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By
Sharon Comet-Epstein,
attorney and member,
Center for Principled Family
Advocacy
Clever airline ads say that with
discounted fares, “you’re free to move about the
country.” But as a residential parent in Ohio who
wants to relocate with your children, you could find
yourself grounded at your current location.
Ohio law requires a residential
parent to notify the presiding domestic relations
court of their intention to relocate
children. In addition, more and more shared
parenting and separation agreements require
permission from the non-residential parent to move
children from the current school district, city,
county or other specified region.
Unless the other parent is without
parental rights, you will need their cooperation to
relocate the children. And in all cases, the court
will need to agree that moving protects the best
interests of the children.
The bottom line: If you have kids
and are under a court ordered shared parenting
arrangement in Ohio, you just can’t pick up and move
somewhere with them. You must notify the court
first.
Understanding Ohio shared parenting
Shared parenting is the term used
in Ohio since 1991 to refer to what used to be
called joint custody. Shared parenting arrangements
can be anything from an equal division of
responsibilities to minimal but still existing
visitation rights for one parent.
The clear intent of the Ohio
statutes governing modification of child custody is
to maintain the status quo. This means providing
children with a sense of stability and sparing them
from a tug of war between parents who each believe
they provide the better upbringing
The most productive approach is to
talk through your potential relocation with the
other parent. If you can devise a solution that
works for both of you, you still must present it to
the court before calling the moving van.
If the other parent refuses to
consent, the parent wanting to relocate has the
burden of proving to the court that relocation is in
the children’s best interest. The court will want to
be satisfied that the harm of uprooting the children
from their familiar environment and the other parent
is outweighed by the benefits of relocation.
The courts consider each case
individually. Approval is not a slam dunk by any
means.
The courts like stability for children
In reviewing relocation requests,
judges and magistrates look for any changes in
circumstances that support the move. Examples
include if the non-residential parent has been
arrested, is lagging in attention to the children or
is increasingly hostile to the residential parent on
visitation and communication. Other significant
changes might involve the physical, psychological
and educational needs of the children. Unruly
teenagers, for instance, often benefit from
relocation.
Take Dave and Sue. When they
divorced, they agreed to have the children live with
each of them every other week. Both agreed to not
relocate outside Cuyahoga County without the other’s
consent.
For three years they lived in the
same neighborhood. This made it easier for the
children to maintain close relationships with them,
their extended families and their school friends.
Then Sue decided she wanted to move to Oregon with
the children to be close to her boyfriend.
An alternating weekly cross-country
possession schedule was impossible. Dave would not
consent to the children’s relocation. Both wanted to
be the primary residential parent and maintain their
current access to the children.
What would the court most likely
decide?
If sue decided to file her intent
to relocate the children and Dave filed to contest
the move, what would likely be the result?
Under Ohio’s best interest statute,
the court must consider relevant factors. These
include:
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Whether the children love both
parents but prefer to live with one.
-
How involved the children are
with their local relatives, school, friends,
activities and health care providers.
-
If the residential parent is
likely to facilitate a good relationship and
visitation between the children and the other
spouse.
-
Whether the relocating spouse
is voluntarily moving out of state or for job or
family reasons.
For Dave and Sue, the court would
likely find that it not in the children’s best
interest to leave. If Sue left Cleveland without the
children, the court would likely designate the
father as the primary residential parent and revise
the mother’s visitation schedule.
However, Sue might prevail if she
could demonstrate to the court that Dave:
-
Decreased his visitation time
-
Was no longer able to provide a
stable and nurturing home
-
Had been convicted of child
abuse or neglect
-
Was chemically dependent
-
Had become hostile toward the
Sue and uncooperative with visitation
In addition, Sue would need to
satisfy the court that she would provide a stable
and nurturing home while encouraging court ordered
visitation from her new location.
Keeping control through cooperation
While you might not see eye to eye
with your ex-spouse, negotiating with them can be
preferable to allowing someone else, albeit
magistrates and judges trained and experienced in
family issues, to make parenting arrangement
decisions for you.
Although individuals have a
constitutional right to “move about the country,” a
person in Ohio with shared parenting responsibility
does not have the automatic right to relocate their
children. Unless the other parent has already been
found unfit, their consent is required.
In all cases, you will have to file
a motion with the court about your intent to move
the children and receive approval before you move.
Relocating first and notifying the
court second can severely harm your chances to
remain or become the residential parent. At the
least, it reduces your credibility before the court.
Many parents who thought notification unnecessary
have been required to return with the children, even
though they had sold their homes and were
established elsewhere.
You or your ex-spouse might only
want to move to an adjacent school district or
county. Still, whenever possible, your best solution
will come from understanding Ohio law by consulting
with your attorney and then talking through possible
solutions with your former spouse.
What actually happened with Dave
and Sue? Rather than fighting in court, they
determined it best that the children live in
Cleveland with their father and enjoy liberal
visitation with their mother. With their attorneys,
they drew up a revised shared parenting agreement.
The court approved. |