Illinois Matrimonial & Family Law

ILLINOIS CHILD RELOCATION

updated 8 December 2018

by attorney Wes Cowell

 

Illinois law requires 1) proper notice to the other parent, and 2) court approval before divorced or never-married parents move their children from Illinois -- or even more than several miles within the state.

 

The law is easy to satisfy . . . and disaster awaits those who fail to do so.  I see it all the time:  a parent quits his/her job, cancels the lease, terminates utilities, closes the bank account, packs up and moves with the child; and then sets up roots in the new locale with the new job, residence, utilities, bank, driver's license, voter registration, etc.  Then, a few weeks or months later, an Illinois judge says the child must be returned until the court rules on the relocation.  Having just paid for the move, the parent is unable to comply.  What to do?!?!?

 

Consider the plight of Michael Cardena:  he obtained custody of his 3-year-old son and within a month moved with the child to Massachusetts without first seeking court approval.   Six months later he was in jail out East, his son was turned over to the mother in Illinois, and Michael faced a six-month jail sentence if he ever set foot in Illinois, again.

 

If you want to move a significant distance with your child, you must follow the "relocation rules" laid out in the law.  

 

The relocation rules are triggered by a move of:

• more than 25 miles from a current residence in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will Counties;

• or more than 50 miles from a current residence located anywhere else in Illinois; or

• more than 25 miles to anywhere out-of-state.

 

If you're moving a relatively short distance (less than the 25 or 50 mile-triggers), different rules apply and you'll still have some hoops to jump through.

 

If the parents cannot agree, the court must consider eleven factors and allow or deny the relocation request based on the factors that will serve the best interests of the child.  

 

If you're facing a relocation, Call my office TODAY -- no charge, no obligation.