Can I Move Out of State With My Child?

Can I Move Out of State With My Child?

During the months of November to March in Minnesota, temperatures drop well below freezing and even sub-zero at times. Cars are covered in snow and children get frostbite if they forget to wear their mittens during recess. These unbearable temperatures leave many Minnesotans craving a warmer climate and they often ask—Can I move out of state? The answer is always yes, since Americans have the constitutional right to travel. However, when that question becomes, “can I move out of state with my child?,” the answer changes to—it depends.

In Minnesota, unmarried mothers maintain sole legal custody, sole physical custody, and 100% of the parenting time with a child, just by virtue of giving birth to the child. If the child’s father (who was not married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth) wants to obtain these rights, he must affirmatively take steps to establish custody and parenting time through the court. Up until an unmarried father establishes custody and parenting time, the mother may in fact move the child’s residence to another state.

However, once the court awards a parent any parenting time—even just 4 hours per week—the custodial parent may not move the child’s residence to another state, unless the other parent agrees to the move or the court gives the parent permission to move out of state with the child. As is the case on many occasions, if the purpose of the move out of state is to interfere with the other parent’s court-ordered parenting time, the court will not allow the move to occur.

When determining whether or not to allow a parent to move the child’s residence to another state, the court will analyze the best interests of the child. There are many factors the court will consider in making this decision. Specifically, the court will review the nature, quality, extent of involvement, and duration of the child’s relationship with both parents, siblings, and other significant persons in the child’s life. If the child does not have a great relationship with the parent remaining in Minnesota, or if the child has a lot of family in the other state, the court may be more likely to allow the move out of state.

Moreover, the court will certainly consider the age, developmental stage, needs of the child, and the likely impact the relocation will have on the child’s physical, educational, and emotional development, taking into consideration any special needs the child has. So if the purpose of the move is to be closer to a highly specialized hospital in another state so the child can receive specialized medical care he or she needs, the court may be more likely to allow the move out of state. Of course, this may only be true if the child cannot get into the Mayo Clinic.

The next factor the court will consider is the feasibility of preserving the relationship between the parent remaining in Minnesota and the child through suitable parenting time arrangements, considering the logistics and financial circumstances of the parties. The court will almost always believe it is in the best interest of a child to have loving and nurturing relationships with both parents. This is true even if one of the parent lives 300 miles away from the child. As such, the court must consider the financial circumstances of the parties in determining whether the parents can pay for airfare and other travel expenses so the child can visit the nonrelocating parent and maintain a relationship with him or her.

Sometimes, the court will take into account the child’s preference. However, the court will only take this preference seriously if the court believes the child is of sufficient age and maturity. Therefore, a 3-year old child who wants to move out of state with mom because dad does not let him eat candy will likely not be given much consideration by a judge. However, a 16-year-old child who wants to move out of state with dad because colleges in that state are beginning to offer him basketball scholarships may be much more persuasive.

Next, the court will consider whether there is an established pattern of conduct of the person seeking relocation to another state to either promote or thwart the relationship of the child and the other parent. A court will be much more likely to allow a parent to move a child out of state if that parent has demonstrated his or her desire to co-parent with the other parent and support his or her relationship with the child. If the court has made numerous previous findings that the parent now wishing to move out of state has repeatedly and intentionally denied the other parent access to the child, the court may become suspicious that the purpose of the move is to interfere with the non-relocating parent’s parenting time. The court is unlikely to approve the move if this is the case.

Moreover, if the relocation to another state will enhance the general quality of life for both the parent seeking relocation and the child, the court may be more likely to allow the move. For instance, if the parent seeking to move out of state with the child just got a new job in that state which triples his or her income, it is likely the child would benefit from the income received from this job. And if the child has a once in a lifetime educational opportunity in the other state, a court is likely to believe that the move will benefit the child’s educational needs. The court will also closely analyze the reasons of each parent for seeking or opposing the move to another state.

Lastly, and, possibly most importantly the court must consider the effect on the safety and welfare of the child, or of the parent requesting the move, of domestic abuse. This factor is important for two reasons. First, a court may be more likely to allow a victim of domestic abuse to move away from the abuser with the child than to allow the abuser to move away from the victim with the child. But, most importantly, if the person requesting permission to move to another state has been a victim of domestic abuse by the other parent, the parent opposing the move must prove that the move is not in the child’s best interest. In all other instances where there has been no domestic abuse, the parent seeking the relocation must prove that the move is in the child’s best interest. This can be a substantial hurdle to overcome, especially considering all of the factors discussed above that the court must consider in determining the child’s best interest.

If you want to move your child to another state, it is important that you hire an experienced family law and parenting time attorney in Minnesota to make sure this is done properly. And if you believe your ex is trying to move your child out of state (or has done so already), you must act quickly to ensure that Minnesota maintains jurisdiction over your child. The attorneys at RAM Law PLLC have been successful at assisting parents in legally moving out of the State of Minnesota with their child. The attorneys at RAM Law PLLC have also been successful in extraditing children back from other countries and states when one parent has illegally abducted the child.

Moving a child to another state must be done legally, as parents who move a child out of the state after a court has already decided that the parent may not do so oftentimes lose all custody rights to the child. If any of these situations apply to you, contact the experienced family law and parenting time attorneys at RAM Law PLLC to schedule your free initial consultation.