Relocate with Your Children after Divorce
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Wish to Relocate With Your Child After Divorce? Here’s a Short Guide
When you have the physical custody of your child after divorce, but the co-parent also shares legal custody, relocation becomes an issue. It is still possible to relocate with your child, but you will have to follow the set procedure under California law. You can make an agreement with the co-parent and have it approved by the court or seek the family law court’s permission for relocation.
When does the Court Allow Child Relocation?
Following your divorce, the prime interest of the family court is to uphold your child’s best interests at all times. The court will hear the viewpoints of both parties, look at the evidence and then decide whether relocation serves the best interests of your child. To determine this, the court will evaluate whether the potential benefits of relocation for your child significantly outweigh the emotional advantage of staying in physical proximity to both parents.
If the other co-parent has minimal interaction or involvement in the child’s life anyway, it could be easier to convince the court to let you relocate. But you will require evidence to demonstrate these facts if the other party opposes relocation. Be prepared to get legal counsel from an experienced and compassionate California child relocation divorce attorney so that your arguments and evidence can be effectively collected and presented before the court.
Plan Ahead of Time if You are Considering Relocation
If you are planning to make a request to the court for relocating with your child post-divorce, you can increase your chances of success by preparing ahead of time. To begin with, start keeping a written record of each time the co-parent is physically meeting the child.
If physical meetings are few and far between, and you alone have been involved in your child’s education and extra-curricular activities, and even visits to the doctor, make sure you keep detailed notes and doctor’s receipts etc.
The court may be inclined to rule in your favor for relocation if it finds that phone calls and video meetings can serve the purpose of the co-parent’s time sharing. Also, if you can show to the court any evidence that the co-parent is careless about the child’s safety and emotional well-being, it will strengthen your case.
