How to Get Sole Custody in Illinois

To get what most people mean by “sole custody” in Illinois, you have to convince a judge that giving one parent all the significant decision-making power and the majority of parenting time is what’s best for your child. And Illinois courts start from the position that both parents are fit and should stay involved. That means “sole custody” isn’t something you ask for and receive. It’s an outcome you have to justify with real evidence, usually because the other parent poses a genuine risk to the child.

Here’s what this article covers: what “sole custody” actually means under current Illinois law (the term itself is gone), how realistic your goal is, the exact factors a judge weighs, the kinds of situations that justify giving one parent full control, the evidence that matters, what to do if your child is in danger right now, and the steps to actually file. Let’s get into it.

Does Illinois even have “sole custody” anymore?

No — Illinois got rid of the word “custody” in 2016, and your court order won’t contain it. A law called Public Act 99-90 replaced “custody” and “visitation” with two separate concepts: allocation of parental responsibilities (which covers decision-making) and parenting time (the schedule of when the child is with each parent).

This matters more than it sounds. Under the old system, “custody” bundled everything together. Now the court splits it apart, and you need to know which piece you’re actually fighting for. When people say they want “sole custody,” they usually mean one or both of these:

• Sole decision-making — you alone make the major calls about the child’s life.
• The majority (or all) of parenting time — the child lives primarily or entirely with you.

These two things don’t automatically move together, which is the single most important thing to understand before you go any further.

What does “sole custody” actually mean in Illinois now?

It means you’re asking a court to allocate all significant decision-making responsibility to you and, usually, to give you the majority of parenting time. Those are two distinct requests, and a judge can grant one without the other.

Significant decision-making covers the big, long-term issues in a child’s life. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.5, the law breaks these into four specific areas:

• Education — choice of schools and tutors
• Health — medical, dental, and psychological decisions
• Religion — religious upbringing
• Extracurricular activities — participation in sports, clubs, lessons, and other organized activities outside school

A judge can hand all four of these to one parent. The statute is explicit that nothing requires each parent to be given decision-making power — the court “shall allocate to one or both of the parents” the responsibility for each issue. So one parent getting sole decision-making authority is squarely on the table.

But here’s the catch that surprises people: you can have sole decision-making and the other parent still gets parenting time. They’re governed by different statutes with different standards. A parent who can’t be trusted to make sound medical or educational choices might still spend regular time with the child. Getting “sole everything” — all decisions and the other parent cut down to little or no time — is a much heavier lift, because parenting time has its own protective rule (more on that next).

Is it even realistic to get sole responsibility?

Honestly? It’s the exception, not the norm — and the law is built to make it that way. Illinois has no statutory preference for or against any particular split, and it is presumed both parents are fit. You’re starting from a position where the court assumes the other parent belongs in the child’s life. And it’s on you to show why that assumption shouldn’t hold in your case.

The broader national trend backs this up. Over the last several decades, family courts have moved substantially away from one-parent custody arrangements and toward greater sharing of parenting responsibilities. National research on post-divorce custody arrangements reflects that shift: court-ordered shared physical custody more than doubled, from 13% of pre-1985 divorces to 34% of divorces between 2010 and 2014. That broader movement toward shared parenting is important context for Illinois parents seeking sole custody: the question is not simply whether one parent would prefer greater control, but whether allocating significant decision-making responsibility to one parent is in the child’s best interests. 

One honest caveat: no Illinois government agency publishes state-specific numbers on custody outcomes. So anyone quoting you a precise “Illinois average” is likely relying on an unverified vendor survey. But the direction of the law and the national data point the same way — sole allocation happens when there’s a real reason, not by default. That should reframe your goal. You’re not trying to “win”; you’re trying to prove that shared responsibility would harm your child.

What does a judge actually look at when deciding?

Everything comes down to one standard: the best interests of the child. The judge isn’t deciding which parent is nicer or more successful. They’re working through a specific list of factors set by statute. And they can only weigh conduct that actually affects your relationship with the child.

