Are you considering leaving Louisville or taking your child(ren) out of the area or the State of Kentucky? You need the advice and counsel of an experienced Louisville child custody relocation attorney at Dodd & Dodd. Do you have temporary or permanent child custody orders in place? If you wish to move away, you will be required to seek permission of the Court in advance of any relocation or move-away.
Kentucky child custody laws regarding move-aways, travel outside of the State of Kentucky, international travel, relocation, or moving away with your child(ren) are legally quite complex. If you choose not to seek and obtain the permission of the Court before travel or relocation you face the genuine and significant risk of censure from the Court and the loss of all existing (and future) parental rights to child custody and visitation.
Any parent with sole legal and physical custody of a child can travel with that child or relocate. However, if a case can be made that the travel or move-away is not in keeping with Kentucky laws regarding the “best interests of the child,” the other parent can still seek the return of the child (ren).
Any parent in the process of a Louisville or Kentucky divorce involving a child or children or who shares child custody and visitation after a divorce must seek advance permission from the Court, and usually from the other parent. A Louisville child custody relocation attorney at Dodd and Dodd will help you understand your rights and obligations as a parent and advise and counsel you on accomplishing your travel objectives.
What happens to parents with shared custody of children who choose to travel or relocate without the Court’s permission? Our Louisville Family Court will almost always take action against a parent leaving the Louisville area or the State of Kentucky with a child without first obtaining written permission from the Court. In most cases it is also the responsibility of the traveling parent to notify and obtain authorization from the other parent as well.
Excuses such as “I wasn’t able to connect with them” or “they wouldn’t agree” will not be valid reasons for violating existing Court orders. If you are facing a challenge obtaining the other parent’s written permission to travel with your child(ren) or they are unreasonably withholding that permission you will need to consult our experienced Kentucky child custody and family law attorneys and/or the Court itself before travel.
What Should You Do If The Other Parent Moves Out of the Area, Out of Kentucky or Leaves the United States with Your Child(ren)?
If you learn the other parent is planning to travel, relocate, or move away with your child(ren) and without the Court’s permission, you must take immediate action to protect your child’s best interests and your own parental rights. Have you learned of your former spouse’s plans to relocate from a mutual friend or one of the children? You need to call us at (502) 584-1108 or contact our office to learn about your rights in this situation and how to protect your child’s best interests. We will usually seek immediate orders from the Court to put a stop to any plans regarding relocation.
If your former spouse has already moved out of the area or relocated outside of the State of Kentucky with your child(ren) taken out of the area or out of state, it is important for you to immediately assert your child’s rights and your parental rights with our local Louisville Family Court.
One of the most important issues in these cases (outside of the child’s best interests) is an issue known as “venue.” The parent who is about to leave or has already left the Louisville area or the State of Kentucky with a child often intends to seek “emergency protective orders” from a local Family Court in their new home. It is only a matter of a few days or weeks before that Court (outside the State of Kentucky) might approve that emergency request and assert jurisdiction (venue) over your child(ren) and the case itself.
Once an out-of-state court accepts the emergency request and the resulting jurisdiction over your child’s custody, a long, drawn-out, expensive legal fight must be engaged to dispute the venue of that local court and re-establish our local Louisville Family Court’s jurisdiction over custody matters involving your child(ren).
There is a bit of a silver lining for our relocation case clients here in Louisville who are the victims of these types of relocation schemes. Louisville Family Law Courts are (almost without exception) seriously displeased with the actions of a parent who, without taking the time and legal step of asking for the Court’s permission to travel with their child(ren), leaves the Louisville area or the State of Kentucky with their child(ren). The local Family Court almost always takes immediate action to protect the child(ren) while issuing an order for their immediate return.
Actions have consequences. In many cases, a parent who takes a child and attempts to move away or relocate without the Court’s advance written permission will face the loss of their own child custody and visitation rights. The Court will certainly consider the legal costs associated with protecting your children and asserting your rights.
Generally speaking, any local parent who shares children with a former spouse during or after a divorce (including those with sole custody and visitation) should seek the advance written permission of our Louisville Family Court before traveling or relocating with a child.
If you need an experienced, proven Louisville child custody relocation attorney, have questions regarding Louisville or Kentucky child custody relocation and move-away laws, or need to protect your own rights and the rights of your child(ren), we invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and the legal industry and contact Dodd & Dodd or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
