Moving to another state with your children after divorce isn’t a simple decision you can make unilaterally. Most custody orders restrict relocation beyond certain distances without the other parent’s consent or court approval. Understanding your state’s relocation laws and the process for requesting permission to move prevents legal problems and protects your custody rights.
Our friends at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C. help parents with relocation requests regularly, whether seeking permission to move or opposing the other parent’s proposed relocation. A child custody lawyer can review your custody order to determine what restrictions apply and guide you through the notice and approval process your situation requires.
Legal Restrictions On Relocation
Most custody orders include provisions restricting relocation without notice or consent. These provisions might prohibit moving beyond a certain distance, moving to another county or state, or moving in ways that substantially interfere with the other parent’s parenting time.
Check your custody order carefully. Some orders require only advance notice before moving, while others require the other parent’s written consent or court approval. The specific language in your order determines what steps you must take.
State laws also impose relocation requirements even if your custody order doesn’t explicitly address moves. Many states have statutes requiring notice and sometimes court approval before relocating with children beyond specified distances.
Notice Requirements
Written notice is typically required when you want to move with your children. This notice must be provided to the other parent within timeframes specified by your custody order or state law, often 30 to 90 days before the planned move.
Relocation notices generally must include:
- Your intended new address or at least the city and state
- The date you plan to move
- Reasons for the relocation
- A proposed revised parenting time schedule accommodating the distance
- A statement that the other parent can object within a specified timeframe
Providing proper notice starts the clock for the other parent to respond. They can consent to the move, object and request a hearing, or propose modifications to the parenting schedule.
When The Other Parent Consents
If the other parent agrees to your relocation, the process becomes straightforward. Both parents can submit a stipulation to the court outlining the new parenting schedule and any other modifications necessitated by the move.
Get consent in writing. Verbal agreements aren’t enforceable. A signed stipulation filed with the court creates an enforceable order modifying your custody arrangement to reflect the relocation.
Even with consent, court approval is typically required. The judge reviews the agreement to verify it serves the children’s best interests before approving the new arrangement.
When The Other Parent Objects
If the other parent objects to your relocation, the court must decide whether to permit the move. You’ll need to file a formal motion requesting permission to relocate, and the other parent will file an objection.
The court schedules a hearing where both sides present evidence and arguments. You bear the burden of proving that relocation serves the children’s best interests despite the other parent’s objection.
Factors Courts Consider
Courts evaluate relocation requests using the best interests of the child standard. Judges balance your reasons for moving against the impact on the children’s relationship with the other parent and other stability factors.
Your reasons for relocating matter significantly. Job transfers, career opportunities, educational pursuits, family support systems, or remarriage to someone living elsewhere all represent legitimate reasons. Moving to get away from the other parent or to interfere with their relationship with the children doesn’t.
The quality of the children’s relationship with both parents factors heavily into decisions. Strong bonds with the non-relocating parent make courts more reluctant to approve moves that will reduce contact. Limited involvement by the objecting parent makes relocation easier to justify.
The proposed new location’s benefits and drawbacks get examined. Better schools, safer neighborhoods, family support, or improved quality of life support relocation. Moving to areas with fewer opportunities or less stable environments raises concerns.
How relocation affects parenting time receives careful scrutiny. Courts want to know how often the children will see the non-relocating parent and how you’ll facilitate that contact. Proposed schedules that maintain meaningful relationships despite distance strengthen relocation requests.
The children’s ages and needs matter. Relocating young children away from involved parents often faces stronger resistance than moving teenagers who have more say in maintaining relationships through technology and visits.
Financial considerations come into play. Can the non-relocating parent afford to travel for visits? Can you afford to send the children back for parenting time? The practical realities of maintaining long-distance parenting relationships affect court decisions.
Proposed Parenting Plans For Long Distance
Your relocation request should include a detailed proposed parenting plan addressing how the children will maintain their relationship with the non-relocating parent. Courts view comprehensive plans more favorably than vague promises to “work something out.”
Typical long-distance parenting arrangements include extended summer vacations, alternating major holidays, spring breaks, and other school vacations with the non-relocating parent. Some plans include monthly weekend visits, with parents alternating who travels.
Technology provisions help maintain contact. Regular video calls, messaging, and virtual participation in children’s activities keep non-relocating parents involved despite distance.
Address transportation costs and logistics in your proposed plan. Specify who pays for travel, how children will travel, and arrangements for airport pickups and drop-offs.
The Impact Of Custody Type
Relocation cases differ depending on whether you have sole or joint custody. Parents with sole physical custody generally face somewhat easier paths to relocation approval than those sharing custody equally.
Joint legal custody means both parents share decision-making authority. Major relocation decisions fall under this shared authority, requiring agreement or court intervention to resolve disputes.
Primary physical custody arrangements where one parent has the children most of the time create different dynamics than truly shared 50/50 schedules. Moving children from shared custody situations faces stronger resistance because it fundamentally changes established arrangements.
When Courts Deny Relocation
Courts deny relocation requests when the moving parent’s reasons appear insufficient to justify disrupting the children’s relationship with the other parent. Moving for vague lifestyle preferences or to be closer to extended family who aren’t heavily involved in the children’s lives might not outweigh established custody arrangements.
Relocation requests designed primarily to interfere with the other parent’s relationship with the children face denial. If your primary motivation is reducing the other parent’s involvement, courts will recognize and reject this purpose.
Inadequate plans for maintaining the non-relocating parent’s relationship can doom requests. Vague proposals or schedules that provide minimal contact suggest you haven’t seriously considered the children’s need for both parents.
What Happens If You Move Anyway
Moving without required notice, consent, or court approval violates custody orders. This violation can result in contempt findings, modification of custody in the other parent’s favor, and orders requiring you to return with the children.
Emergency orders can compel your return. Courts can issue immediate orders requiring you to bring the children back while relocation disputes are litigated.
Violating relocation restrictions damages your credibility and custody position. Judges view unauthorized moves as evidence that you don’t respect court orders and can’t be trusted to follow custody arrangements.
Strategic Considerations
Timing your relocation request matters. Don’t wait until the last minute to seek approval. File your request well in advance of planned moves to allow time for hearings and decisions.
Demonstrate good faith by proposing reasonable parenting plans that genuinely maintain the other parent’s relationship with the children. Courts appreciate parents who prioritize children’s needs for both parents over their own convenience.
Consider offering concessions like paying all transportation costs, providing extra parenting time during summers, or being flexible with holiday schedules to address the other parent’s concerns.
When You’re The Non-Relocating Parent
If your co-parent wants to relocate with your children and you oppose the move, respond to the relocation notice within required timeframes. Missing deadlines can result in default approval of the move.
File a formal objection explaining why relocation doesn’t serve the children’s best interests. Present evidence about your involvement in the children’s lives, the quality of your relationship, and how distance would harm your bond.
Propose alternative arrangements if possible. Sometimes offering to take primary custody allows the other parent to move while maintaining the children’s stability and school enrollment.
Moving Forward With Relocation Decisions
Relocating out of state with your children after divorce requires following proper legal procedures, providing adequate notice, and often obtaining court approval. Courts carefully weigh your reasons for moving against the impact on the children’s relationship with both parents and their overall stability and wellbeing. If you’re considering relocation or facing a relocation request from your co-parent, reach out to discuss your state’s specific requirements, how to strengthen your position, and what to expect from the court evaluation process.
