In re Marriage of Belt

── In re Marriage of Belt ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: June 04, 2026 Category: General NOTICE 2026 IL App (5th) 251051-U NOTICE Decision filed 06/04/26. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-25-1051 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to not precedent except in the the filing of a Petition for IN THE limited circumstances allowed Rehearing or the disposition of under Rule 23(e)(1). the same. APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIFTH DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ In re MARRIAGE OF ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of BRADFORD S. BELT, ) St. Clair County. ) Petitioner-Appellant, ) ) and ) No. 23-DC-296 ) BRITTANY A. BELT, ) Honorable ) Tameeka L. Purchase, Respondent-Appellee. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ PRESIDING JUSTICE CATES delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Sholar and Bollinger concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The circuit court’s decision to award the majority of parenting time to the mother was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. However, the circuit court’s decision to grant the mother’s petition to relocate was against the manifest weight of the evidence where it failed to adequately consider factors such as the parties’ limited resources and historical inability to cooperate, the mother’s unwillingness to foster the father’s relationship with the child, and the child’s need for stability. ¶2 The petitioner, Bradford S. Belt (Father), appeals portions of the judgment dissolving his marriage to the respondent, Brittany A. Belt (Mother). He challenges the circuit court’s allocation of the majority of parenting time to Mother, arguing that the circuit court should have effected an equal division of parenting time. Father also challenges the circuit court’s decision to allow Mother to relocate to Pennsylvania with the parties’ child, arguing that the decision was against the 1 manifest weight of the evidence. We affirm the allocation of the majority of parenting time to Mother. However, we reverse the decision to allow relocation, and we vacate the circuit court’s parenting schedule with directions. 1 ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 The parties married in 2019. Prior to their marriage, their relationship became polyamorous, meaning that they agreed to have multiple partners. One such partner, Elijah Belt (Eli), moved in with the parties in 2020. 2 Eli and Mother continued their relationship after Father and Mother separated. ¶5 A foster child, Jaiden (born August 2018), was placed with the parties in October 2022. Father and Mother legally adopted Jaiden in August 2023. Although there was conflicting testimony about the roles each individual played in taking care of Jaiden, it appears that M