MOVING RESTRICTIONS

Oct 27, 2018

Question #10: My wife of 15 years is filing for divorce. Although she initially claimed it was due to “unhappiness and falling out of love”, I have since found out that another man is also involved. She has advised that she wants to move to another state (where the other man resides as well) even prior to the divorce settlement as this is where she plans to start over and wants the kids “settled” as soon as possible. We have 3 children ages 6 through 13 with – to all have been a very committed, involved dad. We move quite frequently (usually every few years) because of my line of work, so I realize we don’t have a solid “home base”. I cannot realistically move where she plans and continue to support the family. She claims while she doesn’t want to take the children away from me, that she will seek this move through the courts if she has to. Her reasoning is that as a stay at home mom, she will be granted primary custodial rights anyway, and will as such have the right to move eventually. Is this true? What options do I have?

Although it is true that the court has somewhat lifted its restrictions on allowing the custodial parent to move with the children unless there were “exceptional circumstances”, your wife is incorrect in suggesting that she will have an easy task convincing the court that she may move with the children and by so doing , […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #9: I’ve been married for almost 11 years now. My husband has been in the military for our entire marriage. Right now we live on Long Island, NY. We have 2 children. A 9 1/2 year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old son. We have a mortgage together on our house. I want to move my children out of state near my family. He says the only way he’ll let me leave is if I sign over the house to him. Is there anyway I can leave the state and still get my half of the house? Plus, I’ve been told I’m intitled to part of his pension through the military. He says if I ever get remarried, I won’t get anything from his pension. Is that true?

If the property was purchased with marital funds during the course of your marriage, you are entitled to approximately one half interest in such property. He cannot take that away from you. However, assuming that you become the residential parent of the children, he will most likely be provided with liberal visitation rights , which […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #8: My ex and I have been separated for 4.5 years. I found out he was having an affair in 2003. When confronted, he voluntarily left the home we lived in in Staten Island the very next day. He moved in with his parents who live in Northern New Jersey, where he still resides today. We are currently awaiting on our divorce papers to be signed and filed in Richmond County, which I did on my own with the NY divorce packet. I have had physical custody of our daughter who is 6 now since that time. The first year and a half after he left he was pretty much non-existent to us and didnt help us in any way. I subsequently sold the house which was in foreclosure at the time and moved into a 2br apartment. Throughout all of this, I asked him repeatedly to come back and we would try and work things out, each time him telling me no, that he was in love and would never be coming home again. After his girlfriend and he broke up, he wanted to come back home. I told him at that time that it was too late and that we needed to move on and get a divorce. My ex sees our daughter every other weekend (although he works all the time (not always mandatory) and usually gets to spend one day with her – Sunday). He will pick her up on Friday night, go to work all day Saturday and then he will spend Sunday with her. He gets in one day during the week when he can and when he does he spends 2 hours with her. He has also mentioned that the driving back and forth from NJ to SI is too much for him. Well, a year and a half ago I met a wonderful man. He is in the military (Navy) and has been for 17 years. He is now on an overseas tour in Japan for three years, after which he will either retire and come back to the states or reenlist and come back to the US. We are seriously talking about getting married when my divorce is final and possibly having my daughter and I go there for a year or two to live with him. I live in NY where its very expensive and I am hardly able to make ends meet for both of us here on my own. When the bills are paid, there isnt a lot left over. Would this be considered a conisderable change in circumstances and what are the chances a judge would look favorably on this situation and allow me to go with my daughter to japan. She would have access to everything on the base and also be exposed to a new culture, etc. Thanks!

I cannot overemphasize the need to use experienced , legal counsel when getting a separation or divorce. Here is another example of someone trying to cut corners by preparing her own papers , and now is in a pickle. Had you used experienced counsel, the separation agreement would have dealt with this problem of being […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #7: I live on Long Island. I have full custody of my daughter. Five years ago her father (we were never married) up and moved to CT without letting us or the court know. At first he didn’t see his daughter, but has been visiting with her regularly for the last 2 years. I wish to move to Maryland. Will I be able to move to Maryland? He decided to leave NY, does that mean I’m bound to stay here forever?

