MOVING RESTRICTIONS

Oct 27, 2018

Question #20: Hi my husband and I have been married for 10 years in new York state. About 8 years ago, my step daughters mother dropped my step daughter off for visitation and never returned. We tried to force her to be active in her life by taking her to court. She asked the judge if she could give up her rights and he denied. child support has been deducting money direct out of her paycheck ,but she still has not made any contact with her other than that. In the custody papers, it says joint custody with my husband as her primary caretaker. We have a great opportunity to move to Kentucky for my husband’s job transfer. My step daughter is now 16 years old and wants to go with us. If her mother does find out, can she take legal action? She has had no contact in 8 years. Can a 16 year old make that decision. We don’t want to go to court and open a can of worms and have her fight it, just for the sake of giving us a hard time. Thanks for your time.

You cannot just take off without getting an order from the Court. However, since the mother has not had any meaningful relationship with the child for so Long, you should have a pretty good chance of convincing the Court that it would be in the best interests of the child to move So that her […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #19: I am married, with children and living in New York State. Can my wife take my children out of state and not tell me where they are? Is she allowed to take them on trips if I am not comfortable with the destination and do not want them to go? I have been told that I have no rights in this matter. Is there a resource that can tell me what my rights as a father are? Thank you.

You have a right to prevent your wife from taking the children out of the Court’s jurisdiction, especially if you are concerned about her not bringing them back Or you are legitimately concerned about their welfare and safety in a foreign country. You can make a motion to the court to prevent the removal of […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #18: My husband and I were married in Massachusetts. He is from Virginia and I am from Massachusetts. We have a 4 year old and 4 month old. I am a stay at home mother and he travels approx 75% of the year and is hardly ever home. He has become emotionally abusive and I am planning to get a divorce. We have been in NY almost 2 years and we own a home here- under my husband only. I would like to move ASAP back to MA. In order to go back to work as a single mother of 2 I need the help of family (we have no family in NY). Is this possible? What would I need to do?

If you were to go to Court it would review the present relationship that your spouse has with the children and whether that relationship would be impaired by a move to MA. The best interests of the children will be the determinative factor. I suggest you try mediating this matter with your spouse and try […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #17: I am the sole custodial parent of one child, age 11 and have resided in the same small apartment in NYC since before I was married. The non-custodial parent has been permitted only supervised visits for the past 8 years. In addition of having no parental role in our child’s life, the non-custodial parent missed over 400 visits ( recently not having any contact with our child for two years straight), although resumed 1x weekly-90 minute supervised visits for the past four months. I was laid off a year and 1/2 ago, along with my new wife (lost her job five months ago) and have not found enough work in the metropolitan area to support our meager lifestyle here, despite collecting unemployment which will run out this coming fall. My job search expanded out of state in North Carolina, where I have some family, which has resulted in several legitimate opportunites for work in my field. Of course, I believe relocating to this area would be beneficial to our child with the obvious availability of less expensive housing (versus our apartment dwelling), schooling (after school activities currently not available in the city) to name a few. With the lack of relationship with the non-custodial parent, I am interested to know if the court would consider permitting this move so that I may begin to interview for these offers before losing my unemployment benefits? In addition, the non-custodial parent owes over $80K in child support and child care which has been a significant financial burden to my household. Sincerely, NY parent

Recently the New York courts have been more receptive to the custodial parent’s requests to move with the child as a result of financial hardship if in fact The child will benefit. The courts will be looking at the present relationship between the non custodial parent and the child, whether in fact the child Will […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #16: I have been divorced for 12 years my x husband and I have both remarried, We both live in NYS. I have always had residential custody with sharing of joint custody. Our 2 girls are now 13 and 16. Due to job circumstances my X husband will be moving to the country of Mexico, My 13 year old has been enticed by her father and step mother and is now contemplating moving with them. I dont have an issue with her moving in with them here but going to another unsafe I might add country is out of the question, Is there anything I can do to stop him Im hearing mixed views. What are the laws in New York and do I have a leg to stand on to keep my child with in an appropriate distance to see her often or stop it all together.

