Oftentimes, the town you lived in during your marriage holds too many memories. Maybe you want to start anew in a fresh town with fresh people. If you are able to relocate, then you may jump at the opportunity to start a new life. It’s very important for you to remember that moving away from your children and former spouse comes with a variety of legal implications. Every single state has their own custody agreements when it comes to out of state relocations, so you will want to talk to a local family lawyer before you book your flight and pack your bags.

Generally, a court will award custody to the parent that can provide for the best interest of the children. Most of the time the parent who stays local will be the one who receives custody. This is because it can be traumatizing for children to be taken away from their school and friends when they are young, especially in the middle of a divorce. Sometimes, if parents are equally loving and caring, the court may choose between one or the other and award the non-custodial parent a generous amount of visitation. In about three-fourths of all cases the mother receives primary custody of the children.

If the mother is the spouse that chooses to move out of state, then this may give the father a higher possibility of gaining full custody. This is because the children want to live in a place with people and locations they love. Also, there may be other relatives in this location that don’t want to lose the opportunity to visit with the children. Often grandparents will argue for the rights to visit their grandchildren even after the parents have split.

There are three types of custody that you will want to look into when determining your child custody agreement with your spouse. Sometimes, parents have rotating custody of their children. This is when the child spends a set period of time with one parent, and then a set amount of time that is equal with the other parent. Usually, the child will switch from one house to the other on a week to week basis. This is only practical if the parents live in the same general area. It is too complicated to give rotating custody to parents that live even a half hour away because of school and other commitments that the children are probably involved in.

There is also primary custody. This agreement means that one parent has the primary authority and decision-making rights over the other. The non-custodial parent normally is allotted court-mandated visitation tie. When one parent has primary custody, this still means that the parents have to share the kids for holidays. If you are a primary custody parent, then you are normally required to stay in the location where your children are in school. The non-custodial parent has the right to move, but he or she will then need to make arrangements for visitation time. The secondary parent will be responsible for all travel arrangements if he or she wants the children to come out and visit.

In some cases, parents will both choose to relocate to the same general area in another state. If they decide that this is in the best interest of all parties involved, then they will need to draw up an agreement dictating custody and visitation terms that can be enforced in a new state court. In the new agreement, both spouses need to set a distance limit and determine that they will not move outside of that limit. If you need more information about relocation, then talk to a family lawyer in your state.Once again, you will want confirm the specific laws that apply to relocation in your state before making your decision.