Visitation Rights for Grandparents are Still Evolving in Illinois

Before 2005, Illinois grandparents could not obtain a court order authorizing visitation with their grandchildren. From 2005 to 2007, the Illinois Legislature enacted a string of amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act addressing grandparent visitation. The evolving law in Illinois exhibits lawmakers’ recognition of the important role that grandparents can play in their grandchildren’s lives.

Illinois grandparents may petition for visitation rights

In accordance with a series of amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, Illinois law authorizes grandparents to petition for visitation with a grandchild who is at least one year old. Interested grandparents may file in the county where the grandchild resides, independent of any pending divorce or custody case.

Visitation rights for grandparents

To obtain visitation rights in Illinois, grandparents must meet the following two elements:

(1)   Grandparents must show that they have been unreasonably denied visitation by a parent of the grandchild; and

(2)   One of the following statements is true:

• A parent is incompetent
• A parent is dead or missing for three months
• A parent is incarcerated for at least three months before seeking visitation rights
• The child’s parents are divorced, legally separated, or there is a pending dissolution or custody proceeding and at least one parent has no objection
• The child is born out of wedlock and the parents are not living together

When evaluating whether or not to grant visitation rights to grandparents, Illinois courts will review the following variables:

• The grandchild’s preference
• The closeness of the relationship between the child and the grandparents
• The physical and mental well-being of the grandparents
• The mental and physical health of the child
• Did the child live with the grandparent (or has the grandparent been the primary caretaker of the child) for at least 6 consecutive months
• The good faith of the grandparent’s intentions in seeking visitation
• Whether the denial of visitation is in good faith
• A balance of the amount of visitation time requested versus the potential damaging impact on the child’s regular activities
• The grandparent’s frequency of contact with the child for at least one year
• Any other information illustrating that that the child will be damaged emotionally or physically by terminating the relationship between the grandparent and the child

Unless proven otherwise, Illinois law assumes that a parent’s decisions regarding grandparents’ visitation is in the best interest of the child. Therefore, Illinois grandparents face an uphill battle to successfully petition the court for visitation when the parents are opposed to it.

If you are a grandparent with a grandchild within the jurisdiction of the Cook County court and feel that you are being unreasonably excluded from seeing your grandchildren, consult with a Cook County family law attorney to determine if you may petition the court.

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