Move away cases are one of the most difficult cases in Family Law to get granted in court through trial.
Here is an example, first, one parent, let's say, moved to a city where the other parent is and never liked it because they couldn't find a job or couldn't get friends, etc., and just feels like it was a bad compromise.
Then when a divorce arises in this situation, the parent who was always unhappy in that area wants to move to a different county, state, or different country.
The question then becomes, is it possible to do so?
In this situation the court will decide by looking at what is in the best interest of the children. The first thing is that both parents have to have continuous and constant contact to the child or children, because that's what the court views as the best interest of the children. One exception to this, of course, is if the other parent is absent, were never there, or is just not existent. In this situation, I'm talking about a case where both parents live in the same household and one parent wants to move out and move to a different location.
How it works?
There are two ways to approach this topic with the other parent.
- Mediation
This is my favorite way because it's the least expensive course of action and it gives power to both parents to negotiate, to find collaborative lawyers (meaning lawyers who have a mindset of amicable approach to a case) and find a mediator to negotiate helpful terms on how one parent can move away and be happy, without having the other parent lose contact with the child or children.
The parent who moves away needs to keep in mind, in mediation, and I'm sure the mediator will explain, that there has to be a amicable compromise. Depending on the travel time, the parent who moves away may need to give up time. When both parents are in one place, for example, they usually have a 2-3 schedule. However, this schedule is not possible if the other parent moves out. So, one parent would potentially be giving up more time in summertime than usual, and both parties need to create a balanced schedule.
- Trial
This is my least favorite option. Having a trial in this circumstance may potentially involve a child custody evaluator who will evaluate both parents, the children, school teachers, etc. The process can take a year or more to get to the point where the judge will even hear the case because there are a lot of components the judge needs to consider. This especially depends on how old the children are and many other moving pieces.
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