New Illinois “Child Custody” Law: Parenting Agreement Requirements

As an Illinois divorce lawyer, it’s important to take note of major changed in the law. Beginning January 1, 2016, there term “custody” will not a legal term so far as the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the “IMDMA”) is concerned.  In other words, there will be no more “joint legal custody” or “sole legal custody.” Instead, parents will be allocated various rights in regards to children.

The movement away from the use of “custody” as a legal term is just one change of many in the new law. That’s why I wrote this article – to help people understand Illinois’ new divorce law as it relates to kids.

Parenting agreement requirements

Parenting agreements, in the old days, could take many forms. Frankly, the requirements regarding what had to be in them were not much. But now, there are many more requirements as to exactly what must be in a parenting agreement. You can see this statutory list of requirements that is based upon Section 602.10 of the IMDMA.

About the author: Contact Illinois family law attorney David Wolkowitz at 312-554-5433 or online. He is a family law and divorce attorney serving Chicago and the Counties of Cook, Champaign, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Areas of practice include divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody, visitation, spousal maintenance, child support, and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act (the “UCCJEA”).