Right to Move

My x and I have joint custody of our daughter. Right now we live within a 100 miles of each other in Texas. He can get her on Wednesday evenings, and the 1st, 3rd, & 5th weekends. However, he never gets her during the week and only averages getting one weekend a month. I am considering a accepting a job in Organ where my salary will be doubled. Now my x is saying that he can stop me from going because we have joint custody and if we do move, that I would have to pay to fly our daughter to him on his weekends.
My questions are, does he really have a say on where I can move and if we do live more than a 100 miles apart is it the responsibility of the parent that moved to get the child back and forth to the parent that still lives in Texas?

I just read your post again.. Is Organ a miss spelling of Oregan or is it a city in TX ?.. cos it if it a city in TX , then most of my post is wrong.. the follow is only applicatable if you are leaving the state of TX.


I have some bad news for you... First, before you can leave the state that holds jurisdiction, you have to either get written permission from your ex, or a judge. It seems to be getting less common for a judge to stop someone from moving to another state, but you will be made to change a few things in order to satisfy the judge or your ex.

Generally, because he is staying in TX, he will be able to claim that you pay for travel expenses that he will incur so as to enable him to have a relationship with the child.

You, on the other hand, should be able to ask for a change of visitation. Generally, they become fewer, far between but of longer duration. For example, the every other weekend goes out the window, but he gets every other Spring Break, one week at Christmas and maybe a whole month in the Summer. There may also be a few long weekends thrown in to. You have to get it scheduled so you do not end up paying whenever he feels like a visit.

The fact that he does not see the child that much will go in your favour, a little.. but you would still be made to pay for the travel expenses. Also, the age of the child may be a factor. If she is under, say 10, do you want her flying on her own ? Which means you might have to pay for him to come get her and then to return her.

Other factors to think of.. he does not see her much now, but he may decided otherwise when he knows you are going to have to pay. You will be faced with having to let your child go for longer periods, that can be daunting for some parents. Also, depending on the judge, you may be forced to pay 100% of the costs.. typically it is 75% of travel and if you are really lucky, 50%.

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[b]SMILE - Start Making It Livable for Everyone[/b]

Divorce is a process over which children have no control. Children should not be its victims.
When parents are under stress, it is harder to be in touch with their children's pain and anguish.
It takes time, effort, and planning on the part of the parents to be able to provide for the children's needs.
In the crisis of divorce, parents may put their children on hold while they attend to adult problems first.
Sometimes separating/divorced parents find that their roles and expectations are undefined and cloudy.
If handled properly, divorce need not be devastating for children.

[This message has been edited by usdeeper (edited July 27, 2000).]