Legal Question in Family Law in Washington
child relocation
My ex husband and I have 50/50 custody...my fiance has been offered a job in North Carolina and we are needing to move there... what can I do in order to make this move with my children?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child relocation
Even with a 50/50 split on custody, either your former spouse or you have been designated as the custodial parent. If that is you, you will need to give your former spouse notice of intent to relocate. If it is not you, you can move without following the relocation procedure. In any event as a practical matter, you may want to invoke your mediation clause and start discussions about how to reconfigure the parenting plan. It will be difficult to maintain that level of parental involvement for both parents at that distance and a rework of the plan is going to require some work, most especially because it is almost certainly going to be in effect a major change in time that each parent has with the children.
Re: child relocation
Just to be safe, you should file a notice of intended relocation and the summons on your ex.
The issue as to how you do 50-50 custody at a distance is tough but not insurmountable. It is going to disrupt your 50-50 plan. Disrupted, somebody may end up paying child support.
Alternatively, you could invoke the dispute resolution part of your parenting plan, go to mediation and hash out how to make this work.
Hope this helps. Powell