Parents hold a lot of responsibility for ensuring their children get to spend time with each of them after a divorce in Illinois. The court’s work hard to ensure both of you are in your children’s lives and that visitation is not something difficult for anyone. However, custody and parenting time can be compromised if you or the child’s other parent decides to move and it is deemed a relocation.
According to the Illinois General Assembly, relocation is defined based upon the county in which a child currently lives. For Lake and Cook counties, a move that is more than 25 miles away, even if it is still within the state, is considered relocation for the purposes of parenting time and custody. If you are moving and have custody of your children, then you must give your children’s other parent a notice of the move.
In the notice, you must include your new address if you know it and that date you will move. You also have to state how long the move will be for. This is mainly for situations where a move may be temporary. You must provide this notice a minimum of 60 days prior to the relocation. In some cases, this may not be possible, so this requirement may be waived as long as you provide notice as soon as you are able.
The court may get involved if the other parent does not agree to the relocation and the notice is not filed with the court. As with any child custody matter, the court makes relocation approval decisions based on what is in the best interest of the children. If the move may cause problems with parenting time or the court being able to manage the allocation of parental duties or it is otherwise going to be detrimental to the child, the relocation petition may be denied. This information is only intended to educate and should not be interpreted as legal advice.
