Can They Take My Child Out of State?

The answer can be yes OR no depending on the circumstances. Some important factors

are:

• paternity being established

• a pending court case and/or a prior court order

Paternity Established?

Without first establishing rights, you can’t ask for remedies.

Paternity rights must be established first, before legal measures can effectively

challenge a child’s removal from the state.

If paternity has been established by 1) marital presumption (child born in wedlock) 2)

Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (usually executed at the time of birth) or 3)

judicial admission (court order), these are some actions you might take:

• Seek an Emergency Order of Protection

  • 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(8) allows the court to prohibit the other party from

    removing a minor child from the State or concealing the child within the

    State.

  • Orders of Protection have reciprocity with other states which means you

    can seek enforcement in the state where the child is taken.

• File a ‘family’ case and seek a Preliminary Injunction

  • 750 ILCS 46/502 allows the court to consider certain factors when

    deciding whether to prevent a party from temporarily relocating the minor

    child out of state while a court case is pending.

• 750 ILCS 5/501(2)(ii) further provides that court in a divorce or family case

  can enjoin a party from removing a child from the jurisdiction of the court

  for more than 14 days.

A Pending Court Case

As mentioned above, if you have an active court case, the law allows the court to grant

remedies to prevent a minor child from being taken out of state. Courts can even

fashion case-specific orders that could be more or less strict depending on the

individual circumstances.

Preliminary injunctions, temporary restraining orders, and temporary orders are great

options to stop any dirty tricks, custody grabs’, and other abuses of your rights.

Prior Court Orders

If you’ve already been to court for parenting rights, odds are the Court has already set

the rules and put them in writing.

That doesn’t mean the other side will follow them.

If the other party is breaking the rules set by the court order by removing the child from

the state (other than for temporary trips and travel), you need to act fast.

Illinois law sets a procedure for ‘relocating’ a child to another state. This applies where

there has already been a court order for parenting rights and responsibilities.

A party with majority or equal parenting time must announce their intention to relocate to

another state (or, in some cases, a new residence 25-50 miles from their current

address). They must provide sixty (60) days notice, where possible. Most importantly,

they need permission.

That permission comes from you signing a state-approved form indicating that you

agree to the relocation. If you don’t sign, they have to ask the court for permission.

You can challenge them in this proceeding, and the court will decide. Taking a child out

of state and away from the other parent is no small ask. Courts determine these cases

based on the child’s best interests and the totality of the circumstances. Few things can

outweigh the value of an involved parent.

The rules for relocation are fully set out in 750 ILCS 6/609.2.

An important warning when it comes to this topic:

Delay can be disastrous.

If the other parent has taken your child out of state against your wishes, the clock is

ticking. If enough time goes by, your child will be established in a new community

and/or school with new friends and activities. At that point, pulling the child back could

cause more harm than good. Jurisdiction can even flip to the new state after enough

time has passed.

Promptly contacting an experienced family law attorney will make the difference.