Gone are the days when families lived in the same community for generations. Our lives have become more fast-paced, and moves are sometimes necessary for career advancement, improved opportunities, new relationships, and a multitude of other reasons.
If you are your children’s primary custodial parent and are facing a move, the matter of relocation is a serious legal concern, and having an experienced Killeen child custody attorney in your corner is always advised.
The Court’s Position
If the move you’re considering will interfere with the parenting time schedule you and your children’s other parent share, you’ll need the court’s permission, which will involve a parenting time modification.
Every decision that Texas courts make concerning children is based on their best interests, which means your proposed move must support these interests. In other words, you’ll need to prove that the move you’re proposing is somehow advantageous to your children, which can be a tall order.
Texas courts adhere to the prevailing wisdom that children are always better off when they continue to forge close relationships with both parents – barring a serious reason for ruling otherwise. As such, their preference is that parents live reasonably close to one another whenever possible.
Joint Managing Conservatorship
Divorced parents are often awarded joint managing conservatorship, which means they are required to make primary parenting decisions together, including decisions about their children’s primary residence.
Even when one parent has the sole right to determine their children's primary residence, custody orders typically contain geographic restrictions that set limits on where the primary custodial parent can move with the children.
In order to obtain a relocation modification, the move must be in the best interest of the involved children, and one of the following considerations must apply to your situation:
There’s been a significant change in relevant circumstances.
The children are mature enough to express their preferences, and they are in favor of the move.
The parent with the sole right to designate the children’s primary residence gave their care and custody to someone else for at least six months. In this instance, the other parent may seek a relocation order.
A seasoned Killeen custody attorney can help you assess your case and eligibility for modification.
You Need a Good Reason for Moving
You’re going to need a very good reason for proposing a move. The court is not interested in your belief that the grass may be greener elsewhere or that you’ve always wanted to live on the East Coast. Instead, you’ll need to have a specific reason for moving that justifies disrupting your children’s lives and their visitation schedule with their other parent. Nothing less will do.
A Job Transfer
If you’re facing a mandatory job transfer and you provide the bulk of your children’s financial support, the court will take the move into careful consideration. If you’re unlikely to maintain the same earning level with another job in your current area, a move may be warranted.
A Career Opportunity
If the move you’re suggesting is based on a career opportunity that will increase your income and if you cannot duplicate or come close to the pay where you currently live, the court will consider your request.
The degree to which your children’s financial support is a concern will help the court determine if a move based on a job transfer or a career opportunity supports their best interests. For example, if your children want for nothing, bolstered financials likely won’t play an important role, but if your children’s circumstances would be greatly improved, they may.
Proximity to Family
If the move in question will afford you the support of close family members while raising your young children, it may move the court to consent. However, if your children’s other parent is perfectly willing and able to handle more parenting time, this motivation is unlikely to support a move.
Educational Opportunity
If you’re proposing a move that’s based on an important educational opportunity for your children, the court will likely consider your request. For example, if one of your children has special needs or gifts and there is a school that offers the specialized education they need elsewhere, the move might be considered in your children’s best interests.
Health Care
If one of your children has special healthcare requirements that can be better served by a facility elsewhere, a move may be required. Texas courts consider every relocation case based on the unique circumstances involved, and your children's special healthcare needs may be part of the equation.
A New Relationship
If you are in the early stages of a new relationship, it’s very unlikely that it will move the needle in relation to the court’s relocation decision. However, if your proposed move is to live with a partner who has traveled back and forth to play an integral role in raising your children for a considerable amount of time, it could sway the court’s decision.
Ultimately, having a solid, legitimate reason for relocation is far more likely to support your relocation request than a seemingly frivolous reason. However, the court will take a range of variables into consideration when making its final decision.
The Move Should Be in the Best Interests of Your Children
To convince the court to allow your relocation with the children, you’ll need to demonstrate that it’s in the children’s overall best interests. To strengthen your case, gather proof that supports some of the following claims:
The move will provide the children with a more stable home environment.
The move will allow you to better provide for your children’s physical and emotional needs.
The move will help you better support your children financially.
The financial advantages of the move will cover the cost of travel for visitation with the children’s other parent.
There is a reasonable parenting time schedule that adequately addresses the other parent’s lost time with the kids.
Those children who are old enough and mature enough to weigh in are in favor of the move.
