Family & Safety

If you are getting a divorce and you have children, you might have a joint parenting plan or agreement with the other parent. If the other parent doesn't follow the plan, you can ask the court to help you make them follow it. This is called "enforcing" it.

There are two ways you can enforce a joint parenting agreement: as a court order or as a contract.

Enforcing as a court order

If you were divorced, and your joint parenting agreement was made a part of the divorce order, you can enforce the agreement as a court order. There are two ways in which to enforce a parenting agreement.  The first is to file a Motion to Enforce the Court Order. In such a Motion, you are asking the Judge to issue a second order requiring compliance.  This is a softer method for asking for asking the other party to comply with the Court order. 750 ILCS 5/511.   It is useful when you believe the other party just needs a reminder of the consequences of failing to follow the Order.  A tougher stance to take is to file a Petition for Rule to Show Cause. A Petition for Rule asks the Court to find the other party is in contempt of Court for failing to follow the Court’s order.  A Petition for Rule is punishable by a fine or even jail time.   You can use the Petition for Rule to Show Cause program to create the forms you need. The process is the same as enforcing a custody order. Learn more about Enforcing a custody order.

Enforcing as a contract

If your joint parenting agreement was not made a part of a divorce order, you can still enforce it as a contract. To do so, you will need to start a new lawsuit by filing a Complaint and Summons. Learn more about Starting a lawsuit.