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Relocating With a Child

Moving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

Relocation is the question of whether a parent subject to a custody order may move a child a significant distance away from the other parent. It is among the hardest disputes in family law because it usually cannot be compromised: unlike a schedule, which can be adjusted, a move either happens or does not.

Most states require notice to the other parent before a move that would substantially affect the existing arrangement, and many require the court's permission where the other parent objects. What triggers the requirement varies - some states use a distance threshold, some a change of school district or state line, some ask whether the move would materially affect the existing parenting time. The notice period and any threshold distance are set by state statute or by the order itself, and neither is stated here.

Where permission is required, the court applies the best-interests standard to a specific question: the reason for the move and whether it is made in good faith, the effect on the child's relationship with the parent left behind, whether a workable schedule can preserve that relationship across the distance, the child's ties to the current community, and the child's preference where age and maturity make it relevant. States differ on who bears the burden of proof, and that allocation frequently decides close cases.

The procedural point is the one that causes the most damage. Moving first and asking afterwards is a serious mistake. A parent who relocates in breach of an order or a notice requirement may be ordered to return the child, may find the move counted against them on the merits, and may face contempt. Where a parent has genuine safety concerns, the route is an emergency application to the court rather than departure, and courts hear those quickly.

Where this comes from

Relocation is governed by state statute and case law, and the standards, notice requirements, triggering distances and allocation of the burden of proof differ substantially between states; there is no national rule and no uniform act adopted broadly enough to supply one. Which state's court may decide is governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, enacted in every state except Massachusetts, which retains its predecessor act, and interstate recognition is reinforced by the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1738A. A move abroad may engage the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, implemented in the United States by 22 U.S.C. § 9001 et seq. Any notice period or distance threshold is fixed by the applicable state statute or by the existing order, and none is stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

This is the family law question least suited to acting first and taking advice later, and the advice is worth taking as soon as the move becomes a real possibility rather than once it is arranged. Advice is worth having where a job offer, remarriage, military orders or a return to family support is driving the move, since the reason is a factor the court weighs and how it is presented matters; where the other parent has said they will not object, because an agreement not made into an order protects nobody; where the move crosses a state line or a border, which raises which court decides before it raises whether the move is allowed; where the existing order is silent on relocation; and where a parent believes a child has already been moved without permission, which is a matter of days rather than weeks.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Child Custody law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Family Law” has no Child Custody listing yet and opens the broader page.

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Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

« All glossary terms

Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

Related free reference tools: statute of limitations for a personal-injury claim, by state, quoted from each state's official text - part of LawyerLand's legal reference tools.