Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky
I have recently just got a divorce. It was a mutual divorce, and we have 2 kids ages 7 and 8. I originally told him that I would not move out of the state of Kentucky, but after thinking about it, I miss my family in South Carolina. We have joint custody, and as of right now we go week on week off. I have a potential job offer making 12,000 more then what I make now. I informed my Ex of my intentions and he said it was a bad idea and that unless I was willing to travel everyweek to drop the kids off that it wasn't going to happen. Usually my Ex and I are good about things and decissions about the kids but this one he is not willing to budge. What are my rights as far as this situation goes?
2 Answers from Attorneys
This is a difficult question to answer because so much is not known. For example, what did the separation agreement or decree say about moving, and how does your judge tend to decide such things. Kentucky courts are typically okay with moving when it is for economic improvement and they will adjust timeshare in those cases. However, without knowing your situation and your judge, no one could speculate as to whether that means the children would then primarily by with you or primarily with the father.
Generally speaking, the best interests of the child guides the court in determining whether a move and therefore a change in time for both parents is appropriate. Assuming there is nothing prohibiting any move in any court order, any move would have to be in the child's best interests. A number of factors, including bond with both parents, bond with siblings, reason for move, distance of move, age of child, etc. go into determining what is in the best interests. In the end you would want to consult with an attorney as these are very fact driven situations and sometimes knowing whose court the case would be heard would have some bearing.