Court granted motion of respondent mother to relocate parties’ minor daughter, age 7, to North Carolina, where she had begun working at a university. Court properly considered statutory factors and other relevant factors bearing on the minor’s best interests. Court is not prohibited from considering an enhancement to the custodial parent’s quality of life as long as court is satisfied that it has a bearing on the child’s best interests. That mother’s salary in new job was comparable to previous job at UIC did not necessarily weigh against mother, as other benefits from move included day care and housing, and shorter work hours and shorter commute in mother’s new job. Court did not err in sua sponte ordering that the child be enrolled at a private school in North Carolina; father is under no financial obligation for tuition and advanced no cogent reason for objecting to this enrollment. (SCHOSTOK and SPENCE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Child Custody