How Can a Child Custody Attorney Assist in Relocation Cases?

Child custody disputes are always difficult, but when one parent wants to move, something that’s difficult can become almost impossible to navigate on your own. These situations are tricky, and here in Texas we often have to deal with international moves, as well. Whether you need to relocate or your child’s other parent is trying to take your child away, contact a child custody attorney in Austin, TX as soon as possible to get help.

How Can a Child Custody Attorney in Austin, TX Assist in Relocation Cases?

Conservatorship Matters a Lot

Sole Conservatorship

If one of the parents is the child’s sole managing conservator, meaning they have the right to make all legal decisions for the child alone, then they can move the child just about anywhere without restriction. They do not need the permission of the courts or of the other parent, though it is usually best practice to inform the other parent of the plan. This applies whether the parent is moving within Texas or to another state; but if they plan to move out of the country, both parties should talk to a lawyer to facilitate the move and make sure things go as smoothly as possible.

Joint Conservatorship

When Joint Managing Conservators Don’t Agree

If you are in a joint managing conservatorship situation and don’t agree with the child’s other spouse about what’s best for the child, you will have to take the issue to court. The courts will typically deny the relocation if they believe that it’s going to interfere with a child’s relationship with the other parent.

If one parent wants to move and the other parent doesn’t agree, the parent who doesn’t agree needs to talk to a lawyer and file an application for a temporary restraining order as soon as possible. This will keep the first parent from moving until there can be a hearing and forces the parent who wants to move to show clear and compelling reasons why it is in the child’s best interests. If a parent attempts to relocate the child with a restraining order in place, they could be charged with parental abduction, which is a state jail felony.

At the Hearing

At the hearing, the parents are going to put forth their cases for why the relocation should or should not happen. If there is joint managing conservatorship, then the onus is upon the parent who wants to move to prove that it is in the best interests of the child. The Texas courts will look at a number of factors, and your attorney will go over all of these with you to help you make the strongest possible case.

One of the key factors will be the child’s physical, emotional, and psychological needs and whether they will be affected negatively or positively by the move. The court will also consider the geographic location of the parents now and the proposed locations after the move; whether the child has a preference in the matter; how active the two parents are in child rearing; and whether the parents show that they are making their child’s welfare their first priority.

For example, the court will want to look at whether each parent is trying to encourage a good relationship between the child and the other parent and, if not, if that is a factor in either the desire to move or the desire to prevent the move. Sometimes a parent wants to move a child away in order to interfere with the relationship with the other parent. And sometimes, a parent who doesn’t have physical custody and isn’t even involved in their child’s life objects to a move primarily out of a desire to hurt the other parent or “win” in the situation.

International Complications

Here in Texas, many parents share custody with a parent who has citizenship elsewhere than the United States. In these situations, things can get complicated. The Hague Convention is an international treaty that governs the way many nations interact with the United States and the state of Texas when it comes to moving children.

Under the Convention, if a parent does not have permission to leave the country with a child, they can be forced to return the child, and international authorities will generally cooperate when things are done correctly. For the purposes of making a decision under the Hague Convention, the question will be where the child’s place of “habitual residence” is. If that’s Texas, then the child will be returned to that place.

This does not mean that custody decisions will change or that the child will never be permitted to leave the United States. It simply means that the child will be returned to the place of habitual residence, and then it will be up to the Texas courts to make a final decision on custody issues.