Under Illinois law grandparents, great-grandparents and siblings are granted visitation rights if there is an "unreasonable denial of visitation" by one of the child's parents. While the goal of the law is to balance the parent's and grandparent's rights, the power of the parent is preeminent.

Under the law, grandparents must show that the denial of visitation is "harmful to the child's mental, physical or emotional health." For example, this may be the case if the child has been living with the grandparent. Grandparents or siblings petitioning for visitation rights must have support of at least one parent to proceed in cases where the parents have been divorced. In instances where a grandparent has not been raising the child or has had limited contact, a lawyer must use a child psychologist in court to prove that the grandchild would be harmed by not seeing the grandparent.

Note: This information was prepared as a public service by the Illinois State Bar Association and is a joint project with the Illinois Press Association. Its purpose is to inform citizens of their legal rights and obligations.