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Legal Information: Pennsylvania

Custody

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Updated: 
December 15, 2023

What could happen if I don't give proper notice to the other parent?

If you don’t follow the notice rules listed in How do I tell the other parent that I want to move?, the judge might hold this against you when deciding whether or not to:

  1. allow you to relocate;
  2. change your or the other parent’s custody rights;
  3. order you to return your child to the non-relocating parent if you already moved without reasonable notice;
  4. make you pay for the other parent’s reasonable costs and legal fees to object to the relocation in court; or
  5. issue an order of contempt and penalties (sanctions) against you.1

However, the judge will also consider if the reason you didn’t give notice was because of abuse. If so, the judge should “ease up” on you when considering which of the above should apply in your case.2

1 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337(j)
2 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337(k)