AM I ABLE TO MOVE ANYWHERE AFTER MY DIVORCE?

You are contemplating moving but are either in the middle of a divorce or just signed your Stipulation of Settlement. Are you permitted to move? If there are no children from the marriage, then you can move wherever you wish.  If you have children, the answer depends on the circumstances.  Both parents are to spend meaningful time with the children.  Having meaningful time with your children requires both parties to live relatively close to each other.  The question then becomes how close do you need to live by each other?  There are no concrete rules as to how far you can move away but Courts will generally deem no more than twenty to thirty minutes apart reasonable using the children’s home as the starting point.  The restriction, however, is placed on the residential parent.  The non-residential parent can essentially move to wherever they want. Keep in mind that if you are the non-residential parent and move too far away then the residential parent is not required to make any special arrangements to help facilitate your visitation. Also remember that your children will be in the car longer, which could affect them and your time together.

Once the non-residential parent moves out of state or clearly out of the area, then, unless there is a provision in the Agreement requiring  you to stay within a certain area,  then even though you are the residential parent you will probably not be bound to stay within a certain radius to your children’s current home. If you must move far from your children, then you could offer to drop off and pick up your children for all visitations, if not already required to do so.  You can also suggest extra time during a specified school break to make up for any lost time.

Sometimes there is no choice but you should always keep your children’s best interests at the forefront of your mind and in the decisions that you make.