English
EspañolV wants to move with kids - MOVING WITHIN THE STATE, NO CUSTODY ORDER
In general, if people are legally married, most states consider the parents to have equal rights to the child so that either parent may be able to have the child in his/her possession. However, many states also have parental kidnapping/custodial interference laws that apply to married couples as well as unmarried couples that may prohibit certain behaviors, such as concealing the whereabouts of the child, or leaving the state for an extended period of time, for example. In some state laws, there is a big difference under the law if a parent is thinking of staying nearby (within the state) with the child or if the parent is thinking of moving far away. In order to see whether your planned move to stay within the state would violate your state’s parental kidnapping law, you would want to talk to a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this area of the law. We link to lawyers on our Finding a Lawyer page. HYPERLINK
One thing a parent who wants to move may want to consider is getting a custody order and asking for permission to relocate the child to the new location. There are some pros and cons to getting a custody order, however. For instance, it is important to note that just because one parent files for custody, it doesn’t mean that s/he will get the type of custody order that s/he requested. In some instances, the other parent may end up getting more visitation than s/he had previously, the judge may give the parents joint custody or the other parent may even win custody. Once a custody order is in place, a parent may even have a hard time convincing the court to grant permission for a move if the other parent objects. Some factors a judge may consider are if there are better schools, more family support, does the parent have a better job offer, how not seeing the other parent regularly may affect them, etc. You can find more information about custody in your state on our website. HYPERLINK
I can’t say the specific factors that would be considered in your state or in your particular situation but a lawyer hopefully can.
