Relocation With Children After Divorce

Family courts in Southern Nevada are literally filled with divorce and post-divorce relocation cases. Parents are not permitted to relocate to another state with their children in Nevada without written consent of the non-moving parent or a court order if such consent is refused. Because it is easier for a parent who has primary physical custody to relocate with the children after divorce, a lot of parents who would otherwise not contest custody are seeking joint physical custody because they are scared their children will be moving if they are allowed to live primarily with the other parent.

It is therefore very important for both spouses to know what they are doing when reaching custody agreements during divorce. One mistake and the future can be dramatically different than originally envisioned.

For example, a young mother who is from Southern California might not realize that allowing her soon to be ex-husband to have joint physical custody now, could chain herself to Nevada becuase of how difficult it is to move later. A young father, who works full time and enjoys the fact his ex-wife works part time and has primary physical custody while he pays child support and alimony ” to do the right thing for the family” does not know that his wife may be allowed to relocate someday when alimony ends.

It is imperative to get good legal advice from the outset to avoid the traps of custody orders and to prevent relocation nightmares.