Paperwork for Move Aways in Illinois

I have a question and wonder if someone can answer. I am planning to move out of Illinois, and am hoping to do this without a fight from the ex. I'm hoping to work things out civily before the move, but I wanted to be ready with all the paperwork I needed. So I went down to my courthouse and spoke to a Pro Bono lawyer about the paperwork that I need in order to present it to the courts. The lawyer told me that the only paperwork that I needed was "petition for a motion" and that if we were to change the visitation, child support (which obviously we will be) child custody (maybe) that I would have to type this out and present it to the courts. This sounded very disrespectful to the court, so I went upstairs and spoke with the clerk who gives out all the paperwork, she said the same. I had her call over to the Daley Center where this will eventually be heard, and they said the same. Does anyone know if this information is correct?? It just seemed to simple and a little disrespectful to have me type it out and not present the courts with "official" forms. HELP!! When I speak to him about this I would like to have ALL the paperwork, the correct paperwork.

Well, that's all you have to do -- petition the court to let you move out of state. However, what they failed to tell you is that you better have a damn good reason for wanting to do so. There are only two ways that you would be able to move out of state with your child(ren): #1 - if your ex agrees to let you do so OR #2 - if the judge agrees to let you do so. In order for the judge to agree to it, you will have to prove that it is in the child(ren)'s best interest, and you will have to give a lot of details about where you will be living and how it would be to the child(ren)'s advantage to move.

Yes I know all that about the reasons, and yes I do have Dam good reasons.. Why I am so perplexed is because of the paperwork involved. December are you a lawyer? Do you know anything about the process?

No, I'm not a lawyer, but I have been in your situation. I live in Illinois too. My lawyer told me that it would practically be impossible to get a judge to allow me to move out of state with my daughter, so I decided to get permission from the ex instead. I had to give up a few thousand $$ to get my ex to agree to let me move out of state, and I can't even do that for 18 months from the date the judge signed the order, but to me, it was worth it. I have 5 months to go. Anyway, it doesn't matter whether you petition the court to get permission to move out of state or whether a lawyer does it for you, but, like I said, you need to have a really good reason, and it's not as easy as it sounds. You will have to go before the judge (with or without a lawyer) and convince him that it would be in the child(ren)'s best interest to do so. A lawyer would probably be able to give you an idea of what kind of info you would need to convince a judge better than you could yourself. Even if you have a good enough reason, the judge will want to know about what kind of environment the child(ren) will be living in, what school they will be going to, etc., so you would have to investigate the community, school, etc., before you even go before the judge so that you can answer questions when you get there. May I ask what your "good reason(s)" are? Also, why would this move be "in the child(ren)'s best interest"?

Sorry -- I guess I really didn't answer your question, did I? As far as the paper work, there is no "official form" that you would have to fill out. All you need is a request in writing to the judge, and then he/she will schedule a hearing. If you just want to move out of state with the kid(s), then include that in your request. However, if you think there are other issues involved, such as support, then you would need to specify that in your request to the judge also. Bottom line is that you will have to go before the judge and let him/her decide whether or not you can move and/or whether or not the amount of child support should change. Keep in mind that your ex will also have the opportunity to attend the hearing and will be given a chance to have his say. Your chances are probably pretty slim if he is dead-set against you moving. Also, why do you think support will change? Moving out of state and child support are two separate issues, but they could both be addressed at the same hearing -- if you specify that in your request. Good luck!

Yes. My reasons would be for best interest of the children. I have since remarried (3 years now) and my husband has received a job offer, which would make the income almost double. This would make the kids and our way of life much more comfortable. And I know everything about the state that it's in and the schools. I've already done my research in that. Can I ask why the judge made you wait 18 months and what were your reasons for moving? The child support issue, I'm going to be compensating air travel with that (if I need to drop it all togeather and just let him pay for airfare). He's very money hungry so if push comes to shove, i'll give it up... I plan on keeping the lines of communications open between the kids and their father, and will give him as much time as he deems fit (all summer vaca, christmas vaca)... so long as it doesn't interfer with their schooling. Did you say that you had to pay your ex money in order for him to sign that? Tells you a little bit about the person, my ex said once when I first left him that he would give me full custody if I signed the car title over to him. I ran back to my apartment (I gave him the house) to find it, but everything was still in boxes. And when I got back there he told me to forget it... But I'm trying to "get all my ducks in a row" before I go and speak to him, including the paperwork. The lawyer said that it can be filed at anytime, and I could leave once everything is filed whenever I wanted. I'm looking at June.

I don't want to discourage you or anything, but a better job opportunity for your husband might not be good enough for the judge. I know a lady that lost her job because her company moved to Florida and she couldn't relocate ---- yep, a judge STILL wouldn't let her move with her kids even though her job moved there. You were smart to investigate the area you will be moving to. Anyway, a lot of it will depend on whether or not your ex wants to fight you over this. If he agrees, you should have no problem. But if he disagrees, the judge might side with him. After all, he has rights to his kids too, and your moving away would interfere with his visitation rights. (I'm not siding with your husband, just giving you an idea of the way the courts will see it.) If I were you, I would not use the child support issue to compensate for air travel. You would be opening another "can of worms" if you do. If anything, just offer to pay all travel expenses, which I, personally, don't think you should have to do. Either that, or give up the support entirely and let him pay all travel expenses. I think it's great that you plan on keeping the kid(s) in touch with their dad. When I move, my ex will get my daughter during the summer, most of the holidays, and an extra week during the school year. Since I am not a lawyer, I could be wrong, but I don't think you can just file the papers and then leave. You would have to have a hearing before the judge and let him decide whether or not you can leave. Believe me, if it was that easy (just filing the papers), there would be a lot more people doing that instead of agonizing over the fact that they CAN'T move out of state because the ex or a judge won't let them.

As far as my situation is concerned, a judge did not decide in our case. When my lawyer explained to me that it would be practically impossible to get a judge to agree to letting me move, I decided to get my ex's permission instead. Since we were in the process of trying to reach an agreement over our divorce, property, and custody issues without having to let the courts decide, I incorporated the moving out of state issue into our settlement. In order to get my ex to agree to let me move, I had to give up about $8,000 that he would have had to otherwise pay me in the property settlement, plus I had to agree not to move before 18 months. If I do move before 18 months, HE gets custody of her. I also had to give up child support during the summer when he will have her, being able to claim her as an exemption every other year, and a few other things. Yeah, it just goes to show what is more important to him. If I would have been him, there is NO WAY I would have agreed to it. Even though my boyfriend lives in another state, I really don't have any definite plans on moving yet. All I know is that I wanted it in the agreement because I had been in contact with a lot of people who were not and are not able to do it, just like the example I gave you at the beginning of thsi post.

Anyway, I hope everything turns out OK for you!