In September 2016, Gunnar Gitlin co-moderated the IICLE’s Program titled, “Parenting Plans after the New Parentage Act and IMDMA (Including Technical Corrections 2016).” This program was videotaped and is available via DVD through IICLE for CLE credit.
Gunnar Gitlin and Stephanie Kasten of The Gitlin Law Firm also provided two presentations for this full day seminar:
- Stability of “Custody Awards” is No More: A Discussion of The Practical Differences Regarding the Changes to the 600 Series and Real Life Implications for Your Client and the Children. Stephanie Kasten.
With the Family Law Rewrite and the Technical Corrections, the language has changed far beyond just the name. One of the critical elements of Illinois divorce law since 1987 had been granting stability to custody awards. Especially with the changes to Section 610.5(a) [the within two years portion of the statute that now allows modifications without a showing of a reason to believe that there is serious endangerment for modifications regarding parenting time], essentially the stability element is no longer part of Illinois law. Learn about the real life implications for your client and children in divorce and parentage cases.
- The Problematic Relocation Statute: Drafting Relocation-Friendly Parenting Plans (Why We are Not Following Best Practices Built into the Law): Gunnar J. gitlin
Of the changes to the 600 Series of the IMDMA, we posit that the relocation statute is the most problematic. Problems include: 1) the definition using internet mapping as to what constitutes 25 or 50 miles; 2) the fact that a move beyond the borders opens up potential modification of both allocation of parenting responsibilities / parenting time; 3) the ambiguous nature of the statute regarding what occurs once one serves a written notice of relocation and the non-relocating parent does not sign the notice (with the questions including the burden of proof, etc.). Next we will address the flexibility allowed and encouraged in our parenting plans to incorporate language that could water down or mitigate the harm that some of the problematic language of the statute could wreck. We will conclude by addressing the best parts of the new relocation statute which incorporated the expansion of the Eckert factors into the factors that had been previously fleshed out by Illinois case law.
