You may be considering moving, perhaps because you want a fresh start after your divorce. You and your spouse recently split up, and you are moving forward with your life.
The problem is that you and your spouse are now co-parents. You have a child together, and you share custody. Is that going to make it more difficult for you to move?
How far are you moving?
If you are just moving to a different house in relatively the same area, it probably will not have any impact at all. You and your ex already have to drive back and forth between each other’s houses to exchange the child based on your child custody schedule. If you move to a neighboring town, the drive may be 20 minutes longer, but the schedule is still feasible. You are certainly not restricted to staying in the same house forever.
But if you are moving farther, such as moving all the way across the state or out of the state or country entirely, then you likely need to seek a child custody modification. It would be problematic if you simply moved without modifying the arrangement, because you would be moving far enough that it would be impossible to exchange the child on the predetermined schedule. You still need to uphold that child custody schedule, so this could be a violation of your ex’s rights. The correct path forward is to ask the court for a modification first and then move only after it is granted.
Navigating the process
Issues like this can be very complex after a divorce, as they impact child custody rights and arrangements. Be sure that you know exactly what legal steps to take while navigating the process.