Written by Admin | Jul 24, 2018 5:00:00 AM
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2018 ® Volume 164, No. 144 Serving Chicago’s legal community for 163 years ‘Local relocation’ in custody cases now bigger problem than distant moves I n family law, we sometimes in the courtroom. While some a n n o u n ce d a move from the city represent clients who are judges have agreed with the im- MODERN FAMILY to a northern suburb, 16 miles seeking to relocate from their plicit presumption that moving away, for some of the very same home in Illinois to another within 25 miles of the current res- reasons as to the two other par- state. In a relocation case, idence is a custody parent’s pre- ents, her decision and her move one parent with the majority or rogative, not to be disturbed, other were not examined and snubbed equal parenting time wants to judges have determined that the in the same way. move the children and the other local, less-than-25-mile move, is a TA N YA J. She did not lose primary care parent opposes the children’s de- sufficient basis to revamp primary STA N I S H of her child. In fact, it was pre- parture from the state. care of the children and transfer sumed that as long as she stayed The ultimate decision as to the majority of the parenting time within 25 miles of her current res- whether the parent is permitted to the parent staying put. Tanya J. Stanish is a senior partner at idence, her prerogative to move to relocate the children from Illi- The legal rationale is a sepa- Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck LLP whose locally was to be legally honored. nois is a best-interest determina- rate, 2016-implemented provision practice concentrates on family law These mixed results over the tion, now framed by statutory fac- in the domestic relations statute, matters facing high net-worth clients, past two years since the changes with a focus on complex financial issues tors that the court must consider. not found in the relocation sec- in the Illinois Marriage and Dis- regarding their estates and business Out-of-state relocation cases tion, but in the parenting time solution of Marriage Act have interests. She also helps clients navigate have always been challenging. But, allocation section stating that one high-conflict child custody and parenting come into effect leave more un- what happens if one parent with of the 17 best interest factors the issues. She can be reached at certainty in the law and partic- the majority or equal parenting court is to consider in awarding t s t a n i s h @ s d f l a w.c o m . ularly in the advice that we are to time simply wants to move from parenting time to a parent is “the give to our clients. the city to the suburbs or the distance between the parents’res - daily lives and the children’s ed- Before the statutory changes, it suburbs to the city? idences, the cost and difficulty of ucational opportunities —and seemed routine and sound for a Arguably, the move could be as transporting the child, each par- their moves resulted in them los- majority parent to move from the risky and difficult as attempting e n t’s and the child’s daily sched- ing primary care of their children city to the suburbs or from one to leave the state. ules and the ability of the parents to the parent who opposed the suburb to another without risk of In 2016, the legislature enacted to cooperate in the arrangement.” m ove. losing primary or 50/50 care of provisions which seemingly were This one factor has caused Strikingly, the rationale stated their children. to aid parents, lawyers and the some unpredictable results in the by the judges in these two cases Now, the decision to move with- court in determining whether a courtroom over the past two was that the children would spend in the 25 miles might literally p a re n t’s intended relocation con- ye a rs . too much time in the car getting come down to whether the move stituted a substantial change in I have litigated two separate back and forth to their parents’ is viewed as being too far, too circumstances, requiring either cases, one where a stay-at-home respective residences and schools costly or the drive too taxing on the staying parent’s permission or mother of three school-aged boys in Chicago traffic —the distance the children. If 13 or 23 miles is the review by the court for the too far to move, is it safe to move best-interest determination. 10, 5 or 3 miles away from the For Chicago and the surround- If 13 or 23 miles is too far to move, is it safe to c h i l d re n’s current home without ing suburbs in Cook, DuPage, jeopardizing your parenting role? Kane, Lake, Will and McHenry move 10, 5 or 3 miles away from the children’s The answer is still evolving and Counties, the legislature defined the outcome is unknown. current home without jeopardizing your “re l o c at i o n ,”formerly called “re - Before the 2016 statutory m ova l ,”as moving more than 25 parenting role? changes, we were focused on the miles from the child’s current cases where the parents wanted re s i d e n ce. to leave the state with their chil- With that parameter in place, it moved fromChicago to the north- between the residences and the dren, causing difficult and heart- initially seemed to offer parents ern suburbs, 13 miles away from difficulty of transporting the chil- breaking parenting battles. who wanted to move locally and the children’s current home and dren seemed to outweigh all other Now, the revised parenting time stay within the 25-mile radius of another where a father parenting co n s i d e rat i o n s . statute has probably unintention- their current residence a sigh of his two school-aged boys on a One judge took “judicial no- ally opened the floodgates to the relief and a good measure of 50/50 schedule moved from Chica- t i ce”of the Chicago snowy win- “local relocation”battle, and knowing their land of opportunity. go to the western suburbs, 23 ters and the potential havoc they counting miles between resi- However, since its enactment, I miles away from the children’s could have on the 13-mile car dences sometimes seems to weigh have seen the 25-mile parameter home —both with the intended ride. Yet, in another courtroom, more heavily in the outcome than implemented with mixed results purpose to improve their children’s when the mother of a young boy the other 16 best interest factors. Copyright © 2018 Law Bulletin Media. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Media.