In Re Marriage of Eckert

The custodial parent, Carol Eckert, petitioned the trial court for leave to remove the parties’ son, Matthew, from the State of Illinois to Arizona. The trial court denied the petition for removal, because the court found the best interests of the child would be served by his continued residence in Illinois near his father and extended family, including all of his surviving grandparents. The petitioner appealed from that judgment, and the appellate court concluded that the trial court’s denial of the petition was against the manifest weight of the evidence and that the best interests of the…