Illinois Divorce Lawyer Blog
Illinois Parenting-Time Changes After Reynolds: A New, Lower Standard for Modifying Parenting Time
Illinois parents seeking to change a parenting schedule have received an important clarification from the Illinois Supreme Court. In Reynolds v. Reynolds, the court held that a parent seeking to modify parenting time alone must show changed circumstances that make a change necessary to serve the child’s best interests, not a “substantial” change in circumstances.
That distinction matters. A request to adjust when a child stays with each parent may face a different legal threshold from a request to change significant decision-making responsibilities or other parts of a parenting plan. The particular relief requested, and how the motion is framed, can affect the standard the court applies.
The Supreme Court’s ruling
The dispute in Reynolds turned on how to read Section 610.5 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. One subsection addresses parenting-time modifications; another addresses modification of a parenting plan or allocation judgment. The Supreme Court concluded that the parenting-time provision governs a motion seeking to change parenting time only.
The court’s holding was direct:
“Section 610.5(a), and not section 610.5(c), provides the applicable legal standard for a motion seeking to modify parenting time only.”
Under Section 610.5(a), parenting time may be modified at any time, without proving serious endangerment, if changed circumstances make a modification necessary to serve the child’s best interests. The statute separately requires a substantial change in circumstances for a modification governed by Section 610.5(c), together with a finding that the modification is necessary to serve the child’s best interests.
Two requests that may have different standards
The practical question is not simply whether a parent wants “more time.” It is what the motion asks the court to change.
| Requested change | General statutory standard |
| Parenting time only | Changed circumstances that necessitate modification to serve the child’s best interests. Serious endangerment is not required. |
| A parenting plan or allocation judgment | A substantial change in circumstances, based on facts arising since entry of the existing plan or judgment, and a finding that modification is necessary to serve the child’s best interests. |
| A restriction on parenting responsibilities | Section 603.10 applies. After a hearing, the court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent’s conduct seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health, or significantly impaired the child’s emotional development, before imposing protective restrictions. |
The categories can overlap in practice. A proposed schedule change may be presented as a parenting-time-only request, while a broader request could also seek changes to decision-making responsibilities or the parenting plan. Reynolds clarifies the standard for a motion seeking to modify parenting time only; it does not eliminate the need to identify precisely what the requested order would change.
“Changed circumstances” still requires more than a preference
The lower threshold is not an automatic right to revise a schedule whenever a parent asks. The statute requires both changed circumstances and a showing that the change necessitates modification to serve the child’s best interests. The court must decide whether the requested change serves the child, not merely whether it would better suit one parent.
In evaluating parenting time, the court must consider all relevant factors. Those include the child’s wishes, the parents’ caretaking history, the child’s adjustment to home and school, the child’s needs, the parents’ ability to cooperate, transportation and scheduling issues, and each parent’s willingness and ability to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. No single factor necessarily decides the issue.
“The court shall allocate parenting time according to the child’s best interests.”
The best-interests inquiry is therefore central even when the moving parent does not have to prove a substantial change. Evidence should connect the claimed change in circumstances to the child’s needs and explain why the proposed schedule would better serve those needs.
Reynolds is a significant clarification for Illinois family-law cases: a parent seeking to change parenting time alone need not prove a substantial change in circumstances. The parent must still show changed circumstances that make the requested modification necessary to serve the child’s best interests, and the court must evaluate the statutory best-interest factors.
The ruling does not mean every parenting-time dispute will be easier to resolve, nor does it lower the separate threshold for restricting a parent’s time. If you have any questions regarding this new analysis, or questions about child custody, please contact our office for an initial consultation.