Custody as a father in Illinois

STATUTORY

The factors, in plain words

• The child's wishes, if reasoned and mature (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The child's needs (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The child's decision-making needs (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The child's interaction with parents, siblings and others (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The child's adjustment to home, school and community (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The mental and physical health of everyone involved (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The child's ability to express preferences (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The parents' ability to cooperate, or a distance that makes cooperation impractical (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Each parent's past participation in significant decision-making (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Any prior agreement or course of conduct between the parents (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• The parents' wishes (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Each parent's willingness to facilitate a close, continuing relationship between the child and the other parent (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Domestic violence or abuse (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Distance, cost and difficulty of transport, and the parents' daily schedules (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Any other factor the parents agree on (750 ILCS 5/602.5(c))
• Caretaking functions performed in the 24 months before filing (or since birth if the child is under 2) - PARTIAL: full 17-factor §602.7(b) list not enumerated in sizing (750 ILCS 5/602.7(b))
• Each parent's prior caretaking participation - PARTIAL: full 17-factor §602.7(b) list not enumerated in sizing (750 ILCS 5/602.7(b))

Source list: 750 ILCS 5/602.5 (decision-making) and 750 ILCS 5/602.7 (parenting time)

Presumption status

none · 750 ILCS 5/602.5; 750 ILCS 5/602.7

No equal-time presumption and no presumption in favour of either parent; allocation is factor-driven. Do not import FL/KY presumption language into IL.

No presumption burden applies in this state.

The paternity gate in Illinois

Form: Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP), filed with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Authority: Illinois Parentage Act of 2015: 750 ILCS 46/201(b); 46/204; Art. 3 - §§46/301, 46/304, 46/305, 46/307

Rescission window: Under §46/307, before the earlier of 60 days after effectiveness or a related judicial/administrative proceeding

No default-custodian rule stated for IL in sizing §3. A valid filed VAP is equivalent to an adjudication of parentage and confers all the rights and duties of a parent (§46/305(a)), but parentage is not allocation: parenting time and decision-making still require a separate allocation order under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 / 602.7. Name on the birth certificate alone is not enough.

Run the custody decoder for Illinois

Rules checked October 2026.