Custody and Visitation Lawyer Helping Parents in Relocation / Move-Away Situations
Every parent's greatest fear is losing their close, loving relationship with their child. Whether parents are separated from their child due to divorce, or they never lived full time with their child, they still want to protect the face-to-face time they share.
At the Law Offices of Michael H. Nathans, we understand your concerns. We work to protect the parental rights of custodial and non-custodial fathers and mothers and the important relationships they have with their children. Attorney Michael Nathans has more than 16 years of experience negotiating parenting time agreements and taking child custody disputes to trial in Southern California family court.
When you need aggressive representation to protect your access to your child or your ability to support and care for your family, contact our Los Angeles law office to schedule an initial FREE consultation with a family lawyer who understands.
What California Courts Consider in Relocation Requests
A parent cannot simply move a child out of town or out of state. If a child custody order is in force, they must notify the other parent that they intend to leave and they must bring a request to modify the child custody and visitation to court. The non-custodial parent then has a right to contest the request of the custodial parent to move away.
If you move a child any significant distance without permission of the court, you could be held in contempt of your court order and you could face legal penalties.
California family courts always seek to protect the parent-child relationship. The court will want to know the circumstances of the move and whether it is in the child's best interest. Situations where a relocation may be requested are when one parent gets a new job at more pay, is remarried, or when there are other financial or family changes. We have handled hundreds of contested relocation cases, representing both parents requesting the moves and parent objecting to them. We know what the courts are looking for when evaluating these situations.
If the court grants the request to relocate the child, the custodial and non-custodial parents will need to arrive at a new parenting time agreement that takes into account how the child will travel back to see the other parent and who will pay the travel costs. The non-custodial parent may be given more visitation by increasing summer vacation or holiday time to make up for missed time throughout the school year.
A change in child custody may also trigger a modification of the initial child support agreement.
Picking the Right Lawyer Is the First Step in Winning Your Case.
Contact our Los Angeles County law office today to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced family lawyer. We provide compassionate and result-driven family law advocacy in relocation situations, whether out of the country or out of town. We accept most credit cards.
We want to help you.
