Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

It depends. What does your divorce decree/custody order say about you moving out of state? The court will do what's in the best interest of the children. If the father has joint legal or physical custody of the child, you moving 4.5 hours away and out of state may affect his ability to see the kids. If that's the case, it may make sense for you to change the terms of your custody arrangement. In other words, if Dad is supposed to see the kids every weekend and that's now not possible with your move, perhaps Dad can see the kids in chunks of time -- for instance, Dad no longer gets the kids on the weekend, but gets them for a month over their summer vacation, or during x-mas and thanksgiving holidays, etc. My advice would be to be REASONABLE. If you simply tell your ex-husband that you are moving away with your kids (so tough luck!), you are probably going to end up in Court.

Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******

There are numerous MD cases where the relocating party loses custody of the minor children because they did not seek a modification of the Court order prior to relocating. In all MD cases, the custody of the children is dependent upon the "best interest of the child" standard. In a relocation case, the court will consider your reasons for moving, the amount of visitation the father has, whether he exercises this visitation, the bonding between the father and children, the effect that the relocation will have on that relationship, etc. If you have no rationale for moving, then it will be very difficult to get a court to modify the existing court order. It is very difficult to have the court modify an order based upon a relocation, so consult an attorney who has experience in this area of the law and that has had relocation cases.

******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.*********

Daniel V. Renart, Esquire

Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher