Child Visitation in Divorce vs. Parentage Actions

The divorce law in Illinois provides that a parent not granted custody of a child is entitled to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds that visitation would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health.

The reasoning behind this law is that in a marriage each parent has exercised custody over the child and after the divorce one parent is granted custody and other reasonable visitation to protect the pre-existing parent-child bond created during the marriage.

The question of whether visitation is a right in parentage actions was recently addressed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court ruled that because in a parentage action first the paternity must be proven there may not be a pre-existing bond that needs to be preserved. As such, in parentage actions, visitation is not a right but rather a privilege and is provided if the court finds that visitation is in the best interests of the child.

For further details please contact The Law Law Offices of Azita M. Mojarad, P.C.