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.V wants to move with kids; HAS CUSTODY ORDER*

.V wants to move with kids; HAS CUSTODY ORDER*

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. 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.

Often times, when parents have a court order for custody, the order might already say 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 may have to apply in court to modify (change) the order to try to get permission to relocate from the court. Or the state may have a procedure that the parent 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 {STATE} requires so you may want to ask an attorney for advice in your particular case. [NOTE: CHECK IF WE HAVE A QUESTION ON THE CUSTODY PAGE ABOUT MOVING OUT OF STATE IN THE ‘AFTER THE HEARING’ SECTION - IF SO, ERASE THE PRIOR SENTENCE AND INSTEAD, SAY: We do have some information on our website about the process for moving out of the according to STATE laws here: LINK. However, you may want to still talk to an attorney for advice in your particular case.] If you think the other parent may agree to the move, then you may want to ask an attorney how easy or difficult it might be to get the judge to agree to change the custody order [ERASE THIS PRIOR SENTENCE IF SHE ALREADY SAID THE GUY WOULD NOT AGREE]. If you think the other parent will disagree, then you may want to get advice from an attorney on the best way to proceed with your petition. An attorney may be able to tell you if a judge may consider factors such as whether or not the move would significantly affect the other parent’s parenting time, the other parent’s level of involvement with the child, how closely the other parent follows the current visitation order, etc. Again, I do not know if these are factors that a judge in {STATE} would consider or not - but these may be some common considerations that some states’ judges may look at. You may want to discuss the specifics of your situation with an attorney to find out if what would be relevant in your situation.

If an attorney tells you that you need to get permission from the judge to move, you may want to ask an attorney how to prove to the judge that moving is in the child’s best interest. Some possible things parents may generally show as reasons for a move are that the child would be attending a better school (e.g., if the school is ranked higher that a child’s current school, is safer, etc.); that the parent and child would be in a better economic or professional situation; that there is extended family support there; the neighborhood is safer, etc. In terms of your specific situation, you may want to get an attorney to advise you on how to best present your argument for moving, what information you can gather, etc. Again, I can’t say for sure what the judge in your state will consider - these are just some general examples that may come up in some parents’ situations.

Again, we strongly suggest that any parent who is thinking of moving with his/her child talks to a lawyer in his/her current state who specializes in custody before moving. Here is a link to find one [LINK] and here is a link with information on custody in your state: LINK.