Several years ago, Illinois abolished the use of the terms custody and visitation in family law cases.  This was done because the legislature felt the words custody and visitation had contentious undertones.  Additionally, it is not appropriate to say that a parent is having visitation with their child when that time is clearly much more than simply a visit.  After the decision to remove the use of the terms custody and visitation, Illinois has chosen to change the vernacular from custody to allocation of parental responsibilities.  Visitation became parenting time.  For clarity, this article will continue to use the words custody and visitation.

The attorneys at Schlesinger, Strauss & Hoyt LLC understand that custody issues can be very confusing. If you are struggling with a child custody or visitation issue, you can rely on Schlesinger, Strauss & Hoyt LLC to guide you through the process.

Generally, child custody (allocation of parental responsibilities ) is the term used to define which adult or adults are the decision-maker(s) for the child and visitation (parenting time) is court ordered time with the minor.

It is important for clients to know that parenting time and/or visitation is a separate topic from child support. You cannot deny another individual visitation because they have not paid support, conversely, one cannot stop paying support because someone denies visitation.

To discuss your child custody or visitation concerns with one of our highly qualified attorneys, please contact out office to schedule a free consultation.