What You Need to Know About the Right of First Refusal in Illinois

 Posted on June 29, 2026 in Child Custody

If you are a parent who is thinking about getting a divorce, you likely have many concerns regarding custody. You may worry about how your child will adjust to a two-home arrangement or how they will take the news of the divorce. You may also worry about how much time you will get to spend with your kids now that you must share parenting time with your child’s other parent.

It can be incredibly difficult for parents to transition to a more limited parenting arrangement after they have been highly involved in their children’s lives on a daily basis. Fortunately, there is a way to make sure parents have the maximum amount of parenting time possible through the "right of first refusal" provision.

At A. Traub & Associates, our Arlington Heights, IL family lawyers have over 100 years of experience, and we have handled many parents with delicate custody issues. We can help you.

What Does a Parenting Plan Include in 2026?

Parents who plan to share custody of their children in Illinois must complete a parenting agreement or parenting plan. In this agreement, you and your child’s other parent will write down your plans for how you will share parental responsibilities (formerly called custody) and parenting time (formerly called visitation). 

You must also make note of how major decisions about the children’s lives will be made and how parents will communicate with the children during the other parent’s allotted parenting time. 

There are also several "rights" which parents must agree upon, including the other parent’s right to be informed about travel plans, healthcare issues, emergencies, and other important concerns in the children’s lives. Lastly, parents should address the right of first refusal.

What Is the Right of First Refusal?

When the time you get to share with your children is reduced, many parents look for any way they can sneak in extra parenting time. The right of first refusal was instituted in order to help reduce the amount of time that children in a shared parenting scenario spend with a babysitter, relative, or other non-parent.

Consider this hypothetical scenario: You are the parent with the lesser amount of parental responsibility, and so you now only get to spend two weekends a month with your child. On one of the weekends that you do not have responsibility for your child, you find out that your child’s other parent is going out of town and plans to have a babysitter stay with the child. Understandably, you are frustrated by this. 

The right of first refusal gives parents in a situation like this the right to gain extra parenting time when the parent with allotted parenting time is unable to fulfill this duty. The right of first refusal requires the child’s other parent to see if you can keep the child when they are going to be absent. If you cannot have the child during a particular absence, you have the right to "refuse" the opportunity for extra parenting time, and then the other parent is free to look for alternative childcare.

Is The Right of First Refusal Included by Default in a Parenting Plan?

The right of first refusal is not automatically included in every parenting plan in Illinois. It only applies if the parents agree to it or if a judge orders it as part of the custody arrangement. If it is not written into the parenting plan, the other parent has no legal obligation to offer you parenting time before arranging outside care. 

When parents do include this provision, the terms need to be specific. A well-drafted provision should address several key details, including:

• How long the absence needs to be before the right is triggered

• How the offering parent must provide notice

• How quickly the other parent must respond

Vague language creates confusion and makes it harder to enforce the provision later. If your current parenting plan does not include a right of first refusal, an attorney can help you seek a modification to add one. If the existing language is unclear, an attorney can help you pursue changes that make the provision easier to enforce. 

Can You Be Held in Contempt of Court for Violating the Right of First Refusal?

Contempt is not the most common outcome for these violations. To hold someone in contempt, the court needs to find that the violation was willful. A one-time mistake or a misunderstanding about the terms is unlikely to rise to that level. Judges are generally reluctant to use contempt as a first response to parenting plan disputes.

That does not mean violations go unaddressed. Contempt is typically reserved for situations involving a pattern of repeated and deliberate disregard for the court order.

What Other Remedies Are Available for a Right of First Refusal Violation?

Even when contempt is off the table, you still have options. The most common remedy is make-up parenting time. A court can order the parent who committed the violation to provide additional time to the other parent to compensate for what was missed (750 ILCS 5/607.5).

Depending on the circumstances, a court may also require the violating parent to pay attorney fees or other costs related to bringing the matter before the court. Mediation is another path some families use to resolve these disputes without formal litigation.

Can You Request a Custody Modification for a Right of First Refusal Violation?

If violations happen repeatedly, you may have grounds to request a modification to the parenting plan. Illinois courts evaluate custody modifications based on the best interests of the child. A single violation is unlikely to justify a major change, but a documented pattern of violations can be relevant to that analysis. Courts consider several factors when evaluating a modification request, including:

• The child's relationship with each parent

• The stability of each home environment

• Whether the current arrangement is still serving the child well

If repeated violations suggest that one parent is not respecting the parenting plan, that history may be considered by the court.

Contact Our Arlington Heights, IL Child Custody Lawyers

To learn more about shared parenting after an Illinois divorce, contact our experienced Arlington Heights, IL family law attorneys at A. Traub & Associates. Call us at 630-426-0196 to schedule a consultation today. We can help you create a workable parenting plan that protects your rights and serves your child's best interests.