In re Marriage of Whitney H.
| Decision Date | 18 November 2021 |
| Docket Number | 4-21-0357 |
| Citation | 2021 IL App (4th) 210357 U |
| Parties | In re MARRIAGE OF WHITNEY H., Petitioner-Appellant, and DANIEL B., Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Logan County No. 19D20 Honorable William G. Workman, Judge Presiding.
ORDER
¶ 1 Held: The appellate court affirmed, holding the trial court's decision allocating to the parties joint decision-making responsibilities and allocating to respondent the majority of parenting time does not stand against the manifest weight of the evidence, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying petitioner's request for retroactive child support and ordering her to pay child support going forward, and the trial court did not err in denying petitioner's request to permanently relocate the minor child to Indiana.
¶ 2 Petitioner, Whitney H., appeals the trial court's judgment allocating majority parenting time to respondent Daniel B., and ordering her to pay child support. She also appeals the trial court's decisions denying her retroactive child support and denying her request to permanently relocate the minor child (N.B.) to Indiana. Whitney challenges the trial court's judgment as manifestly unjust because the evidence supported findings that it was in N.B.'s best interest to live with her in Indiana and for her to have sole decision-making responsibilities relating to N.B. Whitney also attacks the trial court's order denying her petition for retroactive child support and ordering her to pay child support as an abuse of discretion. We disagree and affirm the trial court's judgment.
¶ 4 Whitney and Daniel married on May 6, 2018, in Menard County, Illinois. The couple then established a marital residence in Logan County, Illinois. The marriage produced one child, N.B., born in July 2018. The family lived together in the marital residence until March 2019, when Whitney left with N.B.
¶ 5 On March 8, 2019, following an argument the night before where Daniel was angry and allegedly threatened suicide Whitney filed a pro se petition for an emergency order of protection in Logan County, alleging she feared Daniel might hurt her or N.B. and did not know what he might do. Whitney's petition requested permission to take N.B. to her parents' residence in Newburgh, Indiana. The trial court granted the protection order and allowed Whitney and N.B. to leave the state. Within a few weeks, Whitney filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, claiming irreconcilable differences caused an irretrievable breakdown in the marital relationship. She requested the trial court grant her decision-making responsibilities over N.B. and order Daniel to pay her child support and maintenance.
¶ 6 On March 28, 2019, the trial court entered an "Agreed Temporary Order" whereby the parties agreed Whitney "may temporarily relocate with the minor child to Newberg [sic], Indiana, to reside with her parents, Steve and Cathy [H.]" As part of the agreement, Whitney allowed the protection order to expire. The order allowed Daniel to "have supervised parenting time on alternating weekends for a minimum of four (4) hours." The trial court ordered the parties to exchange financial affidavits and participate in mediation.
¶ 7 One month later, Daniel moved to either vacate or modify the agreed temporary order. He alleged his prior attorney coerced him into signing the order. The trial court denied the motion. In July 2019, Daniel again moved to modify the temporary order, alleging Whitney violated the order and she was unstable. Daniel requested primary parenting responsibilities with the majority of parenting time or, alternatively, a joint allocation of parenting responsibilities with 50/50 parenting time and the child residing in Illinois. Whitney countered with a September 2019 "Petition for Temporary Child Support and Interim Attorney Fees" and an October 2019 "Petition to Relocate." Following an October 21, 2019, hearing, the trial court issued a new temporary order. The court found Whitney violated the prior agreed temporary order but reserved the contempt issue for a later date. The trial court granted Daniel unsupervised parenting time on alternating weekends. The matter remained in discovery for a year, until Daniel moved to set a trial date and discovery deadlines.
¶ 8 The trial court held a hearing on the matter on April 12, 2021, where both parties testified and presented evidence. Whitney testified she was born, raised, and educated in Indiana. She moved to Illinois for an internship in 2016 and stayed when she met and married Daniel. Whitney acknowledged she and Daniel shared parenting responsibilities for N.B. in the months they lived together following the birth. Whitney stated she decided not to return to work after having N.B. because she could not find childcare. She then testified she also began looking for jobs but could not find one. Whitney claimed Daniel vacillated on whether she needed to work.
¶ 9 Whitney testified the marriage soon deteriorated as the parties' arguments and disagreements escalated. In October 2018, she and infant N.B. went to her parents' Indiana home because she "needed a break." When she did not return as initially planned, Daniel began calling and demanding she bring N.B. back home. Whitney and N.B. did return to the marital residence, but the parties' relationship did not improve.
¶ 10 Whitney testified that on March 7, 2019, she and Daniel argued about her not working. She claimed Daniel threatened suicide, which prompted her to seek a protection order and permission from the trial court to go to her parents' home in Indiana. Whitney admitted she had no intention of staying in Illinois in March 2019. She then stated she had no intention of returning to Illinois so that N.B. could be near his father. At some point after she left the marital residence, Whitney created a GoFundMe webpage wherein she claimed she Whitney's webpage claimed: "Because of the abuse I have been left jobless and without enough money to meet our most basic needs ***." On cross-examination, Whitney acknowledged Daniel never hit her. She could not reconcile her statements from her GoFundMe page where she said she was jobless due to abuse with her statements in her petition to relocate which claimed she could not utilize her degree in Illinois or her testimony where she said she did not work due to lack of childcare.
¶ 11 Concerning her work status, Whitney testified she looked for jobs in Illinois from August 2018 to March 2019, but she could not find a job. She then testified she found a job almost immediately after she moved to Indiana. She recalled she got a job offer the end of March 2019 and began working on April 9, 2019. When asked if she began looking for jobs in Indiana before she left the marital residence, she did not "believe [she] did" but acknowledged "a job search can take you in lots of directions." Whitney testified she is a registered dietician, and her credential is not state-specific. She explained she began the credentialing process while living in Illinois and finished it when living in Indiana. Whitney stated she could get an Illinois license by paying a fee. Whitney testified she has worked at the same long-term care facility since April 2019. She discussed her work schedule and salary.
¶ 12 Whitney testified N.B. began daycare in April 2019 when she began working. Though she could not find childcare in Illinois during a seven-month search, Whitney acknowledged she found a daycare within a month of moving to Indiana. She stated she chose the daycare facility without consulting Daniel. She indicated to daycare staff that she had a protection order against Daniel, even though she let the order expire as part of the March 28, 2019, agreed temporary order. Whitney testified she alone paid N.B.'s daycare expenses and provided documentation.
¶ 13 Whitney testified about her and N.B.'s life in Indiana. She explained they live near her extended family. She testified they lived with her parents until November 2019. She admitted she did not tell Daniel or the trial court when she and N.B. moved to her current home. She further admitted she did not have the court's permission to change residences. Whitney testified about her finances. She said she and N.B. attended a nondenominational church. She discussed several minor injuries and illnesses N.B. suffered since moving to Indiana. She acknowledged she did not immediately tell Daniel about N.B.'s injuries and illnesses. Similarly, she stated she did not consult with Daniel about N.B.'s medical care. She unilaterally chose a pediatrician in Indiana and did not consider Daniel's insurance coverage. Whitney described communicating with Daniel as "tough in the beginning." Although she said she could not believe anything Daniel said in a text message, she also believed their communication was improving. Whitney acknowledged N.B. only lived in Illinois before she left with him in March 2019. She recalled he was a healthy baby when living in Illinois. She admitted N.B. needs both parents. Whitney testified about her proposed parenting time schedule and requested sole decision-making authority.
¶ 14 Daniel testified he worked as an Engineering Technician 3...
To continue reading
Request your trial