First, they are emotionally complex. Few types of family law cases generate more stress and emotion than a custody case. If you have joint custody, a hearing will be held. At the hearing, the judge will consider the factors of the 100-mile rule to decide whether your application will be granted. The factors apply even if you want to move within 100 miles. The judge may also consider the best interests of the child before deciding whether or not to allow your move. Read the “Best Interest of Child Factors” section below to find out when this would happen and what it would mean. That was the case before 2010, but now it`s a little less clear. This is because our California legislator likes to complicate simple things, and it could have raised the question of whether a non-custodial parent who objects to a move can actually be denied an evidentiary hearing if they want that hearing to be prejudicial? Showing a court that you are responsible enough to have custody and that it benefits your child takes some effort. You should retrieve records from your visiting schedule, reports from social services or court officials, psychiatric assessments, and other documents that may show that you are committed to a healthy relationship with your child. With plenty of evidence and the help of an experienced lawyer, you can get joint custody with the other parent, which can give you partial and/or legal physical custody.
The same law in all states helps to ensure consistency in the handling of custody decisions. It also helps resolve many of the issues that arise from abduction or custody disagreements between parents living in different states. In the case of unmarried parents, custody is automatically transferred to the mother upon the birth of the child. Unless the father establishes paternity and applies to the court to arrange joint custody or access, the mother has sole custody and control of the child and may leave the State whenever she wishes or needs to. If the court order is a final custody decision, things get complicated. Whether or not the court engages in a best interests analysis depends on whether the parents share joint physical custody or whether one parent has sole physical custody. This gets tricky and, again, an experienced family law lawyer can talk about the options in this scenario and whether or not it makes sense to announce the move and rely on a presumed right to move for the custodial parent? However, if you encounter a new job opportunity or a situation where you may need to leave the state, you may encounter many hurdles with your visit contract. While a San Diego family court can allow you to leave the state and retain your visitation rights — which can include a personalized schedule or online visit — you should also consider filing an application for custody. The reverse is also true. If one parent has almost equal custody, but the court order states that one parent has sole custody, the court should treat parenting time and custody as spouses. So what`s the sole versus joint problem in a California moving case? I am glad you asked. Keep in mind that while the physical custody label (“joint” or “single”) you agree to in your parenting agreement is important, if there is a dispute, the court will usually review the actual parenting plan at the time of the move, rather than relying on the schedule the parents include in their parenting agreement.
Only after establishing custody can you apply to leave the state with your child. Judges may allow parents to have joint interstate custody in which the child moves between two homes in different states, but they will want to be sure that this will not interfere with the child`s development. Interstate custody arrangements may alternatively include physical custody between the school year and holidays. This may allow that parent to simply announce the move, which can put the burden on the other parent, and then go to court to stop it. However, this is not black and white and there are often other terms in the court order that can control such a scenario. Appropriate legal advice is essential in this regard. You won`t get this from any website page. You can create a parenting plan that takes into account the fact that your children are moving and change the visit so you can still spend time with your children. Click here for help with parenting plans. You may be wondering what I mean by “presumed right” to move. If you want to move your child out of Michigan, you must file a motion for the judge`s approval before you move.
It doesn`t matter if you`re 25 miles away or 2,500 miles away.