After a couple with children divorce and after the difficult issues of child custody and visitation have been determined, the parties are still required to work together to carry out their custody and parenting/visitation arrangements. Often times, an issue arises after a divorce has been finalized when the person who has residential custody of the children, also known as the custodial parent, wants to move. The move may be for the custodial parent’s career, for his or her new spouse’s career, to be closer to family, or for any other reason. But after a divorce, the custodial parent cannot move from Illinois unless he or she has obtained the agreement of the non-custodial parent or a court order permitting the move. To the custodial parent, this rule may seem restrictive and unfair, but to the non-custodial parent, the rule is necessary and reasonable because visitation rights may be severely affected by the move. If custodial parents could move around based solely on their own discretion, non-custodial parents would see a lot less of their children and would frustrate the purpose of the parenting agreement as negotiated by the parties.

The Illinois removal statute (750 ILCS 5/609) states that the court may grant the custodial parent leave to remove the minor child or children from Illinois “whenever such approval is in the best interests of the child or children.” Factors the court will consider in determining whether the move is in the best interests of the child are: (1) the likelihood that the proposed move will enhance the general quality of life for both the custodial parent and the child, (2) the motives of the custodial parent in seeking the move, (3) the motives of the non-custodial parent in resisting the removal, (4) the visitation rights of the non-custodial parent, and (5) whether a realistic and reasonable visitation schedule can be reached if the move is allowed. Courts will look at the unique facts of each case to make a determination about what is best for the child or children involved.

Keep in mind however that a court cannot prevent a custodial parent from moving anywhere within the state of Illinois; thus, a parent is permitted to move to a town on the Illinois side of the border without technically violating the removal statute and/or the custody agreement, but he or she would still have to comply with the visitation arrangement already in place. It is common, when negotiating a parenting agreement, to add language in the agreement which states that neither parent shall cause to remove the children within a certain mile radius from where they currently reside to prevent moves like this.