After a divorce or break up, parents have to rebuild their lives. They find new places to live, start new relationships or work on their careers. They may achieve all of those personal goals while simultaneously sharing custody with a co-parent.
Sharing custody usually means regularly communicating about parenting decisions and exchanging custody so that both parents maintain a relationship with the children. When new relationships, job opportunities or family connections elsewhere lead to a parent planning a move out of Texas, they may worry about what happens next.
Can parents who are subject to a Texas custody order relocate with their children?
Moving away with children is possible
The current allocation of parental rights and responsibilities may influence what happens in a relocation scenario. In cases where one parent is technically the sole conservator, they can usually make major parenting decisions without deferring to the other parent.
However, relocation scenarios can lead to legal disputes in some cases. Typically, the parent proposing a move that takes the children out of the state needs to discuss their plan with the other parent ahead of time. In some cases, they may be able to negotiate a new co-parenting arrangement and move forward with an uncontested custody modification.
Other times, the parent remaining in Texas may oppose the move because they worry it could damage their relationship with the children. In such cases, the parent hoping to relocate may need to take the matter to family court.
Judges hear contested relocation cases regularly. They review specific details about family circumstances to decide whether or not to approve the relocation. The goal is usually to make decisions that are in the best interest of the children.
Judges often want to keep both parents close to and involved with the children. However, if the relocation helps the child by giving them access to extended family relationships or improved educational opportunities, moving could be what is best for the child.
Judges may consider the reason for the move, the impact it may have on custody arrangements and even the preferences of older children when they make their final decision. They can then modify the existing custody order to reflect the decision that they make.
Learning more about the rules that apply in shared custody scenarios can help parents take the right steps as they prepare for a major family change. A parent who wants to move away with their children (or a parent who wants them to stay) may need help developing their case to convince a judge that the move is or is not what is best for the children.