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I live in MO, I filed for divorce and we have not finalized anything yet havent even been to court yet, I have custody of my two children, I am wanting to move about 200 miles still in the state though. The move is to be in the area of the college that I want to attened to advance my degree. My Ex does not want me to take the children but he cannot provide appropriate living arrangements for them. Can I move, If I do can the court force me to move back or can i lose custody of my children.
State/Country relating to Question: Missouri Already Tried: I have tried talking with my lawyer but all he has done is read me legal txt and i dont know how to interpret it. I just need to know what I can do.
Hello, and thank you for contacting the just answer team. Moving before the court has made a custody decree in a divorce case is a risky proposition, because ultimately, yes, the court has the authority to bring the children back to their original home, as your ex still has custody equal to you until the court says otherwise. I will say that it is unlikely for the court to take such a drastic course of action as to remove the children from your home, as you are their mother, are likely providing all of their care at the moment, and are more likely to gain custody of them anyway. However, moving the children 200 miles away from their father will not likely engender any sympathy from the court, and could increase your chances of a negative outcome. So, in answer to your question, the court cannot force you to move back, but it could in theory give custody to their father, although this is unlikely. My advice is to try and work something out with their father prior to moving, so that your taking the children away from him does not become an issue in court later. If this is not possible, then I would try to arrange some kind of visitation schedule whereby you bring them back on a regular basis, as this will show the court, when you do end up there, that you have been trying to work with your ex. I hope this helps, and thank you for the opportunity to answer your question. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask by clicking "Reply". Otherwise, please remember to click the green ACCEPT button so that I can receive credit for my work. Take care
I dont know if it matters but some of the details are neither of us live in the original home not even the original county for the matter, I moved me and my children in with my parents and he went to his brothers where he has now been kicked out of and is moving in with his girlfriend of 3mo, they do not have the space to provide for a boy and girl. You are correct I have been providing for my children by myself with the help of my parents. Also I have taken care of all the financial responceabilities that we have together and he has done nothing to help. I know he is not going to agree to letting me move, I have tried that already. What I am worried about is not being able to move to attend school and I know from talking to other people they had restrictions in their divorces telling them how far they could go. I know that there is risk in moving prior to the decree being finalized, I guess what I am trying to figure out is would I be better off to wait untill after it is final and then go back to court to get changes so I can move or move and get established there while we are going through the procedings.
To be perfectly honest, that is a difficult call, with pros and cons for both. On the one hand, going to the place where you will be attending school, getting set up, and providing for your child is going to be good evidence that you should have full physical custody over your children. A court will certainly take in to consideration each parent's ability to support the children, and if that location is the place where you can best take care of your children, a court will factor that in. On the other hand, you are correct that a court will sometimes put physical limitations on how far away you can move and maintain custody of your children. So, by moving, you risk the court putting a limitation of less than 200 miles on your ability to move, and then you will have to choose between keeping your children and staying in the new place. Ultimately, I think that the more prudent course is to wait until after the proceedings are final, and just make sure that you petition the judge to let you take them with you to the place where you can further your education. Generally, court's are sympathetic to this need, especially considering that your ex is not helping you at all. While ultimately there are a lot of factors that should go in to making such a decision, my best legal advice is to wait until the court has made a decree. I hope this helps further, but if you have any other questions, just ask. Otherwise, please remember to click the green ACCEPT button so that I can receive credit for my work. Take care
So should I make my desire to move known during the procedings and see what kind of limitation they put on my move, and if it is not far enought then petition the judge after to chnge it, or should I leave it alone so that maybe it will not be addressed and then go from there.
My advice would be to address it with the court, because otherwise it is all too likely that a limitation will be placed. Although it may seem like a good idea to just hope that a court won't address something, the odds are that your ex is going to raise the issue of custody, and unless you clearly state your desire to take the children with you to a town 200 miles away, the court is going to insist that you petition them later to do so. Better to take care of it right away, because you are going to need the court's permission anyway. I hope this helps further, but let me know if you need anything else. Otherwise, please remember to click the green ACCEPT button so that I can receive credit for my work. Take care
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