Can My Ex Move Away With the Kids Without Permission?

Question:erica davis attorney michigan

Can my ex wife move out of state and take our children?

She does not currently have my permission to do so.

Answer:

I do not practice law in your state.  Therefore, I cannot inform you as to the specific laws of that state.

In regards to your question, your wife cannot just take the children and move in most instances.  In the state where I practice, we have a thing called the 100-mile rule, which states that a parent cannot move a child more than 100 miles away if the parents have joint legal custody.

This rule also includes that they cannot move the children out of state. In my state, in order to move the children to a different state, your ex wife would have to file a motion. She would need the court’s permission to move the children.

You would then have a trial where she would have to prove a handful of factors which include, in short,  whether this move would make the children’s lives better, if it would make your ex wife’s life better, if each party is currently exercising their parenting time, if the move was motivated to frustrate your parenting time with the children and if you will still be able to continue to foster your relationship with the children by exercising  parenting time based on the move.

The court also considers if the move is motivated by financial gain and if domestic violence was ever an issue. Also, and most importantly, the move has to be in the best interest of your children.

Again, this information is based on the law in my state, but I would assume that in your state, your ex wife would not just be allowed to move the children without your permission if you have joint legal custody. I would consult with an attorney immediately.

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6 comments on “Can My Ex Move Away With the Kids Without Permission?

    I am the non custodian parent and my x moved right after we had our day in court and finalized the child support decree and visitation agreement, so she moved 250 miles from where her address is stated on the decree in Texas, so now im trying to go visit my son and she is telling me to come all the way over to where she moved to instead of a half way point since she is the one that moved but she has yet to tell the court she moved or has a different address, so it either drive 250 miles for 5 hours to see my son since hes under 1yr old or do i have to go to court??

    Lets change this up abit. Move away has full custody and the noncustodial has a nocontact order.

    My ex and I have a written signed and notarized agreement between us without the court that states our parenting time and also child support and joint custody. Now she is threatening to move to Springfield from Chicago. Can she do that without my permission? Does our agreement mean anything since we came about it on our own? Thanks for all your help desperate father here.

    I was wondering if I can take my son n move out of Michigan without my ex’s permission for better pay to make a better life for my children

    You could if you don’t have any legal custody agreement, but you’d also be screwing your kid over if the dad is a good guy who cares for his child.

    Hi I have a situation where my baby` mom is trying to leave the state without me knowing and I was wondering if there is anything I can do to prevent it

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