A comprehensive Illinois parenting allocation judgment may also contain numerous other parenting provisions to guide parents about what they can/can not do while parenting their children until they turn age 18. The exact provisions a parental allocation judgment contains depends on the facts and circumstances of the divorce involved, as well as the terms on which the parties can agree, or which a judge decides.