Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

My fiancee has visitation with his son and daughter every Sunday and every other Saturday night. His daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. She has now been in remission for nearly a year. Since that time, my fiancee has only had visitation with her approximately 3 times for 4-5 hours on a Sunday. His ex-wife's reasoning for not allowing visitation at first was that we did not know how to take care of her or how to "read" her. Since remission it's been simply just "it's in her best interests". The past two weekends the mother took the daughter to a carnival where she rode rides such as the Tilt-O-Whirl and stayed out until 11pm. Last weekend she had the daughter call and say she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to come. About a month ago the mother set up a playdate for the daughter on the Sunday when she should have been with her father. This weekend we planned to spend time with the family, and again she will not let her come because "it will be too much activity for her. It's in her best interests." The son's visitation, however, has not been interfered with. How can we get her to understand that it's also in the daughter's best interests to spend time with her father without starting World War 3? Once before she filed a false order of protection against him, which was thrown out. We're tired of fighting with her, or rather being afraid to fight her in case she pulls something like that again. What can we do?


Asked on 9/05/09, 8:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sue Roberts-Kurpis, Esq. Law Office of Sue Roberts-Kurpis

You really should consult with an attorney in your area and I would suggest file a petition with the court to reinstate full visitation with the daughter since she is now in remission. Even if she weren't in remission, taking care of a sick child is also part of being a parent and visitation should not be denied on that basis. You may also want to ask the child's doctor for a medical opinion on the impact of the child's illness on visitation before you do anything else. Unless the divorce decree or parenting agreement states otherwise, your husband does not need his ex-wife's permission to speak to the child's doctor or request a written opinion from him. This should actually be your starting point because if the doctor believes that increased visitation would be harmful, you've basically lost your case before you start. Good Luck.

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Answered on 9/10/09, 9:16 pm


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