In our mobile society, Parents often move from state to state, or from distant county to distant county. Our state recognizes that a Parent may need to move to a distant county or out of state for a new job, for other financial reasons or for personal reasons. Parents have a constitutional right to live wherever they want, but must seek Court permission to relocate with their minor child (when that move changes the primary residence of the minor child).
For example, if the County of Los Angeles already has jurisdiction over the minor child, a special application is required with the Court before moving out-of-state, to a distant county or internationally. For example, a move of 40 miles with the minor child, as happened in a key move-away case Marriage of Burgess (1996) 13 Cal.4th 25, will likely require court permission. But it is not just the distance of the move that matters. In response to the Burgess decision, our state added Family Code Section 7501 which gives the custodial parent more freedom to move, so long as a lower judicial standard is met in certain circumstances.
But, as is often the case, the normal "best interest of the child" judicial standard is used instead, after the Court considers eight additional factors for moves within the United States. For international move-aways, special rules apply.
The eight domestic move-away factors are from the case Marriage of LaMusga (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1072, 1101 (pronounced "La-Moo-Shay"). To quote the LaMusga decision:"Among the factors that the court ordinarily should consider when deciding whether to modify a custody order in light of the custodial parent's proposal to change the residence of the child are the following:
[1] the children's interest in stability and continuity in the custodial arrangement;
[2] the distance of the move;
[3] the age of the children;
[4] the children's relationship with both parents;
[5] the relationship between the parents including, but not limited to, their ability to communicate and cooperate effectively and their willingness to put the interests of the children above their individual interests;
[6] the wishes of the children if they are mature enough for such an inquiry to be appropriate;
[7] the reasons for the proposed move; and
[8] the extent to which the parents currently are sharing custody." [Bracketed numbers added.]
If you would like to discuss how California's move-away case law could be applied to your case based on the specific facts of your case, please set up a consultation.
