If you are looking to move with your children out of state, it’s in your best interest to retain a child custody attorney in Greenville. Our attorneys are very familiar with the court system and know exactly what the judges need to see in order to approve your move. It’s important that you bring any relevant information with you when you meet with your child custody attorney in Greenville for the first time. In order for them to draft your motion, they need to know the background of your case as well as the specific reasons for why you want to move. Here, we will discuss how the process works for people looking to move their children out of state. If you still have questions about your own case, feel free to contact our office directly.
What Does Your Current Child Custody Order Say?
Before your child custody attorney in Greenville can draft your motion, they need to know what your current child custody order says. Typically, your child custody arrangement will be outlined in your marital settlement agreement. If you and the children’s other parent were never married, you should still have some type of custody order in place. Depending on what that order says, it may be very difficult to move your children out of state. For example, if you and the other parents split time evenly, you have a very high burden to overcome. It doesn’t seem fair that the children should not get to see their other parent for weeks or months on end. It will not be sufficient to tell the judge that you’re offering your ex time with their children during the holidays or in the summer.
Did Your Ex-Spouse Consent to the Move?
If your ex has consented to the move, then it will not be very difficult to get the court’s permission to move away. However, consent is not always enough to get your order signed. If the court feels that your ex signed the consent order out of duress, they may not accept it. Or if they feel that it is not in the children’s best interest at this time to move away from their other parent, they may deny your request as well. One thing that your child custody attorney in Greenville won’t do is advise you to make the move without getting express permission from the judge. What can happen is you may make the move only to be told that you have to come back with your kids. The courts are not going to want to hear that it’s too expensive or too inconvenient to come back. Since you did not get their permission in the first place, they will not think twice about ordering you to remand the children to their other parent.
Your Child Custody Attorney in Greenville Can Submit a Motion to the Court
In order to get permission from the court to move your children out of state, you will have to file a motion. Your Greenville child custody lawyer can draft the motion for you, but you will still have to draft your own certification. The certification is where you get to explain to the court why you need to move. It will be very detailed and will include the following information:
- the town and city that you intend to move to
- the exact address of the home in which you plan to move into
- the reason for the move
- how you plan to ensure that the other parent gets time with their children
- whether you have procured a new doctor for the children
- the quality of the school system to which you want to move
- whether the other parent has consented to the move
- information regarding any special needs or disabilities your children may have
Once you draft your certification, your child custody attorney in Greenville will review it with you. If they feel that it is sufficient, they will advise you to sign off on it and they will prepare your motion. Once the court receives your motion, the other parent will have 14 days to respond. They will more than likely oppose the motion. If this happens, there will be a hearing scheduled before the judge.
Your Child Custody Attorney in Greenville Must Convince the Judge That It’s In the Best Interests of Your Children
If you are attempting to move your children out of state, there are a lot of hoops you must jump through. As far as the courts are concerned, children should be readily available to see both parents, not just one. Even if you are currently the primary custodial parent, you still need to get permission from the courts in order to move your children out of state. In fact, depending on where you live, the courts may not allow you to move the children out of the county. Since the only standard the courts use is the best interests of the child standard, your child custody attorney Greenville is going to have to convince the judge that it is in their best interests to make the move. Of course, your ex is more than likely going to oppose the motion and demand that you stay where you are. This means that you will need to have a very good reason to want to move.
If your ex will not consent to the move, then it’s in your best interest to hire a Greenville child custody lawyer. Not only can they file the motion on your behalf, but they will stand by you at the court hearing. They will also negotiate with your ex’s attorney to try and work out an arrangement that makes both parents happy. We suggest that you contact our office several weeks before you want to file your motion. You should also understand that it will take several months to go before a judge. The last thing you want to do is make the judge angry by attempting to move without the court’s express permission. If you contact our office today, we can schedule a date and time for you to come in and sit down with one of our experienced child custody attorneys in Greenville, South Carolina.