You absolutely do ! Generally, the courts will not allow one parent to move with the child if it will impair the other parent’s ability to have a close and continual relationship with the child. Especially in this situation where the other parent wishes to move outside the country, and especially to Mexico, where it […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #15: My ex and I have in our divorce agreement that if either of us moves more than 30 miles away from a mutual location, the visitation rights will be revisited. We have been alternating the pick up and drop off evenly for 4 years. Recently I moved 23 miles from the mutual location and she lives 26.5 miles from that shard point. Now she is demanding that I do both the pickup and the drop off as well. In New York, is there any law which dictates which parent has to do pick-up and drop off? Or is the responsibility shared equally?

There is no law in NY that governs pick up or drop off. If you are both within the 30 Mile radius, you should keep the same arrangement as you have had. Only if either Party moves out of the 30 mile radius will you be required to renegotiate the arrangement. If you would like […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #14: I have been separated for over a year. My spouse has recently lost his job and hasn’t paid child support in 2 months and counting. I have recently started a full time job but am continuing to have difficulties with the high rent in the town where we both live. I have been asked by my boyfriend to move in with him and his son. This would mean living a 1/2 hour drive away from the childrens father. I have no problem arranging drop off and pick ups at his parents home which is almost halfway between the 2 areas and keeping the same visitation schedule that we have currently had for the past year. My ex continues to tell me that there is no way he will let me take the kids out of their current school district. He has been their football coach for a couple of years and he states that I will be taking away his childrens childhood if they don’t play for the same league. Should I be concerned regarding this? Can he really keep me living in the same school district for the next 13 years until my daughter finishes school? We will be moving from a 3 bedroom townhouse that I pay $1000/mth plus utilities to a 4 bedroom home with a huge lot of land and I will pay much less than this…please help ease my mind…

Generally the Courts look at the best interest of the children and maintaining a close relationship with their father is an important factor the Court will consider. You will have to convince the Court that a half hour drive is not significant and will not interfere with the fathers relationship with the children. If you […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #13: I am looking to get a divorce. My husband and I have been together since 1998 and married since 2002. We have a 15 month baby. What is the procedure on moving back to WA State where I am from with my baby? I moved here to live with my husband and I have no family or friends to help me out with my son. I don’t think I can support my son and me living in NYC. Please let me know how this works. Thanks

I am looking to get a divorce. My husband and I have been together since 1998 and married since 2002. We have a 15 month baby. What is the procedure on moving back to WA State where I am from with my baby? I moved here to live with my husband and I have no […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #12: My fiance’ lives in NY. She has been divorced for 4 years and has custody of 2 minor children, ages 10 and 15. I live in NH and we had planned on her moving here with her kids this summer. She mentioned this to her ex husband who also lives in NY, and he said that he would allow her and the kids to move providing that they don’t move beyond a 75 mile radius. He told her that that was a NY state law. Their divorce paper do not state that she has to ask for his permission, but is this a given anyway? The ex is involved in the childrens lives (usually gets the son every other weekend, but the daughter, who is ten is reluctant to go there), and he stated that he doesn’t have any problems with me, he is happy that I have been such a good influence on them. She wants to get the kids (and herself) out of Queens because she doesn’t think it’s a good environment for them. The kids were also excited to be moving from NY. I guess my question is, is there such a law prohibiting her from moving outside of a 75 mile radius, and what do we need to do next? Thank you very much for your time in this matter.

There is no such law but you will have to get your spouse’s consent to move with the child to NH. If you are living in the NYC metro area, please call me to arrange for a meeting to mediate this matter with your spouse and prepare the necessary legal agreement regarding the move. Leonard […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #11: My husband and I live in New York and I am wanting to get a divorce. We have one child together and I was wondering if I had to stay in New York or would I be able to move to North Carolina before the divorce is final. My sister lives down there and she would be able to help me get on my feet because I don’t think I would be able to support myself and child if I were to stay in New York.

Is your spouse agreeable to you moving with the child? Once the papers are filed, you could move, assuming your spouse is in agreement. Otherwise, you will have a custody battle and will have to convince the judge that your move is in the best interest of the child. I strongly suggest you mediate this […]

LEONARD M.WEINER, ESQ, Ph.D.

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