Unrelated postdissolution petitions are separate matters — at least in the first district
A marital dissolution case advances a single claim and no part of the case becomes appealable until the trial court has disposed of all issues ancillary to the dissolution. But what of postdissolution petitions? Must they all be resolved before orders ruling on any of them can be appealed as of right, without a Rule 304(a) finding? The question may not be fully settled statewide, but it is in the First District.
The First District Appellate Court has determined that each postdissolution petition is a separate action from the original dissolution proceeding. Accordingly, the appellate court has jurisdiction to review a final resolution of each petition, at least as long as the petition involved in the appeal is “wholly unrelated to” and has “no bearing on” the issues involved in any other pending petition.
In re Marriage of Demaret, 2012 IL App (1st) 111916.