Burgess & La Musga - Move away cases
As a general rule, the custodial parent has the upper hand in a move-away case. When the custodial parent wants to move away, the non-custodial parent, assuming he or she is not planning to move to the same community as the custodial parent, has an up-hill but not impossible battle ahead. The non custodial parent cannot prevent the custodial parent from moving, only from taking the child along with. Therefore, the only way the non-custodial parent can prevent a move-away is to become the custodial parent. What follows is what a court counts as important in deciding whether the custodial parent remain the custodial parent:
THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD
This is what the court couldn’t care less about:
How well or badly the other parent treats you, and the corollary, how well or badly you treat the other parent.
Now, back to what the court does care about:
The court will consider which parent will be better able to provide the child with clothing, shelter, food, education and safety, although not necessarily in that order. If the court decided that the non-custodial parent is best able to provide for child in the way the court wants, whether the child would nevertheless, still be better off moving with the custodial parent. Other considerations include whether either parent is or is not addicted to anything and is not wanted for a crime. However, whether or not the parent is living an amoral lifestyle is of little or no impact on the decision of the court as to which parent is better suited to be the custodial parent.
If you would like additional information on this topic, please feel free to call or send an email using the info there on the right panel. I respond to all the calls and when I am not in court or with a client, I will answer the phone myself.
Carter Johnston