The parties were divorced in North Carolina. Joint custody of the minor child was awarded to the parties by the North Carolina court.
Later, the parties independently moved to Du Page County, Illinois. By agreement, the judgment of dissolution entered in North Carolina was registered and enrolled in the circuit court of Du Page County. The parties also submitted a joint parenting agreement which the circuit court-approved and incorporated into the judgment.
Later, an agreed order was entered in Du Page County which granted the father leave to remove the minor child from Illinois to North Carolina.
Mother filed a Petition to Modify Custody in Illinois, where she still lived. Father’s motion to dismiss their mother’s petition was denied, and he appealed.
The Appellate Court found that Illinois was an inconvenient forum for custody decisions to be made in. North Carolina was the child’s home state. The child had developed closer connections to North Carolina. North Carolina had greater access to relevant evidence regarding the motion to modify custody that the father had filed in North Carolina.
IRMO Doehner, 215 Ill.App.3d 570
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