In re Marriage of Brown

Summary

The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the denial of Jennifer Brown’s petition to designate her as the custodial parent for school purposes. The court held that the parties had designated Brian Sontag through their conduct as the parent whose address would be used for school enrollment, and that section 602.5 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act did not apply. The court further concluded that changing the designation to enroll the child in a different school would require a modification proceeding under section 610.5.

Holdings

1. The parties established through their conduct in 2019 that Brian was the custodial parent or parent whose address was used for school purposes, even though no separate written designation or court order memorialized it.
2. Section 602.5 was inapplicable because the parties had already agreed on the school-purpose designation; the court therefore was not required to make a new designation under the best-interests standard.
3. A change from Brian's established school-custodian designation to Jennifer's, for the purpose of enrolling the child in Wilmette schools, could be accomplished only through a petition to modify the allocation judgment under section 610.5.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the parties' conduct under the allocation judgment established Brian as the custodial parent or address of record for school purposes.
2. Whether section 602.5 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act required the circuit court to apply a best-interests analysis when deciding Jennifer's petition to designate a school custodian.
3. Whether Jennifer could obtain a change in the school-custodian designation and enroll the child in Wilmette schools without filing a modification proceeding under section 610.5.
4. Whether the circuit court erred in excluding Jennifer's proposed expert testimony and limiting evidence concerning the comparative benefits of Alcott and Wilmette schools.

Disposition

affirmed