For decision-making (602.5), the court considers factors including:

• • The child’s wishes, considering maturity and ability to express reasoned, independent preferences
  • The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
  • The mental and physical health of everyone involved

• The parents’ ability to cooperate in making decisions, or the level of conflict affecting shared decision-making

• Each parent’s past participation in significant decision-making for the child
• Any prior agreement or course of conduct between the parents regarding decision-making
• The wishes of the parents
• The child’s needs
• The distance between the parents’ homes, transportation costs and difficulty, everyone’s daily schedules, and the parents’ ability to cooperate with the arrangement
• Whether a restriction on decision-making is appropriate under Section 603.10
• Each parent’s willingness and ability to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other parent
• Physical violence or threats of physical violence by a parent against the child
• Abuse against the child or another member of the child’s household
• Whether either parent is a sex offender, including the nature of the offense and any treatment successfully completed
• Any other factor the court expressly finds relevant

For parenting time (602.7), the list overlaps but adds its own factors, including:

• The wishes of each parent seeking parenting time
• The child’s wishes, considering maturity and ability to express reasoned, independent preferences
• The amount of time each parent spent performing caretaking functions during the 24 months before the petition was filed, or since birth if the child is under two
• Any prior agreement or course of conduct between the parents regarding caretaking
• The child’s interaction and relationship with parents, siblings, and other people who may significantly affect the child’s best interests
• The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
• The mental and physical health of everyone involved
• The child’s needs
• The distance between the parents’ homes, transportation costs and difficulty, everyone’s daily schedules, and the parents’ ability to cooperate with the arrangement
• Whether a restriction on parenting time is appropriate
• Physical violence or threats of physical violence by a parent against the child or another member of the child’s household
• Each parent’s willingness and ability to put the child’s needs ahead of their own
• Each parent’s willingness and ability to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other parent
• Abuse against the child or another member of the child’s household
• Whether a parent or someone living with a parent is a convicted sex offender, including the nature of the offense and successful treatment
• The terms of a parent’s military family-care plan when the parent is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces being deployed
• Any other factor the court expressly finds relevant

That factor about cooperation is worth flagging. If two parents genuinely cannot make joint decisions — constant conflict, no ability to communicate — that itself can support giving one parent sole decision-making authority. High conflict isn’t just background noise; it’s a factor the statute names directly.

What reasons are strong enough for a court to give one parent sole responsibility?

The strong reasons are the ones that show the other parent endangers the child or can’t function as a co-parent — not the ones that show they’re annoying, difficult, or someone you’d rather not deal with. The court draws a hard line between “this parent is hard to get along with” and “this parent is a demonstrable risk.”

The statute that governs restricting a parent’s role, 750 ILCS 5/603.10, kicks in when a court finds that a parent “engaged in any conduct that seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or that significantly impaired the child’s emotional development.” When that’s proven, the judge can reduce or eliminate that parent’s decision-making and parenting time, and can order protections like:

• Supervised parenting time — a third party present during visits
• Requiring a parent to abstain from alcohol or non-prescribed drugs before and during parenting time
• Ordering completion of a treatment program for abuse or substance abuse
• Exchanging the child through an intermediary or in a protected setting
• Restraining a parent’s contact with the child or the other parent

The kinds of facts that get you there generally involve:

• Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of the child or someone in the household
• Domestic violence
• Substance abuse that interferes with the ability to care for the child
• Neglect or abandonment
• Serious mental instability that endangers the child
• A complete inability of the parents to cooperate on decisions (for the decision-making piece specifically)

Notice what’s not on that list: the other parent having a lower income, a smaller home, a new partner you dislike, or a different parenting style. Courts are directed not to consider conduct that doesn’t affect the parent’s relationship with the child. Be honest with yourself about which category your situation falls into — it determines whether you have a case or a hard co-parenting situation.

What evidence do I need to prove it?

You need documentation that a neutral judge can look at and independently conclude the child is at risk — not just your account of events. For parenting time restrictions, the court has to find serious endangerment by a preponderance of the evidence, which means “more likely than not.” That’s a real burden, and it lives or dies on proof.

