During your divorce, you may have had a plan for your children’s custody arrangements. In your mind, you might have thought that moving to a new home would be a good idea and then considered moving out of your city to be closer to family. The environment would be better for your kids than how they’re living now, so it seems to be what’s right for them.
What you didn’t expect was for the other parent to argue against you moving away. You are only going around 30 miles away from your current home, but they’re arguing that it’s too far and will hurt their custody rights. Who’s right? Will you be able to move with your kids?
Doing what’s best for your children is the priority
As you may know, the court will order what’s in the best interests of your children. If your children will get to go to a better school, have better support from loved family members and be in a better home environment, then moving may be allowed. Thirty miles isn’t a significant distance, so it shouldn’t make a serious impact on the other parent’s custody rights.
There are some things to consider, though, such as that your children likely will not be able to go to the same school they did before. They may be separated from friends, and they may not see the parent daily or every other day due to the distance. The other parent may find it harder to get to school events or activities, too, which may be unfair to them.
Decide if moving is really what’s best for your kids
If moving is really in your children’s best interests, you should put together evidence to show why this is the right choice for them. Try to negotiate with the other parent. If they agree, it will be easier to get the relocation request approved. If they don’t, then you may need to go through mediation or arbitration to try to talk out a solution. The last resort is to go to court to have a judge rule on the matter.
