Is Equal Always Better? A New Bill Proposes Presumption of 50/50 Parenting Time

Is a 50/50 parenting time schedule--one in which you and your co-parent have equal time with your children--right for you and your family? This is an important question that has been considered by countless families while going through the process of a divorce or parentage case. If you are going through one now, it is doubtless a thought that has come up at least once, if not many times, for you. Now, a new bill, HB 185 , sets out to make this major decision for you. As such, it is crucial to arm yourself with the knowledge about what this bill could mean, if passed, for you and your family.

More often than not, families who have parenting time schedules in place do not exercise exactly equal schedules for each co-parent. This can be for any number of reasons, including the work schedules for the co-parents, the physical distance between households, the school and extracurricular schedules of the children, and any safety concerns for the children, to name a few. In short, while a 50/50 parenting time schedule may seem like a wonderful idea at first blush, it is often not workable for a family’s reality, and the court has recognized this by awarding parenting time schedules that work for each individual family.

The current law in place on the matter is 750 ILCS 5/602.7 , which broadly states, “The court shall allocate parenting time according to the child’s best interests . . . Unless the parents present a mutually agreed upon written parenting plan and that plan is approved by the court, the court shall allocate parenting time. It is presumed that both parents are fit and the court shall not place any restrictions on parenting time . . . unless it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent’s exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.” HB 185 proposes to modify this language, providing that there is a “ rebuttable presumption that it is in the child’s best interests to award equal time to each parent.”

What would this change mean in action? While legal practitioners can only speculate as to how this potential law could be applied in court, HB 185 proposes that if the court were to award anything other than 50/50 parenting time in a case, it could be required to issue a written decision stating its specific findings of fact and conclusions of law in support of the decision to not award 50/50 parenting time. This added burden on the court may, in theory, deter a court from considering only the best interests of the children, and would heavily encourage courts to impose a 50/50 parenting time schedule for a family as a “one size fits all” solution, when it may in reality be truly problematic.

While it remains to be seen if HB 185 will pass into law, it is important to keep up-to-date on trends and changes in the law so you can be ready to make the best decision for you and your family. For more information, it is important to reach out to a trusted family law attorney.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact the author, family law attorney Colleen Hurley, at 312-888-4112 or churley@lavellelaw.com.