Objecting to a Parental Relocation

 Posted on October 30, 2018 in Child Custody

Divorce is difficult and stressful for everyone - there is no doubt about that. Once you completed your divorce and have decided everything from how your marital property is divided to how your parenting time is divided, you probably felt like a weight was lifted off of your shoulders. All of that stress and worrying can come rushing back if you have to move and you want to take your child with you. In Illinois, parenting time can be changed if there is a significant change in circumstances from when the parenting plan was first created - parental relocation qualifies as one of those circumstances. Even if you are not moving out of the state, you cannot just pick up and move if you are taking your child with you. You must seek the permission of both the other parent and the court.

First Steps

Before you do anything, you are required to provide written notice about your intended relocation to the child’s other parent. The notice should be issued to the other parent at least 60 days before your intended relocation unless that is not possible. The notice should be filed with the clerk of the circuit court and should include your intended date of relocation, your new address if it is known and the length of time you will be there if the change is not permanent. If the other parent agrees to the relocation, signs the notice and files the notice with the clerk of the court, no further court action will be taken. If the parent fails to sign the notice, objects to the relocation or you both cannot agree on a modification to the existing parenting plan, this is when the courts get involved.

Petitioning the Court to Relocate

Every decision that the court makes concerning your child is made with the child’s best interest in mind. When making a decision on how the parenting plan will be modified to accommodate the relocation, the courts will consider:

• The reasons for the intended location;
• The reasons why the other parent objects to the relocation;
• The quality of the relationship that each parent has with the child;
• The educational opportunities that the child currently has and the ones that he or she will have at the new location;
• Whether or not extended family is near the existing location and the new location;
• The anticipated impact the relocation will have on the child;
• Whether or not an acceptable allocation of parenting responsibilities is possible with the relocation;
• What the child wants, within reason; and
• How a modification to the parenting plan could be crafted to minimize impairment to the parent-child relationship.

Contact a Lincolnwood, IL Parental Relocation Attorney

Whether you are the parent who is seeking to relocate or you are the parent who is objecting to the relocation, this type of change can be difficult for everyone - including your child. Stress during this time of contention can be reduced with legal help from an experienced and knowledgeable Skokie parenting time lawyer. Our attorneys at Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC are compassionate and understand how a relocation can affect everyone in the family. Our attorneys also understand how to obtain successful parenting plan modifications, which can help speed up your relocation process. Call our office today to set up a consultation at 312-605-4041.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59