Child Relocation may occur at any point in your child’s life before their age of majority of eighteen. One parent might want to move to another location while another does not. In the state of Florida, there are regulations attached to moving and in particular when the child will be moving more than one hundred miles away from the other parent.
A lot of stress can come with this for the nonrelocating parent. For example, if the child moves out of the state with one parent, will he or she be able to continue the scheduled visitation agreement with both parents? Will the cost of traveling for visitation be fair to either parent? What if one parent does not agree to relocation? Florida Statute 61.13001 lists the requirements for relocation which does not permit moving more than 50 miles from the previous residence for 60 days without the permission from the court. The relocating parent must file a petition in court and adequately serve the other parent who in turn has a number of 20 days to respond to the petition. The court’s standard will always be the best interest of the child and will consider some factors before rendering its judgment. These factors include but not limited to the relationship between the child and both parents, current age and needs of the child, preference, financial benefits, justification of the relocating parent, among other things.
To have a great shot at either relocating your child or challenging your child’s relocation, an experienced attorney is necessary. At the Law Firm of Johansson Law, we are prepared to help you weigh your options by sharing custody or fighting your child’s relocation.