Leaving State with My Child

[tberry0820]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Michigan. I am wanting to move from Michigan to South Carolina due to the economy being so horrible here. My husband can get a promotion as soon as he gets down there and will be making twice as much money, will have medical and everything. Also I can transfer my job to down there. One problem, my oldest daughter's father is fighting me on moving. She is 11 1/2 yrs old and for those 11 1/2 yrs he hasnt been paying his child support regularly except for a year and a half when he was getting unemployment. For 10 years I would only get it when he filed his taxes. Yes he is a great father but I have 4 other children to take care of and our income is not cutting it.. Ive offered for him having her every other holiday and the whole summer. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. My question is can the courts really deny me the right to move to a different state to make more money and provide a better life for my children? Also does anyone know what the 7 statutes that need to be met by me for the courts to approve my move? Id appreciate the feed back!!

[gam]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Michigan. I am wanting to move from Michigan to South Carolina due to the economy being so horrible here. My husband can get a promotion as soon as he gets down there and will be making twice as much money, will have medical and everything. Also I can transfer my job to down there. One problem, my oldest daughter's father is fighting me on moving. She is 11 1/2 yrs old and for those 11 1/2 yrs he hasnt been paying his child support regularly except for a year and a half when he was getting unemployment. For 10 years I would only get it when he filed his taxes. Yes he is a great father but I have 4 other children to take care of and our income is not cutting it.. Ive offered for him having her every other holiday and the whole summer. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. My question is can the courts really deny me the right to move to a different state to make more money and provide a better life for my children? Also does anyone know what the 7 statutes that need to be met by me for the courts to approve my move? Id appreciate the feed back!!

Link to MCL 722.31 Legal residence change of child whose parental custody governed by court order
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(vbl...ame=mcl-722-31

CHILD CUSTODY ACT OF 1970 (EXCERPT)
Act 91 of 1970
722.31 Legal residence change of child whose parental custody governed by court order.

Sec. 11.

(1) A child whose parental custody is governed by court order has, for the purposes of this section, a legal residence with each parent. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a parent of a child whose custody is governed by court order shall not change a legal residence of the child to a location that is more than 100 miles from the child's legal residence at the time of the commencement of the action in which the order is issued.

(2) A parent's change of a child's legal residence is not restricted by subsection (1) if the other parent consents to, or if the court, after complying with subsection (4), permits, the residence change. This section does not apply if the order governing the child's custody grants sole legal custody to 1 of the child's parents.

(3) This section does not apply if, at the time of the commencement of the action in which the custody order is issued, the child's 2 residences were more than 100 miles apart. This section does not apply if the legal residence change results in the child's 2 legal residences being closer to each other than before the change.

(4) Before permitting a legal residence change otherwise restricted by subsection (1), the court shall consider each of the following factors, with the child as the primary focus in the court's deliberations:

(a) Whether the legal residence change has the capacity to improve the quality of life for both the child and the relocating parent.

(b) The degree to which each parent has complied with, and utilized his or her time under, a court order governing parenting time with the child, and whether the parent's plan to change the child's legal residence is inspired by that parent's desire to defeat or frustrate the parenting time schedule.

(c) The degree to which the court is satisfied that, if the court permits the legal residence change, it is possible to order a modification of the parenting time schedule and other arrangements governing the child's schedule in a manner that can provide an adequate basis for preserving and fostering the parental relationship between the child and each parent; and whether each parent is likely to comply with the modification.

(d) The extent to which the parent opposing the legal residence change is motivated by a desire to secure a financial advantage with respect to a support obligation.

(e) Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child.

(5) Each order determining or modifying custody or parenting time of a child shall include a provision stating the parent's agreement as to how a change in either of the child's legal residences will be handled. If such a provision is included in the order and a child's legal residence change is done in compliance with that provision, this section does not apply. If the parents do not agree on such a provision, the court shall include in the order the following provision: “A parent whose custody or parenting time of a child is governed by this order shall not change the legal residence of the child except in compliance with section 11 of the “Child Custody Act of 1970”, 1970 PA 91, MCL 722.31.”.

(6) If this section applies to a change of a child's legal residence and the parent seeking to change that legal residence needs to seek a safe location from the threat of domestic violence, the parent may move to such a location with the child until the court makes a determination under this section.

If the court grants the change of the legal residence of the child, be prepared as the moving party to pay for all of the transportation of the child for parenting time with the other parent. You can ask the court that if the other parent is not current on child support, that they then would have to pay for the transportation, they may or may not add that in.

[Dogmatique]

The court can't force YOU to remain anywhere.

The court can however prevent you from relocating your daughter.

[Joes Mom]

A wise man (my attorney) once told me when I said to him, 'but he's a good father, he just doesn't pay support' - no, Joe's Mom, he isn't a good father because he doesn't pay his support. You can hire a babysitter to play with your kids, a parent provides.

