If you are a parent that shares custody of your children, you may be seeking a fresh start after your divorce. You may find that you need to move for new employment or educational opportunities for yourself, be near your family members, or help your children grow in a new environment. However, if you move more than 50 miles away from your current residence or to a location in which your child’s other parent is no longer able to fulfill their custody obligations, you may need to file for a court-approved relocation order for your children. Our Murietta child custody attorney explains how a “move-away” order is established.
Determining You Need the Move Away Order
When first starting the relocation process, you may need to determine if your proposed move will require an order for relocation to be legal. One of the best ways to do so is to find your new planned residence, including your street address, and map it from your current residence as well as your child’s other parent’s residence. When mapping the distances between locations, take care to write down the distance for future reference. If you find the new location is more than 50 miles from your current home, you will need to find a child custody attorney to help you file for this relocation.
You can also look at travel times between the proposed new residence and your child’s other parent’s home. If the travel time is unreasonable, the parent may no longer be able to fulfill their visitation requirements, especially if they rely on public transport or other modes of transportation rather than their own vehicle.
Finding an Attorney
The next thing you should do is to find a child custody or relocation attorney who is experienced in helping families pursue relocation with their children. If you have an attorney who helped you with your current custody order or family law matters in the past, schedule a consultation to see if they can help you with your proposed relocation.
Alert Your Child’s Other Parent
Before moving forward with the process and filing for the move-away order, you should alert your child’s other parent about your plans as a courtesy. With your heads up, they can better understand your plans for the future with your children and prepare for the upcoming court hearing.
File for Permission to Move
With the guidance of your family law attorney, you will need to file a motion for permission to move with your children. Your child’s other parent can counter this motion if they believe the move is not in the child’s best interests.
In your filing, you should include all relevant information regarding the proposed relocation, including:
- The new residence of the children,
- The names and identifying information of those living in the same residence as the children,
- Why the move is in the child’s best interests,
- The motive for the relocation,
- How the current custody agreement could be modified, and
- Any other information that your attorney deems important for the courts.
Go to Your Court Hearing
Both you and your child’s other parent will need to present evidence regarding the proposed relocation at your court hearing. The court will hear both sides and then consider if the relocation is in the child’s best interests. Then, the court will grant a decision, either confirming that the move-away can occur or denying the parent from moving with the children.
If the court deems that the parent can move with the children, they must wait until 30 days after the order is approved to move to the new residence. If you believe you may need to move, we advise clients to begin the relocation process as early as possible to account for the lengthy process and any delays they may encounter.
If the court deems the moving parent cannot move with the children, the moving parent must make alternate arrangements. This may mean canceling the move or moving without the children, which may require a child custody modification to better reflect an updated time-sharing schedule.
Murietta Child Custody Attorney
Moving can be a stressful time, especially when parents share custody of their children. If you are seeking a fresh start and wish to bring your children with you, you may need to pursue a “move-away” order for your children. Our child custody attorney can help your family pursue a relocation order and start a fresh start.
Are you planning on moving with your children? Schedule a consultation with our custody attorney by calling (951) 418-2770 to get the relocation process started.