Relocation of Minor Children
Posted in Florida Family Law on February 16, 2017
Divorce and Relocation of the Children According to Florida Law
The divorce case is over and you’ve decided to relocate yourself and your children. Not so fast! As most Florida divorce judges will tell, relocation of children (you may go wherever you’d like, the children are another story) is one of the only family law issues that require a trial most of the time. Why? Because you will be relocating the children to a location more than 50 miles from where they currently reside and, more importantly, usually a farther distance from the other parent. Unless you have an agreement to the contrary, Florida Statute Chapter 61.13001 provides that you can move anywhere within a 50 mile radius from where you resided at the time the final judgment was entered.
If you want to move more than 50 miles from that location you need (1) written permission from the other parent or (2) an order from the family law judge assigned to your case. The written permission route is a bit tricky and here’s why: just getting the piece of paper signed by the other parent isn’t enough in my opinion. You really want to get an order from the judge that ratifies your agreement and makes it an order allowing relocation. It is a simple and quick process that will save a lot of time, money and aggravation if the other parent gives you a problem after the relocation.
If you cannot reach agreement on the relocation, a petition to relocate must be filed and served on the other parent. The relocation petition must contain detailed information about where, when and why you want to relocate (if it’s to accept a job offer, you must attach the offer) and, most important, must explain how you propose that the other parent will maintain a relationship with the child(ren) after the relocation.
If the other parent has not maintained a steady relationship with the child(ren) or has not remained current in child support obligation based on what our child support calculator determines they owe, all the better for your chances of getting the judge to grant your request for relocation. On the other hand, if the other parent has maintained the parent/child relationship by exercising routine timesharing and is current in their Florida child support obligations, then relocation may be a bit more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult. Here’s why: the most important thing the court must consider in any request for relocation is maintenance of the parent/child relationship with the non-relocating parent. So, you need to give great thought to that issue and talk with your Florida relocation lawyer about how best to present your plan to the court. Relocation is one of those issues that you should never attempt on your own. It is very technical and many lawyers I have dealt with really don’t get it.
One of my most memorable relocation cases is Nutzel v. Nutzel, a case from Lee County, Florida. In a nutshell, I represented the mother who wanted to relocate from Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans. The husband hired 2 lawyers during 2 years of litigation who took his money and ran when it ran out. I explained to both of them from the outset that under the circumstances of the case (every case is different) relocation was going to happen; no ifs, ands or buts about. They disagreed, took a lot of money from their client, sold him “bill of goods” and ditched him when it came time to face the judge. My client and her daughter have been living in New Orleans despite years of unnecessary angst and antics by bad lawyers who sold their client down the river for a few bucks (about $25,000.00 per the client as I recall). Here’s the bottom line: whether it’s a divorce, modification or relocation, hire a competent lawyer. Ask questions, it’s your life and money.
“When it’s time to leave (or relocate) . . .Call Steve.” 877-348-3354