The current job market is a fickle and competitive one. Parents who have lost their jobs during the past year understand the difficulty of finding work in this current economic climate. The added complication of joint custody means that parents need to explore all the options they have available for finding a job that can sustain them and their family. To accept a decent role, a job seeker may have to consider work in other locations, possibly even other states. Depending on the situation, the acceptance of such an offer can violate a custody agreement.
Relocation options for joint custody
Parent relocation presents a challenging predicament for child custody cases. Your child custody agreement can involve many restrictions regarding the proximity that a parent can live from the other parent. These agreements may not contain work travel or relocation provisions, but you can make a child custody modification to account for these changes. Here is how a modification works:
Cooperation: Even when parents agree to modify a custody agreement, the move could present several other issues. You may have to make adjustments for the length of visits and arrangements for holidays.
Child support: Child support may have to be increased or decreased depending on the family situation. Parents need to account for travel expenses and the cost of living in a new location.
Disagreements: When the non-moving parent contests a move, a court may have to intervene to settle whether the move will affect the children’s wellbeing. In some cases, a parent will use a move to restrict the other parent’s access to the children. A court will take a child’s age, proximity to other family and general stability into account.
Working together for your children
Whatever the situation, parents need to put aside their differences and decide what agreement will be in their children’s best interests. If a move is necessary for pursuing a new job opportunity, you need to discuss all the options available for modifying an existing agreement