Evidence that tends to move a judge includes:

• Official records — medical records, DCFS (child welfare) findings, prior orders of protection, criminal convictions
• Documentation of substance abuse — DUIs, failed tests, treatment records, prior court findings
• Third-party witnesses — teachers, doctors, counselors, family members who’ve seen the conduct firsthand
• Communications — texts, emails, voicemails showing threats, instability, or endangering behavior
• A record of caretaking — proof of who’s actually been handling the day-to-day, since the law weighs the caretaking each parent did in the 24 months before filing

Just as important is what not to do. Some instinctive moves backfire badly:

• Don’t withhold the child from the other parent on your own. Persistent interference with the other parent’s access is itself a factor a court can hold against you. There’s a narrow exception for a genuine, good-faith belief that the child’s safety requires it. And even then, you’re expected to start a court proceeding to sort out the facts as soon as you can.
• Don’t badmouth the other parent to the child. Your willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent is a listed best-interest factor.
• Don’t coach the child or manufacture conflict. Judges and evaluators see through it, and it damages your credibility on everything else.

What if my child is in danger right now?

If your child is in immediate danger, you don’t have to wait for a full custody case to play out. Illinois has emergency tools designed to act fast. This is the section to read first if you’re in crisis.

Two paths matter most:

• An order of protection under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. In the custody statutes, “abuse” is defined by reference to that Act, and an order of protection is a common early step where there’s abuse.
• Emergency and temporary court orders in your parentage or dissolution case can restrict or supervise the other parent’s time while the case is pending, under the same 603.10 protections described above.

Under 603.10, once a court finds serious endangerment, it can immediately order supervision, no-contact provisions, sobriety requirements, or exchanges through a protected setting. If you believe your child is being harmed, treat it as urgent. Call the police if there’s an emergency, and get in front of an attorney or the court quickly rather than trying to manage it informally.

How do I actually file — what are the steps?

You start by filing a petition asking the court to allocate parental responsibilities. The case then moves through a defined sequence toward either an agreement or a hearing. Here’s the general road:

1. File the petition. Depending on your situation, this is part of a divorce (dissolution) case or a parentage case if you were never married to the other parent. Either way, the same Illinois custody standards apply.
2. Request temporary orders if needed. If safety or stability can’t wait, you ask for temporary parenting time, decision-making, or protective orders while the case is pending.
3. File a parenting plan. Within 120 days of filing, each parent must submit a proposed parenting plan — a written document allocating decision-making and parenting time. If you’re seeking sole decision-making, your plan reflects that.
4. Go through mediation. The court generally orders mediation to help parents work out a plan, unless the court determines that impediments to mediation exist.
5. Hearing. If no parenting plan is filed, or the parents can’t agree, the court holds an evidentiary hearing to allocate parental responsibilities based on the best-interest factors. The court is directed to determine a plan that serves the child’s best interests.

How do I know if I have a case — and what should I do next?

You have a real shot at sole responsibility if you can document that the other parent endangers your child or that the two of you simply cannot share decisions. You have a weaker one if your case rests mainly on frustration with a difficult ex. Because the outcome turns on specific facts and evidence that a web page can’t evaluate, the honest next step is to have an attorney assess your actual situation.

Three things to do now:

1. Start gathering documentation — records, communications, and the names of anyone who’s witnessed the conduct you’re worried about.
2. Stop any self-help tactics like withholding the child or badmouthing the other parent, which can be used against you.
3. Talk to a family law attorney who can tell you honestly whether your facts clear the bar and what strategy fits your case.

This is exactly the kind of case where courtroom experience matters. At Lafata Law in DuPage County, attorneys Megan Lafata and Tom Elsner each spent years as DuPage County prosecutors — seven and eight years respectively — and each tried more than 100 cases to verdict before moving into private practice. In a contested custody case that hinges on proving serious endangerment by a preponderance of the evidence, that trial background is the difference between having damaging facts and being able to actually put them in front of a judge in a way that holds up. If you’re worried about your child’s safety and thinking about seeking sole responsibility, reach out to Lafata Law at lafatalaw.com for a consultation about your specific circumstances.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Illinois custody law turns heavily on the specific facts of each case; consult a licensed Illinois attorney about your own situation.