You feel like you are finally in a good place and routine with your child’s schedule post-divorce. However, your ex has now come to you with some news: he or she got a new job and needs to move out-of-state. This is a stressful situation as you want your child to have stability and are worried about this big change. What do you do now? Move-away and relocation issues are complex and should really be handled by an experienced family law attorney in California.
Furthermore, any changes to an existing custody and parenting time agreement must be approved by the court. You or your spouse cannot just make changes just because you agree to it mutually. The agreement must still be legally modified and submitted for approval.
What can further complicate a relocation issue is if one parent contests this relocation. This is usually in cases where the parents share joint custody of the child. In sole custody situations (which are becoming more and more uncommon), the parent with sole physical custody usually can generally relocate or move-away unless the other parent shows the court this is harmful for the child.
Otherwise, in most relocation or move-away cases the court will examine the existing parenting time schedule and the best interests of the child. Whether you require an advocate for contesting or requesting a relocation out-of-state, this complicated child custody matter should be handled by your lawyer.