In today’s increasingly mobile society, moving from state to state is commonplace.  Such moves, however, raise difficult issues for custodial parents, non-custodial parents, and children alike. 
 
Q: I am divorced and have custody of my children.  What should I do if I want to move?
A.: Ohio law requires you to file a notice of intent to relocate with the court that issued the custody order.  The notice of intent to relocate must include your new address unless this is otherwise prohibited by a court order.  The court will send a copy of the notice to relocate to the non-custodial parent.

Q.: My ex-spouse does not want me to move with our children.  What should I do?
A.: If a non-custodial parent objects to the relocation after receiving the notice of intent to relocate, the court in which the notice was filed will conduct a hearing to determine whether a modification of the parenting time schedule may be made to accommodate the relocation.  For example, if an increased geographical distance between the parents makes weekly or bi-weekly parenting time impossible, then the court may allow the children to spend a long summer vacation and most school breaks with a non-custodial parent to compensate. Ohio law provides that a court may allow such a modification if it is determined to be in the children’s best interest.

Q: How does a court determine if a modification of the parenting time schedule to accommodate relocation is in the children’s “best interest”?
A.: Ohio law provides that a court must consider several factors to determine whether such a modification is in the children’s best interest.
These factors include, but are not limited to: 
1) the reason for the anticipated move, such as employment opportunities or remarriage;
2) the distance that a relocation will put between the children and the non-custodial parent;
3) the involvement of the children’s extended family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins;
4) the non-custodial parent’s relationship with the children;
5) the parents’ ability to communicate and cooperate with each other about matters relating to the children; and
6) the financial, physical and emotional ability of the parents and the children to travel for parenting time purposes.

Q.: I am a divorced parent, and my ex-spouse, who has custody of our children, wants to move.  What are my rights?
A.: Once you receive the notice of intent to relocate from the court, you must request a court hearing to determine whether it is appropriate to modify the parenting time schedule to accommodate the relocation.  If a court determines that it is appropriate to make such a modification, the court will then determine an appropriate parenting time schedule.  If the court determines that it is not appropriate to modify the current schedule, then your spouse will not be able to move with the children to any location that will make it impossible to follow the current schedule.

Q.: Why would a court deny a parent’s request to relocate?
A.: Ohio law provides that modification of a parenting time schedule to accommodate a relocation will not be allowed if the move would not be in the children’s best interest.  Relocation requests may be denied for many reasons including the following:
1) there is no legitimate reason for the move;
2) there is significant local involvement of the children’s extended family; and
3) there is evidence that the relocating parent is unable or unwilling to cooperate with the parenting schedule.

Q.: What happens if a court denies a request to relocate?
A.: If the custodial parent decides to move with the children despite the court’s denial of the request to relocate, then the custodial parent is in violation of the court order.  The non-custodial parent may then ask the court to hold the custodial parent in contempt, order the return of the children, and grant custody to the non-custodial parent.

If the custodial parent decides to move anyway, but without the children, the court may issue an order granting custodial rights to the original non-custodial parent, and parenting time to the other parent.  In either of these scenarios, the law requires the court to base its decision on the best interest of the children.
If the custodial parent decides not to relocate, the prior court order regarding parenting time will continue to be in force.

3/25/2007

Law You Can Use is a weekly consumer legal information column provided by the Ohio State Bar Association.  This article was prepared by Joseph S. Simms, an attorney with the Cleveland firm, Ulmer & Berne LLP, and updated by April Payne, an attorney with the Cincinnati firm, The Wolfe Practice, LPA.