When you found out that you were going to be offered a major promotion, you were thrilled. What you didn’t know at the time was that the promotion would require you to move to a new city a few hours from where you live now.
Since you’re a parent sharing time with your child with your ex-spouse, you know that taking your child with you might not be as easy as you’d like. What can you do, and will it be reasonable to ask to take your child with you?
Consider the best interests of your child
The first thing to do is to think about your child’s best interests. Right now, how are they doing at school? Does the other parent have an adequate home and environment for them to grow up in? Do you feel like they’re getting a good education and have friends and family nearby?
Think about how the move might change things for your child. How often will they be able to see the other parent? Will you be able to take them back and forth on weekends? Will they lose time?
What about family? Are you moving closer to yours? Will the school district there be better or worse?
Asking yourself these kinds of questions will give you a good idea about what might be best for your child and if the move is a good idea for them.
Talk to the other parent about your wishes
It is also necessary for you to talk to the other parent about what’s going on and what you’d like to do. They may think it’s a good idea for your child to go there, or they might want to seek out more custody time instead. Knowing where they stand will help you know if you need to plan to take this issue to court or if you can come up with an agreement that you both approve and that a judge just needs to sign off on.
If a move-away dispute does occur, you can take steps to resolve it. The right approach may help you take your child with you, so they can benefit from your improved financial situation.