If you are planning to move with your children after a divorce or a child custody case in Michigan, it is essential to know about the steps you will need to take in order to be eligible to relocate. Depending upon where you are planning to move, you might not need the court’s permission at all. In addition, you might be working to convince your ex, and your child’s other parent, to consider a move to the same place so that you can pick up with co-parenting where you have left off in your current circumstances.
Accordingly, you might be wondering: if I convince my ex to move, too, does this affect the conditions? In other words, can a relocation or modification be easier if your ex also agrees to move? In some cases, if your ex is planning to move as well, it might be easier to show that a relocation is in your child’s best interests, and in many cases, the process can be much easier. Our Michigan child custody attorneys can explain.
Determine if You Need to Involve Your Ex
If you are currently living in Michigan and are planning to move to a new location in Michigan, the Michigan Child Custody Act might not require you to seek approval from your ex or from the court. Are you permitted to move without getting permission from your ex or from the court? To answer that question, you will need to consider a couple of issues.
First, are you planning to move fewer than 100 miles from your child’s current residence? You do not need to get permission for the move. Even if you are planning to move more than 100 miles from the current residence, if you have sole custody (including sole physical custody), you do not need permission from your ex. In such cases, the court will allow you to move.
How Your Ex’s Decision to Move Can Help Your Relocation Case
Are you planning to move more than 100 miles from your child’s current residence? If you share joint custody and your ex is also planning to move to the same location or a location near to your planned new residence, and if you are planning to remain in Michigan, you may not need to get the court’s permission to relocate if your ex agrees to the move.
If you are planning to move out of state, you will need to get the court’s permission. When your ex is also relocating, the fact that your ex plans to move can show the court that the move will improve the child’s quality of life, that your child will be able to maintain a similar parenting time schedule, and more broadly that the move is in the child’s best interests.
Contact Our Michigan Child Custody Attorneys
If you need the court’s permission to move and you have convinced your ex to relocate, too, the process of obtaining the court’s permission for the relocation will be much easier. Yet even if you cannot convince your ex to move, it is important to know that you may still be able to move forward with plans for relocation. A Michigan child custody lawyer at our firm can provide you with more information. Contact the Law Offices of Michael A. Robbins for more information.