Illinois · Alternating weekends
Alternating weekends in Illinois
The child lives primarily with one parent and spends every other weekend with the other. In Illinois this is written into a Parenting Plan, where time with a child is called parenting time.
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The rotation
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | A |
| 2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
What Illinois expects
Illinois abolished 'custody' in 2016. Parents must file a proposed parenting plan within 120 days of a petition. The statute enumerates required contents — decision-making by category, the schedule, transportation, relocation notice, and a right-of-first-refusal provision if the parents want one.
Governing law: 750 ILCS 5/602.10.
The honest trade-off
Long the default in American courts, and still the most common order — but twelve days can pass between weekends, and the weekend parent rarely sees a school night or a homework fight. Most plans soften it with a midweek dinner.