Leaving the state before divorce is final

My wife filed for divorce after we talked about it for a while. The quickness was kind of a surprise. I haven't received the papers yet. She called me last night to tell me. She was confused by the paperwork. The courts told her to file for full custody even though we both want joint custody. Our daughter is going to stay with me, due to financial and stability reasons. We have agreed on the division of all assets and debt. All of this has been friendly and mutual. I have a job opportunity out of the state. I talked to my wife and we agreed that I should take it and move with my daughter as long as I agreed to paying for at least two visits a year of an indeterminate length of time.

My questions are, should I even consider leaving the state this early in the process? If I do leave, should I get my wife to sign something making it agreed upon legally? Am I opening myself up to future custody problems by taking my daughter out of state?

if you and your wife agree as to how custody should be handled, all the aspects of your agreement would probably best be drawn up by an attorney and filed to the courts.
The courts, if they award full custody to her, might act to enforce their award if problems arise later on down the road.
I would not leave the state until the important points are settled---long distance negotiations/court work is very difficult.
If you don't have an attorney, try your local bar association for a referral list or [url="http://www.attorneypages.com"]www.attorneypages.com[/url]