One of the consequences of a Florida divorce is that life can get complicated for both parents.  Time-sharing schedules, holiday custody changes, the costs of parenting and visitation, and other issues must be dealt with effectively.  When one parent decides to move away or relocate to another area with a child of the relationship, the complexity of these issues and the stakes increase exponentially.

Cases involving the relocation of a parent with a child in Florida are frequently among the most contentious child custody cases.  When the child is relocated a significant distance from the other parent, it can create a broad range of challenges, including logistical difficulty in facilitating fairly even quantities of parenting time, interfere with existing visitation schedules, and escalate the cost of exercising parenting time for the non-moving parent.

The issue of parental relocation or (parental move-away) is common in the context of divorce and paternity actions because the parents are experiencing substantial changes to their family structure.  Parents may relocate to go back to school, avail oneself of a job opportunity, obtain support from extended family, or a wealth of other reasons.  When a Florida family law judge considers a parental relocation request, the court will consider the relationships of the child to both parents and extended relatives, the reasons the parents are advocating or opposing the move, and other relevant factors.

Florida law imposes very specific procedural or substantive requirements when a parent in a custody dispute or subject to a timeshare arrangement seeks to relocate more than fifty miles with one’s child.  A parent who violates or disregards these procedures and requirements risks a potential change of custody or other adverse consequences.  A parent who wishes to relocate the child outside of fifty miles must provide written notice to the other parent and craft an appropriately modified timeshare schedule for consideration.  The other parent also has a right to be informed of the rationale for the move.  Some grounds for moving that may be considered reasonable include starting a business, pursuing an employment advancement, obtaining more emotional or family support from extended family, and seeking better health care for a serious medical problem.

While the court will consider the reasons for the move, the best interest of the child standard that governs other Florida timeshare arrangements also applies in the context of parental relocation.  While a complete discussion of the factors that a court considers when evaluating the best interest of a child is beyond the scope of this article some factors included in a parental relocation case include:

• How the move will impact the child’s school as well as physical and emotional development
• Rationale and justification for the move
• Adverse impact on the parenting time of the non-moving parent
• Parent-child relationships
• Extent of time the non-moving parent spends with the children and will be able to continue to spend if the child moves
• Benefits to the parent and children of the move

While this information may answer some of your questions about the relocation of a parent in a Florida custody dispute, this is one of the more complicated Florida child custody issues.  If you are currently involved in a divorce or paternity action or have a timeshare arrangement in place, our Florida parental relocation attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Klein can answer all your questions about the relocation of your children.  We have effectively represented many parents that needed to move with their children, and those who opposed such move-away requests so call us today at 866-819-6032 to schedule a free consultation!