Illinois Child Custody Factors

In Illinois, courts are to determine child custody questions “in accordance with the best interest of the child,” pursuant to Section 602 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/602). While the court may consider any factor relevant to the child’s best interest, the legislature has directed courts to specifically consider the following factors:

1. the wishes of the child’s parent or parents as to custody;
2. the wishes of the child as to his custodian;
3. the interaction and interrelationship of the child with his parent or parents, his siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interest;
4. the child’s adjustment to his home, school and community;
5. the mental and physical health of all individuals involved;
6. the physical violence or threat of physical violence by the child’s potential custodian, whether directed against the child or directed against another person;
7. the occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, whether directed against the child or directed against another person;
8. the willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the other parent and the child;
9. whether one of the parents is a sex offender; and
10. the terms of a parent’s military family-care plan that a parent must complete before deployment if a parent is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is being deployed.