Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: Custodial parent relocation and the best interests of the child

First, this is a very complex area of family law.

You need an attorney. That said, I will try to help answer your question.

This is an area that would be looked at by the court on a case by case basis.

Some factors would be:

Distance ( ie is this a move from MA to NH or some other

such state? Would a move to some parts of MA be a longer distance ?) In general a

short distance that did not disrupt visitation too much would be easier; educational opertunities

for the child or the parent in the new location may be a factor ( does the new place have a great school system ?

Are you leaving a bad one).

Employment would be a factor, would the move enable you to take a great job making lots of money,

Family may be a factor, is there an aunt, uncle or grandparent in the new location, what type of family bonds would be broken by

leaving.

The focus is on the child an how he or she would benefit or losefrom the move.

What about the visitation of the noncustodial parent? Could he afford to fly out to the new

location to visit? Can an agreement be reached whereby he has long term visits from the children over the summer or semster breaks?

would you be willing to agree to that?

These are some factors I can think of off the top of my head ,each case is different and each judge is different.

I offfer a free consultation if you would like to discuss this matter further.

Re: Custodial parent relocation and the best interests of the child

You need to contact an attorney in your local area who knows the criteria of the judges in your county. It is not likely that you are in Bristol County, but if you are, give me a call.

If the Court senses that the relocation is a pretext for keeping the other parent from visitation, the move will not be allowed. If the move is being made in order to allow the custodial parent to advance their career, or to move in order to get a job that the parent is qualified for (and not to put distance between the other parent and the child), then permission to relocate is likely to be granted. How the Court percieves the situation is very important, and is something that most individuals are not able to do for themselves. Get an attorney to represent you!! It sounds like this is an important question for you...