Child Custody and Moving Away from San Diego

Child custody litigation is some of the most emotional and costly litigation in family law for obvious reasons, namely the fact that most parents love their children more than anything and cannot bear the thought of being apart from them.  Child custody litigation becomes even more emotional, costly and complex if the primary custodial parent seeks to move the child outside of California.

Move-away cases are the brain surgery of child custody litigation because there are many factors the court must consider when deciding whether a child should locate to another state or country.  Furthermore, there are several procedural and legal hurdles the parties must overcome when they seek to litigate or defend a move-away case.  Some of these factors include the child sharing arrangement prior to the request, whether the current custody order is a final custody determination, whether there is potential detriment to the child if the child moves, the child’s interest in maintaining the status quo in the current custodial relationship, the relationship between the child and parties as well as between the parties themselves, the distances of the move, the reason for the move and even the child’s preferences.

In addition, the parties to a move away matter are entitled to a full custody evaluation as well as a full trial on the issue of the move away both of which will cost the parties tens of thousands of dollars.  Let’s also not forget the substantial impact on the child if one parent moves and one parent stays behind.  The bottom line is that there are no winners in a move away case because the child is going to be apart from both parents for many months at a time.

If you are considering relocating to another state or country with your child or the other parent has filed for a move-away request, call Fair Cadora now to learn about your rights to take the appropriate steps towards protecting yourself and your children.