In re Marriage of Coulter

Summary

The Illinois Supreme Court held that an ex-husband's request for a preliminary injunction barring his ex-wife from relocating with their children to California was properly denied because the parties' joint parenting agreement, incorporated into the dissolution judgment, authorized the move after specified conditions were met. The court further held that the ex-husband could pursue custody modification based on changed circumstances under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

Holdings

1. Yes. A JPA incorporated into the judgment of dissolution is enforceable as an order of the court and as a contract; where it expressly grants leave to remove children to a specified location upon satisfaction of stated conditions, and the parent complies with those conditions, the parent has the leave of court required by section 609(a) and need not file a separate removal petition.
2. No. Because the JPA, incorporated into the judgment, granted Amy leave to remove the children and Lee expressly waived his right to contest removal, Lee lacked the right to have the court determine the removal issue, and the preliminary injunction was properly denied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a joint parenting agreement incorporated into a dissolution judgment can constitute the leave of court required by section 609(a) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act for removal of children from Illinois.
2. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Lee's petition for a preliminary injunction to prevent Amy from relocating the children to California.

Disposition

reversed