Does your former spouse and co-parent want to leave the Louisville area? What happens when you are sharing joint custody and parenting time after a Louisville divorce and your former spouse needs or wants to move? How will relocation affect existing child custody and parenting time orders?
The first thing you might need to know is almost all child custody and parenting time orders require the Court’s written consent to make any change. You cannot simply take the child(ren) and move out of the area. Louisville Family Courts take a dim view of parents who move away with children without orders from the Court. This can not only jeopardize your existing parenting rights, it can affect your right to have any child custody or unsupervised parenting time in the future.
What should you do if your former spouse and co-parent want to leave the Louisville area? You should seek immediate legal advice and counsel from the experienced and proven divorce and family law lawyers at Dodd & Dodd. This is especially critical if the move has already occurred.
If both co-parents agree to the move you will simply need to amend existing child custody and parenting time orders and submit them to the Court for approval prior to the move.
If one of the co-parents disagrees the matter must be presented to the Court. There are many factors the Judge in your case will consider, including but not limited to:
- The presence of additional support of family and/or friends in the new location
- The financial impact on the ability to support the child
- The quality of life, education and health the child(ren) will receive from the proposed relocation
- The disruption of important relationships in a child’s life
- The distances involved and the ability of the non-resident parent to maintain a strong relationship and have quality time with their child
The best interests of a child are always the guiding principle in any custody or parenting time related case.
Mediation may provide a timely and cost-effective alternative to a contested court proceeding.
Does your former spouse and co-parent want to leave the Louisville area? We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
