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Moving with Children

When a custody order is in place, it can often be difficult to move more than 100 miles from where the permanent residence of the child was at the onset of the custody action. The worst thing you can do is to move more than 100 miles away without first obtaining permission from the court. Doing so may very well put you in violation of the custody order that is in place. It is important to talk to an experienced family law attorney, such as The Mitten Law firm, before moving more than 100 miles with your child.

HOW THE 100 MILE RULE WORKS

If you have sole physical and sole legal custody of your child, you may freely move anywhere with your kids. The 100-mile rule is only applicable when there is joint custody of the minor child.​

There are several different routes to go in order to get permission to move. The easiest route is to obtain consent from the other parent. However, this is not always something that a joint parent will agree to. The other option, which is available to the other parent if they oppose the move, would be to request a full evidentiary hearing in front of the court.

In order to successful petition the court to allow your move, the party seeking the relocation must show by a preponderance of evidence that the move is in the best interests of the child/children. In making this determination, the court will consider the following factors:

  1. Whether or not domestic violence has been an issue in the case, regardless of whether this violence was directed at the child or whether they were present.
  2. The relationship between the parents and the child, and whether or not parenting time can be modified to preserve the parent child relationships
  3. How the move might improve the quality of life for the parent and child, considering schooling, housing, and employment opportunities available in the new location.
  4. Whether or not each parent complied with the parenting time agreement, used their parenting time as granted, and looking to make sure the move is not being done to frustrate the parenting time of the other.
  5. The motive for the move, and whether or not the moving parent is doing so to try and obtain more child support or benefits from the other party.
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