What Are the Benefits of Mediation in a Child Custody Dispute?

 Posted on April 09, 2021 in Child Custody

In Illinois, child custody is now referred to as the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time. Parental responsibilities include decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and other major issues. Parenting time, which used to be called “visitation,” is the time a parent spends with his or her child. Divorced, separated, and unmarried parents in Illinois describe how they intend to divide parenting time and parental responsibilities in their “parenting plan.” Family law mediation or child custody mediation is a means of reaching an agreement about the terms of the parenting plan with help from a mediator.

Mediation Can Help You Reach an Agreement About Your Parenting Plan

Many parents are surprised to learn just how detailed the Illinois parenting plan must be. Parents cannot simply decide that a child will spend time with one parent on the weekdays and the other parent on the weekends. Parents must also decide how parenting time will be handled on holidays, school vacations, and in other special circumstances. The parents will need to determine how they intend to handle any future proposed changes to the parenting plan, what happens if a parent moves, and several other issues.

Per Illinois law, there are more than a dozen provisions that must be included in a parenting plan, but some parents decide to add more. Understandably, many parents are overwhelmed by the number of decisions they need to make during the creation of their parenting plan. A mediator can help parents determine what issues they agree on and what issues still need to be resolved. The mediator can then guide parents through negotiations and discussions regarding the unresolved issues.

Mediation May Help You Become Better Co-Parents

Unlike couples without children, divorced and unmarried parents continue to exist in each other’s lives after they split up. During the mediation process, the mediator will help the couple learn how to communicate, compromise, negotiate, and de-escalate arguments. The skills parents learn during mediation can help them communicate about future child-related concerns in a non-aggressive, cooperative way. Research has shown that children are very sensitive to parental arguments. Learning how to effectively and respectfully co-parent can have a significant positive influence on a child’s life.

Contact an Arlington Heights Child Custody Lawyer

At A. Traub & Associates, we believe that mediation can be a useful way to resolve child custody disagreements. Illinois family law attorney Angel M. Traub is a certified mediator for custody and parenting issues in DuPage, Cook, and Kane Counties. She and the rest of our team can provide reliable legal guidance and support for a range of child custody concerns. Call our office at 847-749-4182 for a personalized consultation.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=075000050K602.10