The 15 Required Parts of an Illinois Parenting Plan
The 15 things every Illinois parenting plan must include — with an interactive checklist you can actually use.
Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, parents must file a proposed parenting plan — jointly or separately — within 120 days of a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities. At a minimum the plan must cover 15 specific items, from the allocation of decision-making responsibilities and the parenting-time schedule to a 60-day move-notice requirement and provisions for communication with the child. Where there is a history of domestic violence or abuse, the personal contact information in several of those items may be withheld for safety.
When is a parenting plan due, and why does it matter?
Parents must file a proposed parenting plan — jointly if they agree, or separately if they do not — within 120 days of a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities (750 ILCS 5/602.10). The plan is not a mere schedule; it is the governing document for how the parents will raise the child across two households, and the statute prescribes a minimum set of contents so that nothing essential is left unresolved. Filing it on time and completely is what gives the court, and the parents, an enforceable framework rather than a series of recurring disputes.
What must the plan contain?
At a minimum, 750 ILCS 5/602.10(f) requires the plan to set out: (1) the allocation of significant decision-making responsibilities, such as education, health, religion, and extracurriculars; (2) the child's living arrangements and each parent's parenting time, as a specific schedule or a formula detailed enough to enforce; (3) a mediation provision for any proposed change to parenting time or responsibilities; (4) each parent's right of access to the child's medical, dental, psychological, child-care, and school records; (5) designation of the parent with the majority of parenting time for purposes of Section 606.10; (6) the child's residential address for school-enrollment purposes only; (7) each parent's residence and employment information; (8) a requirement of at least 60 days' prior written notice of a change of residence; (9) provisions to notify the other parent of emergencies, health care, travel, and other significant issues; (10) transportation arrangements between the parents; (11) provisions for communication, including electronic, with the child during the other parent's time; (12) provisions for handling a parent's future relocation; (13) provisions for future modifications if specified events occur; (14) right-of-first-refusal provisions, if desired; and (15) any other provision that addresses the child's best interests or facilitates cooperation.
There is a built-in safety exception: the personal contact information required in items 6 through 8 may be withheld where there is a history of domestic violence or abuse, so that a parenting plan never becomes a means of locating a victim.
Turning a checklist into a plan the court will approve
The details in each item are where cases are won or lost. We draft parenting plans that hold up.
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Erik B. Diggs is the Founding Attorney of The Diggs Law Firm, a Chicago family law firm that focuses on contested divorce, property division, and parenting matters. He is admitted to practice law in Illinois and serves clients throughout Cook County and the surrounding area from 77 W Wacker Drive, Suite 4500, Chicago, IL 60601. Call 312-380-1070.
