Dear luckeyme-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. As it
is in most states the issue of visitation vs. non-payment of support
are two separate matters. In Illinois a non-custodial parent who has
been granted visitation has a right to reasonable visitation with the
children ? period. This is a court order to YOU to insure that the
visitation is made available in the same way that it is expected of
him to adhere to the terms of the visitation.
?Visitation may be restricted only upon a showing that it would
endanger seriously the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional
health. Even in cases of serious abuse, visitation is likely to be
permitted, although supervision or other restrictions may be ordered.
Visitation may be modified from time to time by the court, as the
child's needs require. Visitation abuse occurs when a party has
willfully and without justification denied another party court-ordered
visitation, or exercised his or her visitation rights in a manner that
is harmful to the child or child's custodian.?
?Illinois law provides that a parent not granted custody of the child
is entitled to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds,
after a hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child's
physical, mental, moral or emotional health. Only very extreme
circumstances require and allow the trial court to permanently deprive
a parent of visitation. In order to restrict visitation rights, the
custodial parent must prove that the visitation endangers the welfare
of the child.?
DIVORCENET
http://www.divorcenet.com/states/illinois/ilfaq_10
Illinois Attorney Cynthia L. Lazar described it this way:
?Child support is considered a right for the child to receive and an
obligation for every parent. Although the money may be paid directly
to a former spouse, it is intended to be financial support for the
child or children. It is not meant to be used to enforce visitation
rights and nonpayment of support is not an excuse for denial of
visitation. Likewise, it is not to play a role in any other dispute.?
THE LAW OFFICE OF CYNTHIA L. LAZAR
http://www.clfamilylaw.com/PracticeAreas/PracticeAreaDescriptions9.asp
In short, you cannot withhold visitation for non-payment of support.
As I said, these are two separate issues. If you deny visitation based
in your ex?s non-payment you are technically as in violation of the
court order as your ?ex? is. For best results in getting compliance
you should make every effort to portray yourself as overly cooperative
even in the face of financial hardship, thus giving your ex no
ammunition to counter if there ever any legal action, like garnishment
or income tax withholding against him. I highly recommend you contact
an attorney or Illinois Legal Aid for more information about getting
the money that you are due. I cannot provide legal advice, but they
CAN! You can find actually ?legal advice? on the subject here:
ILLINOIS LEGAL AID
?How can I register with the state to get help in collecting child support??
http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentid=1642
Remember, when the time comes YOU will want to be the one who is
right. If you?re not, the state is just as enthusiastic about
providing HIM with legal advice in the same unbiased way that it
readily provides legal advice for you:
ILLINOIS LEGAL AID
?Should I Go to Court to Enforce a Visitation Order??
http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentid=2943
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
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