Will Parenting Time Orders Still Be Enforced During the COVID-19 Crisis?

 Posted on March 31, 2020 in Parenting Time

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how we go about our daily lives in almost every aspect. Many states across the country have closed non-essential businesses, which include dining rooms for restaurants, movie theaters, non-essential retail businesses such as malls and clothing stores, and even many office buildings. These measures have been put into place to try to stop the spread of this new virus, also known as COVID-19. At the time of this writing, the United States has surpassed every other country in the world with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. In Illinois alone, there have been more nearly 6,000 confirmed cases, with 99 deaths reported. Many people have been wondering how this pandemic will affect their family situations, such as parenting time, especially those parents who are divorced with kids who are splitting time between different households.

Understanding Illinois’ Stay-At-Home Order

In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus, many states have also enacted “stay-at-home” orders that prohibit citizens from gathering with other people who are not household members. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order that started on March 21, stating that individuals should only leave their homes for essential or life-sustaining services. Illinoisians are still permitted to leave their homes for things such as outdoor exercise, going grocery shopping, attending doctor’s appointments, and going to work at an approved essential business.

Parenting Time During the Stay-At-Home Order

Many parents who share parenting time with their child’s other parent have had concerns about how the stay-at-home order will affect their parenting time arrangement. Thankfully, this has been addressed in the stay-at-home order. According to the order, non-essential travel is not permitted during the order. However, essential travel includes, “following the direction of law enforcement or court order, including to transport children pursuant to a custody agreement.”

Parents are highly encouraged to continue visitation in accordance with their court-ordered parenting time, but they should also exercise caution and common sense. If you, your child, or your child’s other parent is ill or exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, you should not continue with your regular parenting time schedule. Common symptoms of a COVID-19 infection include coughing, shortness of breath, headache, and fever. If you or your loved one is showing signs of the illness, it is important to call your doctor to find out if hospitalization is necessary. Parenting time can resume under the normal schedule once a parent or child has fully recovered from the virus

Contact a North Aurora Divorce Attorney 

If you are concerned about how your parenting time agreement may be affected because of the coronavirus pandemic, you should speak with a skilled Kane County parenting time lawyer. At the Law Office of Matthew M. Williams, P.C., we understand how stressful it can be to co-parent during times like these. We can help answer any questions you may have, and depending on the situation, we can work with you to modify your parenting time agreement if necessary. Call our office today at 630-409-8184 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Source:

https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/news-item.aspx?ReleaseID=21288