Generally, the courts do not favor the residential parent moving away from the nonresidential parent because it impairs the nonresidential parent’s ability to develop a relationship with the child. However, the court’s primary concern is the best interests of the child and if you can demonstrate that your moving to Maryland will be in the […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #6: I am a resident of New York City with full custody of my 2 year old son whom I had with my ex-boyfriend. I recently got engaged and my fiance is looking to move to either Staten Island or a very close commute in NJ, say Old Bridge or Sayreville. My question is will the courts allow this move? I have heard horror stories from other people stating I could not move more than 15 miles from my ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend just moved 10 blocks away from me in Queens so he can be closer to his son. Is the fact that I am getting married feasible enough to let me move? I do not want someone who never wanting me to ruin any chance of happiness for me. Right now I am a single mother of two and this man is ready to take on me and my two children.

In general, the courts are reluctant to allow a custodial parent to move beyond a certain radius from the child’s residents if such move will interfere with the other parents ability to develop a meaningful relationship with the child. . In recent years, however the courts have been somewhat more receptive to the idea of […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #5: My husband’s ex wife wants to move out of state with his daughter. His son lives with us but he still pays child support for both. If she takes his daughter to Florida, can he renegotiate child support for one child based on the FL calculations of support? She wants to put the child in private school and wants him to pay when she can stay here and go to a great public school with us. Can she do this?

In order to answer your question accurately I must know whether he entered into a Separation Agreement with his spouse in which child custody was discussed, and whether it discusses the issue of moving outside of the state with the child. Assuming that they did not agree upon this matter, the Courts in New York […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #4: I currently live in NYC, my ex husband lives 4 blocks away. Now I am in the process of closing on a house and of course its in a better area and school for the kids compared to NYC. It is a bit far north about an hour away from NYC but still in NY. I have no intentions of stopping visitation but my ex has claimed that I can not move away. We have Joint Legal Custody with me having physical custody. He hasn’t even paid child support in a long time its somewhere in the amount he owes me according to the SCU is in the thousands and with that I still am very nice with him. Can he really attempt to stop me?

The Courts generally look to how the move will impact the non-resident parent’s ability to visit and be with the children. Thus, much would depend on how frequent your husband visits now, whether he has a car at his disposal, and whether the move will prevent him from seeing the children as much as he […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #2: I have 7 year and 4 1/2 year old. I have joint – legal custody of them. Can I move out of the state?

You do not indicate what state you are located in, but in the State of New York the courts have relatively recently allowed for a more lenient view of the custodial parent moving out of state for personal or material improvement in the family’s living standard. Until that time, the courts were very strict and […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #1: I am living in New York City (Brooklyn). I need to know my rights for a legal separation. I would need to move out of the home I am currently sharing with my husband and 2 daughters 2 and 7 yrs. I would like to take my daughters with me and the furniture I acquired before I was married or had children. I am also contemplating relocating to another State with the kids but I do not know the laws of separation in New York. In addition, I am concern that due to my earnings being more than my spouse will I be responsible to pay support to my husband. If I later file for divorce will he be entitled to any assets I acquire after the separation (i.e. 401k, savings etc.)

The courts in New York have become more receptive to the idea of the custodial parent moving out of state, but each case is reviewed individually by the court on its merits, with the prime consideration being the well being and benefit to be children. Generally, the courts are reluctant to allow one parent to […]

Oct 27, 2018

Question #73: Hi, I recently have relocated from Lexington Kentucky to West Harrison New York due to my husband’s job. My husband is verbally abusive and I see how this is affecting our three daughters. We’ve only been in New York for two months and my question is if I wanted to move back to Lexington with my children do I have that right or is there some type of legal procedure I need to go to through or to get his consent?

Because you are a recent arrival in NY State (i.e. here less than 1 year) , Kentucky, rather than NY would have jurisdiction over any divorce or custody Dispute you may have. However, I strongly recommend that you mediate this matter with your husband And reach a mutually agreeable arrangement, rather than simply disappearing with […]

LEONARD M.WEINER, ESQ, Ph.D.

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Question #2: I have 7 year and 4 1/2 year old. I have joint – legal custody of them. Can I move out of the state?