Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Unless your joint custody agreement provides that you can leave the state permanently, Illinois law requires that you obtain legal permission to "remove" yourself and the children to OK, The JPA also requires that you mediate prior to initiating any proceeding. Thus you should send a certified letter to your ex telling him you want to move and mediate. He may agree or ignore the mediation request, and you can enter an Agreed Order. He may disagree, so you can file the Petition to Remove. There is a five prong test the court uses to determine whether removal is appropriate. As you have not said why you want to move, I can say no more.

You need to file a Petition for Removal. After you fulfill the statutory requirement of trying to mediate (or work it out), and are unsuccessful, you will need to hire an attorney, and explain to the court why its in the best interest of the children for the court to allow them to move.