Question:
My parenting plan allows me only four days of visitation a month. The only way to see them more is for one of us to move closer to each other.
Is there a way I can make her move closer to where I live or place a residency restriction on where she can move?
Answer:
I do not practice in Florida. Therefore, I cannot inform you as to the specific laws of Florida, but Cordell & Cordell has attorneys who are licensed and located in Florida who would be happy to set up a consultation with you.
Any residency restriction should have been addressed in your divorce decree. If the decree contains a residency restriction, you can petition the court to enforce it, but the sooner the better. The longer your ex lives outside the county, the better argument she may have that moving again may not be in the best interest of the children.
If your decree does not contain a residency restriction, then your ex could potentially move anywhere in the country. Where I practice, in Texas, if the divorce decree did not state a residency restriction, it would be very unlikely that you could convince the court to require she move back to the county where you live once she has already moved, especially if some time has passed.
However, if you move to the county where she now resides, you could then petition the court to require a residency restriction limited to the new county so that she could not move again.
Rachel A. Brucks is a Staff Attorney in the Fort Worth, Texas office of Cordell & Cordell where she practices domestic relations exclusively. Ms. Brucks is licensed in the state of Texas. Ms. Brucks received her Bachelors degrees in English and Political Science from the University of Texas at Arlington. She received her Masters in Literature and Gender Studies from Texas State University, San Marcos; and received her Juris Doctor from Southern Methodists University, Dallas.
