Pierce v. White

── Pierce v. White ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 08, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (4th) 251351-U NOTICE FILED This Order was filed under May 8, 2026 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is NO. 4-25-1351 Carla Bender not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed 4th District Appellate IN THE APPELLATE COURT Court, IL under Rule 23(e)(1). OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT JESSICA M. PIERCE, ) Appeal from the Petitioner-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Fulton County JUSTIN M. WHITE, ) No. 23DC64 Respondent-Appellant. ) ) Honorable ) Bruce C. Beal, ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE GRISCHOW delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Zenoff and Cavanagh concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The appellate court affirmed, concluding, (1) the trial court’s order granting the majority of parenting time to petitioner was not against the manifest weight of the evidence and (2) it was not error for the trial court to do so in the absence of a pleading from petitioner seeking such relief. ¶2 Respondent, Justin M. White, and petitioner, Jessica M. Pierce, dissolved their marriage in December 2023. Thereafter, in February 2024, Justin filed a motion for a modification of parenting time and responsibilities and a motion to restrict Jessica’s parenting time. In November 2025, the trial court entered an order modifying the parties’ parenting time, allocating the majority of parenting time to Jessica. Justin appeals the court’s judgment, arguing the modification of the parties’ parenting time in favor of Jessica was against the manifest weight of the evidence and it was error for the court to do so in the absence of a petition from Jessica requesting such relief. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 A. Dissolution of Marriage and Original Parenting Plan ¶5 The parties were married in December 2018 and have one biological child together, A.W. (born March 2017). Jessica has a son, B.S. (born September 2011) and a foster child, A.C. (born September 2013). The parties, B.S., A.C., and A.W. lived together for some time, though it is unclear from the record for how long. On December 6, 2023, Jessica filed a petition for a dissolution of marriage. On December 19, 2023, the trial court entered a judgment of dissolution of the marriage and adopted the parties’ agreed parenting plan wherein parenting time and decision-making responsibilities for A.W. were allocated equally. Parenting time was set on a three-day rotation between the parties (including school breaks), while holidays with A.W. were divided between the parties depending on the year. ¶6 B. Jessica’s Order of Protection ¶7 In 2023, Justin and Jessica each pursued orders of protection on several occasions. Ultimately, both parties, represented by legal counsel, reached a mutual agreement. ¶8 On January 30, 2024, Jessica sought another order of protection (Fulton County case No. 24-OP-18) on behalf of herself, A.W, and B.S agai