Your post-divorce life in Pennsylvania may present you with the new opportunity may be to relocate to a new area. Yet a proposed relocation can become difficult if you share custody of your kids with your ex-spouse.
Many past clients have come to us here at Standish & Conlin concerned that their custody agreements prevent them from relocating. If you share the same concern, you should know that there are steps you can take to facilitate this process on your own.
Pennsylvania’s parental relocation law
But first, you need to understand your legal obligations to both your ex-spouse and the court if you want to relocate. Per the Pennsylvania General Assembly, you must notify any party with interest in your custody agreement (including the court) of your intent to relocate at least 60 days prior to it actually happening. Your ex-spouse then has 30 days from receiving your notice to object to the relocation. If they object, the court then holds an expedited hearing to determine whether or not to allow for the relocation (or to modify your custody agreement to accommodate it).
Controlling changes to your custody agreement
In the aforementioned scenario, the court controls what happens to your custody agreement if you pursue a relocation opportunity. You can wrest back that control, however, by working with your ex-spouse well in advance of your move. The court typically assumes it to be in your kids’ best interest to maintain consistent contact with both parents. Thus, if you can work with your ex-spouse to come up with a modified agreement that allows them to remain a constant presence in your children’s lives (without placing a disproportionate burden on them), the court will typically reward such a collaborative effort by accepting your revised agreement.
You can learn more about collaborative divorce topics by continuing to explore our site.