The move will offer the children more opportunities in terms of education, extracurriculars, and beyond.
The move will provide the children more time with close family members, such as their grandparents.
In the end, the pros associated with the move must outweigh the cons and must support the children’s best interests. The value associated with your children spending a significant amount of time with their other parent on a consistent basis can be very difficult to outpace, which means you have your work cut out for you. A dedicated Killeen child custody attorney can help.
The Other Parent’s Level of Involvement
In its decision-making process, the court will weigh the level of involvement your children’s other parent has in their life. If your ex spends time with your shared children on a regular basis, is reliable in terms of picking them up and dropping them off, and is game when offered extra time with the kids, it will likely make your proposed move far more challenging.
On the other hand, if your ex is spotty in terms of visitation and is inclined to spend less time with your shared kids – rather than more – the court will take notice.
However, the amount of time your ex spends with your children isn’t the only thing that matters. If he or she always shows up for performances, games, and other activities your children participate in and is otherwise very involved in their lives, the court will think long and hard before putting up barriers to that involvement, such as your proposed move.
The court’s goal is maintaining continuity for your children’s relationship with both of you, which includes maintaining those meaningful connections that are difficult to duplicate from a distance.
The Status Quo
The court will consider your children’s current situation and status quo in terms of their primary home, schooling, and community. If your children are doing well in school, have plenty of opportunities for social involvement, and have a happy home with all the necessary comforts, a relocation may not be considered beneficial.
However, if the move you’ve proposed would afford your children a home that better suits their needs, that provides more educational opportunities, and that is in a safer area, it could make a difference.
The Other Parent’s Ability to Visit
The court will also analyze your ex’s ability to spend time with the children if your proposed move is approved. The distance and the travel arrangements required for the children to get together with their other parent will play a role in the court's decision-making process. The more challenging it is for your ex to spend time with the kids, the less likely the court is to approve.
Your knowledgeable Killeen custody attorney will help you explore possible custody schedules that may improve your chances of having your relocation request approved.
When a Move Is Likely to Be Allowed
There are situations in which Texas courts are more likely to grant relocations:
When the other parent has very limited involvement in the lives of the children
When the move will improve the children’s living conditions substantially
When the other parent has a history of domestic violence
FAQ about Relocation with Shared Children
The answers to the questions asked most frequently about relocation may help you with your own modification case. If you have specific questions questions about your case, contact a knowledgeable Killen child custody attorney.
I Am the Primary Custodial Parent. Can I Move with the Children?
If you share joint managing conservatorship with your ex or if there is a geographic restriction included in your child custody orders, which is very likely, you’ll need a modification to move outside the set parameters.
How Can I Win My Relocation Custody Case?
There are several important steps you should take in order to increase your chances of winning your relocation case:
Work closely with a practiced Killeen child custody attorney from the start.
Have a very good reason for your proposed move.
Be prepared to prove that the move is in your children’s best interests.
Ensure that there is a reasonable parenting time schedule for your children’s other parent that allows them to make up for some of the lost parenting time.
Have evidence and testimony that backs up the benefits of your proposal.
The court will also take the preferences of your children who are at least twelve years old into consideration.
Isn't a Better-Paying Job Reason Enough for Relocation?
While earning more money may be a consideration that supports a relocation, it will be weighed in relation to a range of variables.
For example, if the move will substantially improve your children’s living conditions that are currently subpar, this factor will be far more important than it would be if the move would simply provide your children with more bells and whistles – when their current living conditions afford them everything they need.
Will the Fact that My Ex Isn’t Very Involved in Our Kids’ Lives Affect the Court’s Decision?
The court will carefully consider the fact that your children’s other parent hasn’t put much into spending time with them to date. If the move opens up opportunities for your children and their other parent isn’t invested in seeing them, it can make the court’s decision easier.
Why Does the Court Get Involved with Relocations?
Texas courts are invested in the best interests of the children they serve, and they find that children are generally better off when they spend time with both parents on a consistent basis. As such, a move can interfere with the children’s best interests.
An Experienced Killeen Child Custody Attorney Is Standing By to Help
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a practiced Killeen child custody attorney with a long and impressive track record of obtaining favorable parenting time modifications for his clients who plan to relocate with their children.
To learn more about what we can do to help you, please don’t put off contacting us online or calling us at (254) 781-4222 to schedule your FREE consultation today.