In re Marriage of Brown

Petitioner appealed from the trial court’s denial of her petition to designate a custodial parent for school purposes. On appeal, petitioner argued that the trial court erred in denying her petition where the court sua sponte struck portions of her petition that pled and addressed best-interest factors, refused to apply the best-interests standard while adjudicating the petition, and barred petitioner’s expert from testifying at the hearing. The appellate court affirmed, explaining that if petitioner wants to determine whether the custodial designation should be changed then a petition must be filed under section 610.5 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. (VAN TINE and ELLIS, concurring)