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There may come a time in any divorce when a custodial parent wants to move further from home than you are comfortable with. In Staten Island, a child relocation attorney from the Law Office Of Jeffrey W. Johnson can help prevent it.
Parenting after a divorce is tough enough in the best of circumstances. It is easy enough to feel distance growing between you and your child when they only spend part of their life with you and the other part just down the block or on the other side of Staten Island. Imagine how bad it might be if they are on the other side of the state or the country.
If your ex is thinking or talking about moving away from your area, and taking the child you share custody or visitation rights over, you might be starting to panic. Take a deep breath, such a child relocation cannot happen overnight, and certainly not without the approval of the court.
With the help of an experienced family law lawyer like Jeffrey Johnson, you can stand up for your bond with your child and fight that child relocation request. At the very worst, even if the move is approved, we can help you ensure that every legal right you have to custody or visitation is preserved.
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If your ex wants to move to a larger place in the same town, no matter how much your kid is complaining about it, there probably is no need to get the courts involved.
In the eyes of the law, such a move is not considered an ‘actual’ relocation. Child relocation only becomes a genuine legal matter when a parent wants to move beyond the boundaries agreed on in the custody or visitation order.
Even if no distance or limit (such as within New York City or Staten Island) is set, if the move would interfere with your current custody or visitation arrangement, the court will need to be consulted. They could also consider any move outside the state, and certainly any move to another country, as an ‘actual relocation’.
Such a relocation requires court approval (or signed approval from you, the other parent) to proceed legally. Which means you have the opportunity to fight the move, and convince the court that it should not allow it, define terms under which you would accept it, or get the court involved if an unauthorized move happens without their approval.
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If you want to keep your child near you or maintain your current level of access despite a relocation, it is essential to consult a lawyer as soon as possible in the process. The earlier you get someone like Jeffrey Johnson involved, the more he can do to help by:
If the move is an actual relocation, the other parent will need to get the court’s approval to move, which means they will need to convince the family court judge that the move is in the best interest of that child. Your lawyer can help you argue the opposite.
We can help you show how the move might disrupt their life, interfere with their schooling, take them away from friends and family, reduce their standard of living or any other similar arguments against the move.
Even if the only impact we can demonstrate is that the move would interfere with your custodial time or visitation rights, that may be enough to secure a denial. Not because it harms you, but because the courts start from the premise that a child benefits from having both parents in their lives.
If your goal is not to stop them from leaving Staten Island, but to make sure your time with your child will not be harmed or cut short, a child relocation lawyer can help you negotiate terms for that move. This can also help if we believe a court would approve the relocation, as such negotiations allow you to approve the move on your terms and protect what matters most to you, rather than leave that to the court to decide.
At the negotiation table, your attorney will be able to push for
We might even be able to increase your time with your child so that while the distance may be greater, you have more time to create a strong bond.
If your child has already been moved, without the court’s permission, that can be very scary for you. But it is important that you act within the scope of the law to prevent or even reverse it. With the help of a skilled child relocation lawyer, we can see that the court ensures they are relocated, orders them returned, and possibly even punishes the parent who took them with a loss of custody or worse.
At the Law Office of Jeffrey W. Johnson, we have experience dealing with these dramatic situations with a level head and calm, yet effective action. We know what pressures the court can exert, and how to get them to do so promptly so that your child is returned to your side as quickly as possible.
The Law Office Of Jeffrey W. Johnson | Protecting Your Family Through Hard Times
When your child’s future is at stake, and your relationship with them is on the line, it is important to act fast to protect them. Whether your ex is threatening to leave Staten Island or has already taken your kid beyond New York State lines, we can help.
We will help you understand all the relevant child relocation laws, sway the family law court in your favor to prevent the move, or take action against a parent who has gone rogue.
To secure a consultation, just call (347) 212-5945 or reach out to the Law Office of Jeffrey W. Johnson online and get an experienced child relocation lawyer on your side today.
Call Now For A Free Consultation! (347) 212-5945
