Primary Custodian Wants to Move Out of State With the Children
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Texas
Say a mother who is awarded 51% custody of two children has told the non custodial parent that she plans on moving out of state with the children to move in with her then military boyfriend. She informs him that she plans to leave in about a year. The father is obviously not ok with the move since he will loose physical contact with the children. He is concerned about their emotional well being due to the fact that they have been raised mostly by their father and their grandmother (mother of the childrens' father). Roughly 7 months go by. The mother leaves for a holiday vacation with her boyfriend, meanwhile, the kids are left with their father. When she returns after a week, she comes back engaged and informs the father that she has withdrawn the children from school, put in her two-week notice at work, and is moving at the end of the month. She has not made it clear as to the rooming of the children. The father is under the impression that they are moving in with the fiance and his roommate on a military base. She and her new fiance talked and decided that this is what is best for the kids. Now that they will be in a military family, they need to get used to constantly moving on short notice. She tells the father he can have them every holiday and vacation. He also must make the effort to meet her half way on the trip to pick them up if he wants to see them. This is about a 12hr drive and he does not have a reliable vehicle nor the finances to help him travel. Is there anything he can do to keep her from moving or limiting how far she can move with the kids? Or, anyway of him getting primary custody?
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
So Dad has physical custody of the children as of this moment?
And has for at least ... how long?
Re: Primary Custodian is Moving Our Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
FH0117
Say a mother who is awarded 51% custody of two children....
Exactly what do you mean by "51% custody"? Texas speaks of "sole managing conservatorship" and "joint managing conservatorship", not percentages. Is mom the sole managing conservator, or did the court grand joint managing conservatorship? In a typical week, how much time do the children spend with each parent?
Quote:
Quoting FH0117
She informs him that she plans to leave in about a year.... Roughly 7 months go by.
What, if anything, does the custody order say about relocation and notice of intent to relocate?
Quote:
Quoting FH0117
She has not made it clear as to the rooming of the children. The father is under the impression....
When the father realized that his impression may be wrong, and asked the mother about her planned housing arrangements, what did he learn?
Quote:
Quoting FH0117
He also must make the effort to meet her half way on the trip to pick them up if he wants to see them.
What, if anything, does the current custody order say about transportation costs and locations? Does it also address what will happen in the event of relocation?
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
Dogmatique
So Dad has physical custody of the children as of this moment?
And has for at least ... how long?
The way it reads to me is that mom was just gone for a week on vacation. Otherwise its 51% mom, 49% dad.
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
They have joint custody, its not 50/50. Its 51/49. 51% for the primary parent (mother). Both kids in school but under the age of 10. He picks them up every day that he is not at work. He even takes them to school some days after just getting off at 7am because the mother will ask him to. He works 24hr shift and is off for 48hrs. On the days that he works, his mother picks them up. He takes care of them until the mother makes herself available to pick them up. Roughly between the hours of 6-8pm. All she has to do is bathe them and put them to bed. Their father does their homework with them, feeds them, takes them shopping, and so forth. Before the divorce and custody was settled, the mother was even less involved in their lives. The kids have spent the majority of their time with the father.
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
FH0117
They have joint custody, its not 50/50. Its 51/49. 51% for the primary parent (mother). Both kids in school but under the age of 10. He picks them up every day that he is not at work. He even takes them to school some days after just getting off at 7am because the mother will ask him to. He works 24hr shift and is off for 48hrs. On the days that he works, his mother picks them up. He takes care of them until the mother makes herself available to pick them up. Roughly between the hours of 6-8pm. All she has to do is bathe them and put them to bed. Their father does their homework with them, feeds them, takes them shopping, and so forth. Before the divorce and custody was settled, the mother was even less involved in their lives. The kids have spent the majority of their time with the father.
You're seriously going to split hairs with us about 50/50 versus 49/51? You've got to be kidding me.
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
Dogmatique
You're seriously going to split hairs with us about 50/50 versus 49/51? You've got to be kidding me.
That may be the way that the divorce paperwork reads.
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
llworking
That may be the way that the divorce paperwork reads.
It very well might say that. It was the insistence that it's absolutely not 50/50 which took me aback a smidge. I mean ... really? :D
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
Quote:
Quoting
Dogmatique
It very well might say that. It was the insistence that it's absolutely not 50/50 which took me aback a smidge. I mean ... really? :D
I get that...but people who are very literal might very well be specific about what the orders say...and we often chastise those who are not literal about what the orders say.;)
Re: Primary Mother Moving Kids Out of State
This mother had a very good lawyer. No one in this town will go up against her. The father could have had custody of the children and probably kept the house and everything else because she left the family, took money from their account to get her self and appartment, took the new car, was committing adultery with multiple partners , had minimal contact with the kids, and all because she claims she was not ready to get married. Even that was her second marriage and is now in line to be re-married. The father didnt think she would ever have a case against him because her actions. So he never filed for divorce or child support because he didnt want her money. He was just gald she was gone from his life. All he ever asked of her was to spend time with the kids because they were the ones suffering in all of this. Im not sure what was said to him in court, but the paper work states "Petitioner and Respondent, on final hearing, should be appointed joint managing conservators, with allthe rights and duties of a parent conservator. Petitioner should be designated as the conservator who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the children. Respondent should be ordered to make payments for the support of the children and to provide mediacal child support in the maner specified by the Court. Petitioner requests that the payments for the support of the children survive the death of the Respondent and become the obligations of Respondent's estate" The way the last part is written does not make since to me. The father says that he was told it means after the mothers death, he is still to pay child support and that child support is to go into an account that he will not have access to. Even if the kids are in his care.
That 1% gave the other parent complete control over the kids. So yes it matters