
Quoting
SmoothRunner1
I live in Texas. I am joining back up with the military. Will be going back into active army life. I am about to get married to a woman I've been with for 2 + years. She has 2 children from a previous marriage and is pregnant with my child.
The place for mom to start is by seeing if her ex- will agree to her relocation. If he will, she can petition for modification of the custody order based upon his consent. If he will not, then she can petition with knowledge that she'll have to overcome his objection.
If he objects, one strategy would be to schedule the hearing on her petition for a date after your wedding but before you enlist, with your wife petitioning the court to lift the geographic restriction from the judgment to allow relocation after you enlist and relocate. You can enlist first, but as others have pointed out that can create problems for you if the petition is denied. She could petition with the hearing date scheduled before the wedding, but if the court senses that you and she may call off the wedding if she's not allowed to move you may cause the court to question the seriousness of your relationship.
If you have already enlisted, then you have little choice but to proceed and that the court sees things your (future) wife's way -- but you will be far from the first case that has come before that court where a parent sought to relocate due to a spouse's employment or military deployment.

Quoting
free9man
If the judge were to allow her to move outside of the state due to your PCS while retaining primary custody she would be responsible for travel/transportation costs to get the kids to the NCP for their visitation
That type of statement is frequently made, but is in fact a possibility that should be considered, not the certainty that some people suggest. It can be a negotiating point or an offer that may be made in court, if the parents creating the distance want to make the offer to cover all costs and are certain that it won't create economic hardship.

Quoting
SmoothRunner1
She and I are also willing to negate child support if the NCP is willing to cover half the transportation.
Modifying child support from the state formula is not as easy as that. Besides, if it all comes out in the wash, it makes more sense to keep the child support and let the court make a determination on the division travel costs. However, as this recent memorandum opinion suggests, it may be possible to convince a court to go along with a plan to modify or terminate child support in association with a requirement that parents share long-distance travel costs.

Quoting
llworking
I do not see this as quite a dire as others do.
Nor do I.
I don't see a need for a parent to offer visitation beyond what is typical in a long-distance parenting plan; but if that's acceptable to the mother and allows her to get the father's consent without having to go to court, it's an option.
The general rule for modification of custody is set forth by statute:

Quoting
Texas Family Code, Sec. Sec. 156.101. Grounds for Modification of an Order Establishing Conservatorship or Possession or Access
(a) The court may modify an order that provides for the appointment of a conservator of a child, that provides the terms and conditions of conservatorship, or that provides for the possession of or access to a child if modification would be in the best interest of the child and:
(1) the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or other party affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the earlier of:
(A) the date of the rendition of the order; or
(B) the date of the signing of a mediated or collaborative law settlement agreement on which the order is based;
(2) the child is at least 12 years of age and has expressed to the court in chambers as provided by Section 153.009 the name of the person who is the child's preference to have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child; or
(3) the conservator who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child has voluntarily relinquished the primary care and possession of the child to another person for at least six months.
(b) Subsection (a)(3) does not apply to a conservator who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child and who has temporarily relinquished the primary care and possession of the child to another person during the conservator's military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty, as those terms are defined by Section 153.701.
Decisions on a parent's petition to relocate are made on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the best interest of the children and . A non-exhaustive list of factors that a Texas court will consider when evaluating a petition to relocate include:
(i) the parents' good-faith reasons for and against the proposed move;
(ii) a comparison of economic, educational, health, and leisure opportunities for the custodial parent and the child;
(iii) whether the child's special needs or talents can be accommodated;
(iv) the effect on the child's extended family relationships;
(v) the effect the move would have on the noncustodial parent's visitation and communication and his ability to maintain a full and continuous relationship with the child;
(vi) whether the noncustodial parent has the ability to relocate; and
(vii) whether a visitation schedule could be arranged that would allow the noncustodial parent to continue a meaningful relationship with the child.