Are you sole custodial parent or do you have shared parenting? I relocated in 2003. It was an epic ordeal. I have sole custody and always have. The court found that because of a lot of nastiness with ex, and my entire family being where I wanted to move that I had no support system in Ohio. He was touch and go on support and hit or miss on visitation. I could provide a better life for my children where I was moving. And could definitely get a better job and better benefits. Plus constitutionally I can live anywhere in the US I wanted and as sole custodial parent I can move the kids with me. This required 2 days oral argument, a Guardiam Ad Litem who actually research the neighborhood and schools where I was moving, and a lot of bitter angry fighting. There is a very generious visitation agreement and I have to pay 1/2 airfare.

[Dogmatique]

A wise man (my attorney) once told me when I said to him, 'but he's a good father, he just doesn't pay support' - no, Joe's Mom, he isn't a good father because he doesn't pay his support. You can hire a babysitter to play with your kids, a parent provides.

Are you sole custodial parent or do you have shared parenting? I relocated in 2003. It was an epic ordeal. I have sole custody and always have. The court found that because of a lot of nastiness with ex, and my entire family being where I wanted to move that I had no support system in Ohio. He was touch and go on support and hit or miss on visitation. I could provide a better life for my children where I was moving. And could definitely get a better job and better benefits. Plus constitutionally I can live anywhere in the US I wanted and as sole custodial parent I can move the kids with me. This required 2 days oral argument, a Guardiam Ad Litem who actually research the neighborhood and schools where I was moving, and a lot of bitter angry fighting. There is a very generious visitation agreement and I have to pay 1/2 airfare.

WHOA. Couple of things.

First, Ohio law is NOT the same as Michigan law.

Second, sole custody does NOT automatically give the parent the absolute right to relocate the children anywhere out of State! Even in Ohio. If it had, you wouldn't have needed to have the GAL involved or even petition the court.

So even if this Mom has sole physical custody, she does NOT have the right to move the kids without permission from either the court, or Dad.

[gam]

A wise man (my attorney) once told me when I said to him, 'but he's a good father, he just doesn't pay support' - no, Joe's Mom, he isn't a good father because he doesn't pay his support. You can hire a babysitter to play with your kids, a parent provides.

Are you sole custodial parent or do you have shared parenting? I relocated in 2003. It was an epic ordeal. I have sole custody and always have. The court found that because of a lot of nastiness with ex, and my entire family being where I wanted to move that I had no support system in Ohio. He was touch and go on support and hit or miss on visitation. I could provide a better life for my children where I was moving. And could definitely get a better job and better benefits. Plus constitutionally I can live anywhere in the US I wanted and as sole custodial parent I can move the kids with me. This required 2 days oral argument, a Guardiam Ad Litem who actually research the neighborhood and schools where I was moving, and a lot of bitter angry fighting. There is a very generious visitation agreement and I have to pay 1/2 airfare.

Poster can move anywhere she wants, however in Michigan she can't move the child more then 100 miles from the child's legal residence without the other parent's or the court's permission. If the poster has sole custody, she can move the child anywhere she wants within the state of Michigan. However if poster has sole custody and wants to move the child out of Michigan, to another state, she will need the other parent's or court's permission to do so. Poster is in Michigan, Michigan laws apply.

[Joes Mom]

Poster can move anywhere she wants, however in Michigan she can't move the child more then 100 miles from the child's legal residence without the other parent's or the court's permission. If the poster has sole custody, she can move the child anywhere she wants within the state of Michigan. However if poster has sole custody and wants to move the child out of Michigan, to another state, she will need the other parent's or court's permission to do so. Poster is in Michigan, Michigan laws apply.

Yes. I understood that. If you review you'll see I described my situation and what was required to move out of state (court, GAL, better job, spotty visitation, etc), which may or may not be information she finds useful ... as the poster of this question.

[gam]

Yes. I understood that. If you review you'll see I described my situation and what was required to move out of state (court, GAL, better job, spotty visitation, etc), which may or may not be information she finds useful ... as the poster of this question.

Plus constitutionally I can live anywhere in the US I wanted and as sole custodial parent I can move the kids with me

How might this be useful to the poster? The poster is in Michigan, she can't even with sole custody move the child anywhere she wants. It is not useful information to the poster, it is wrong information to the poster for the state of Michigan.

[Joes Mom]

How might this be useful to the poster? The poster is in Michigan, she can't even with sole custody move the child anywhere she wants. It is not useful information to the poster, it is wrong information to the poster for the state of Michigan.

And I quote:
Thus, the plain unambiguous language of the statute provides that a parent with sole legal custody is not restricted in the same manner as a parent with joint legal custody. Parents with joint legal custody must obtain consent from the other parent, or permission from the trial court after a review of the above factors, before moving a child more than 100 miles. Neither consent nor consideration of the factors is necessary when a parent has sole legal custody. Spires, supra at 437-438, 741 N.W.2d 523.

[gam]

And I quote:
Thus, the plain unambiguous language of the statute provides that a parent with sole legal custody is not restricted in the same manner as a parent with joint legal custody. Parents with joint legal custody must obtain consent from the other parent, or permission from the trial court after a review of the above factors, before moving a child more than 100 miles. Neither consent nor consideration of the factors is necessary when a parent has sole legal custody. Spires, supra at 437-438, 741 N.W.2d 523.

You need to go look up case law on sole custody in Michigan with regards to moving out of the state of Michigan. It has been addressed.