How Can Parenting Time Be Divided in an Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on September 14, 2026 in Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

When minor children are involved in a divorce, disagreements about new parenting arrangements between parents can become emotionally charged and difficult to resolve. Many of the most significant concerns for divorcing parents are related to child custody, including how parenting time will be divided.

There are a wide variety of different arrangements for sharing physical custody of children. Starting by understanding the options that are available, parents can take steps to cooperatively co-parent in a way that protects their children’s well-being. If you are getting divorced in Illinois in 2026, our Hillside, IL child custody lawyer can help you produce a parenting plan that makes sense for you. 

What Does "Parenting Time" Mean in Illinois?

"Parenting time," which is sometimes referred to as "physical custody" or "visitation," refers to any time that children are in the care of either of their parents. This includes overnight stays at a parent's home, but also includes any shorter periods of time that they spend time with parents, such as evenings spent with one parent on school days.

Illinois law addresses parenting time under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.7, courts must divide parenting time between parents according to the child's best interests. Unless the parents submit an agreed-on, written parenting plan together that the court approves, the judge will determine how parenting time is divided. 

Parental Responsibilities and Parenting Time

Legal custody, which is referred to in Illinois as the "allocation of parental responsibilities," is shared in most cases. This means both parents participate in decisions about important issues in their children's lives, such as education and medical care. 

However, even if legal custody is not shared, both parents usually still have the right to spend a reasonable amount of parenting time with their children. Parenting time is not ordinarily restricted unless the court finds that a parent's exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.

How Do Illinois Courts Decide What Parenting-Time Schedule Is Best?

In Illinois, there is no "standard" parenting time schedule that is used. When negotiating a parenting plan, parents can come up with whatever arrangements they believe will provide for their children's best interests.

In most cases, parents come up with a parenting plan that has detailed arrangements for both parenting time and decision-making responsibilities. When they can’t do this, even with the help of a mediator, the court will step in. 

Relevant factors in parenting time decisions include: 

• Each parent's wishes;

• The child's wishes, when the child is mature enough to express them;

• The amount of time each parent spent caring for the child in the previous two years;

• The child's adjustment to home, school, and the community;

• The parents' ability to cooperate;

• The distance between parents’ homes;

• The mental and physical health of everyone involved; and, 

• Whether either parent has engaged in violence or abuse.

The purpose of these factors is not to reward one parent or punish the other - the court seeks to create an arrangement that works best for the child.

This is also why a parenting-time arrangement that works well for a three-year-old will look very different from one created for a teenager. A young child may benefit from frequent contact with both parents and shorter periods away from either home. Older children may have school, sports, jobs, or social activities that make a different schedule more practical.

What Are Some Common Ways to Divide Parenting Time?

Parents have a great deal of flexibility available to them to allow them to agree on a parenting schedule. Some options that parents may choose to put in place include:

Equal or Near-Equal Parenting Time 

If both parents are closely involved in their children's lives, and have already provided care for children on a daily basis, they may want to maximize the amount of time that they spend with their children. To do so, they may create a schedule in which children spend equal or near-equal amounts of time in each parent's home. 

Unequal Parenting Time 

It may be beneficial for children to live primarily with one parent while spending time with the other parent regularly. These arrangements allow children to follow consistent routines for bedtimes on weeknights and as they prepare for school in the mornings. 

A variety of different permitted arrangements is available in these situations, such as schedules in which children spend weeknights at one parent's home while alternating weekends between parents. Schedules may also allow for children to spend evenings or other times during the day with a parent, even if they will not be staying overnight in that parent's home.

Extended Visits with a Parent During School Vacations

In situations where parents live in different states or regions, children usually live primarily with one parent during the majority of the year. In these cases, arrangements are usually reached for children to visit the other parent for extended periods during summer vacations, winter breaks, holidays, or long weekends.

However, the choices for parents are not limited to the above-stated arrangements. Some families use alternating-week schedules. Others use schedules in which children spend two or three days at a time in each home. Still others create parenting plans around a parent's unusual work schedule, or the needs of several children with different activities. The best schedule is the one that fits the family's actual life.

What Has to Be Included in an Illinois Parenting Plan?

Parenting time is only one part of the larger parenting plan. Parents can prepare one agreed-to plan, or can submit separate proposals, if they cannot reach an agreement. Illinois courts generally order mediation to help parents resolve parenting-plan disputes, unless there is a reason mediation isn’t appropriate.

A parenting plan addresses much more than which parent gets which days. It should: 

• Establish where children will spend holidays and school vacations;

• How transportation and exchanges will work;

• How parents will communicate about the children; and,

• How important decisions will be made.

Thinking through these details in advance can prevent relatively small disagreements from becoming major sources of conflict later on.

Contact Our Hillside Child Custody Lawyer

When it comes to determining parenting time in an Illinois divorce, it is important for parents to understand how this subject is addressed in the state's laws. Many different arrangements are available, and the best outcomes happen when parents can work together to put their children’s best interests first. 

At the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C., our Oak Park parenting time attorney can provide guidance on how to resolve disputes between parents, and create a workable parenting plan. For over 38 years, we have provided top-quality representation to clients in divorce and family law cases. Contact us at 708-449-7404 to schedule a no-charge legal consultation.