Custody & Kidnapping

Whether or not a parent can move with his/her children is a complicated legal question. It depends on a lot of different factors, and we strongly recommend that you talk to a lawyer in your state who specializes in custody before making any decisions.

To find a lawyer, including one who may be able to provide free or low-cost legal services, you can click here to this part of our site: LINK Another option may be to call the Legal Resource Center for Violence Against Women, which specializes in interstate custody matters for abused women. They may be able to connect you with an attorney in your current state who can advise you about the state’s laws on parental kidnapping. Their number is 301-270-1550.

I cannot tell you specifically whether you can or cannot move since I cannot give legal advice. However, I will try to provide some general, basic information that may be useful.

Generally speaking, if parents have a final custody order in place, a parent’s ability to move out of state (or even to move a far distance within the same state) may depend on what the custody order says about whether either parent is allowed to leave the state or not. If the order doesn’t say anything about moving or if it says the parent cannot move, the parent who wants to move may have to apply in court to modify (change) the order to try to get permission to relocate from the court. Additionally, the state may have a procedure that the parent who wants to move is supposed to follow before going to court, such as sending a notice of the intended move to the other parent that meets certain requirements. I don’t know what South Carolina requires so you may want to ask a lawyer for advice in your particular case. In addition, since you said that you just have temporary custody as part of a restraining order, the laws that apply to relocation with a final custody order may not necessarily apply.

You may want to show your order to a lawyer to ask this question since in general, just having a temporary custody order may not necessarily mean that a person may leave the state. Also, if people are in the middle of a court case, it may not be proper for either parent to remove the child from the state without the judge’s permission. I can’t speak to the specific laws in STATE so you may want to talk to a lawyer before leaving the state and show the lawyer your temporary custody order to get some specific advice.

IF SHE SAYS THAT THE OTHER PARENT HAS VISITATION OR IF IT’S NOT CLEAR, INCLUDE: Also, if there is a current visitation schedule, you may want to ask an attorney if you may be allowed to move out of state as long as the other parent can still reasonably follow that visitation order - or if you need to first go to court to get permission. For example, if a non-custodial parent has a 2-hour visit on a weekday night, it may not be reasonable to ask the parent to drive 2 hours to another state to pick up the child for a 2-hour visit. You may want to show your order to an attorney and specifically ask if you might be violating the court order if you move without court permission.