Consider Your Reasons for Relocation

 Posted on May 31, 2016 in Parenting

Following a divorce, you may want nothing more than to move to new city or state and start fresh. Doing so may require starting a different job or pursuing an education in your new town, as you look to move forward with your post-divorce life. For a parent with shared parenting responsibilities, however, the decision to relocate is much tougher, even if the desire to move is the same. If you want to move and seek new beginnings with your child, there are a number of things that you will need to consider.

The Other Parent’s Consent

When you have been allocated half or more of the parental responsibilities for your child, one of your duties, according to the law, is to help your child foster a relationship with his or her other parent. This presumes, of course, that a relationship between the child and the other parent is healthy and in your child’s best interest. With that in mind, before relocating to a new city or state with your child, you will need to seek the other parent’s consent, and have your parenting time agreement updated to reflect the new reality.

Before You Ask

As you prepare to talk to your former partner, keep in mind that you will need to be able to provide sound justification for your move. Relocating simply for its own sake is probably not going to be good enough. If you want to get the other parent on board, you need to be able to show that what you have in mind is best for your child.

You should be ready to discuss:

• How the relocation will provide employment or financial opportunity;
• Educational and other opportunities for your child at the new location;
• The presence of existing friends and extended family at the location;
• The history and quality of the relationship between the child and each of you as parents;
• How your child feels about the proposed move; and
• How you will work with the other parent to facilitate parenting time and a healthy relationship.

Overriding a Refusal

Should your child’s other parent refuse to provide consent, you can still pursue your move by asking the court to grant approval anyway. The court will take into account all of the same criteria and consider the overall impact of the proposed of the move. If permission is granted, you will still need to work with your former partner to update your parenting time arrangement and parental responsibilities.

To learn more about relocation and working with the other parent to get approval, contact an experienced Lombard family law attorney. At A. Traub & Associates, we work hard to protect the rights of parents while keeping our focus on promoting the best interests of children. Schedule a confidential consultation at one of our convenient locations today.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt%2E+VI&ActID=2086&ChapterID=0&SeqStart=8350000&SeqEnd=10200000