In re Parentage of M.T., 2025 IL App (1st) 232071-U

1) Case citation and parties
- In re Parentage of M.T., No. 1-23-2071, 2025 IL App (1st) 232071-U (Ill. App. Ct. Feb. 18, 2025) (Rule 23 order).
- Petitioner-Appellant: M.A. (mother). Respondent-Appellee: Albert Aquino (father). Children: two boys (b. Sept. 2015; Nov. 2021).

2) Key legal issues
- Application of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA): whether Illinois had jurisdiction or should decline under forum non conveniens in favor of New York.
- Proper weighing of UCCJEA factors (home-state status, location of evidence/witnesses, children’s current residence and connections, emergency jurisdiction history, parental fitness and support networks).

3) Holding/outcome
- Affirmed. The trial court properly declined to exercise jurisdiction and found New York a more appropriate forum; the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed that decision.

4) Significant legal reasoning (concise)
- Although the circuit court initially found Illinois to be the children’s “home state” under the UCCJEA (children had lived in Chicago with mother March 2022–Aug 2023), subsequent factfinding supported declining jurisdiction. Key considerations supporting New York included: the children were in father’s custody in New York since August 2023; the majority of witnesses and documentary evidence (school records, medical/mental-health treatment, extended family caregivers) were located in New York; New York Family Court had already appointed an attorney referee and counsel for the children and had proceedings pending; and practical burdens (distance, travel expense, and familial support differences) favored New York. The court also relied on evidence in the record concerning the mother’s recent psychiatric hospitalizations and diagnoses, the GAL’s investigation (including medical records and school tardiness reports), and the availability of paternal family supports in New York. The trial court exercised its UCCJEA discretion to decline Illinois as an inconvenient forum; the appellate court found no abuse of that discretion.

5) Practice implications for attorneys
- Early, comprehensive records collection matters: preserve school, medical, police and treatment records and obtain releases promptly.
- Anticipate and litigate forum disputes under the UCCJEA — assemble evidence showing substantial connections to your forum (residence history, witnesses, caregiving networks, community ties) or, if defending, demonstrate the bulk of evidence and witnesses lie elsewhere.
- Coordinate with out‑of‑state tribunals where possible; UCCJEA conferences and communication (e.g., referee participation) can be decisive.
- Address practical burdens (travel cost, caretakers) and parental fitness issues with documentary proof; prepare to rebut or corroborate emergency‑jurisdiction and safety claims.
- Expect appellate deference to trial courts on forum-non-conveniens determinations grounded in UCCJEA factors.