Can a Judge Order me to move to another city?

[SuperTxDad]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My wife and I are going thru a divorce and I moved the kids with me to a city 100 miles away from mom and enrolled them in a new school. Mom filed for temporary orders, we went to court yesterday and the judge ordered me to return the kids back to their mom this coming Friday, re-enroll them in their old schools, and for us to alternate weeks until further notice. The problem is, I don't have a place to live in the other city, and the judge is ordering me to find a residence in the other city by next Friday when it's my turn to have the kids. Is this legal? Can a judge make me move to a city inwhich I don't have a residence? The kids ages 12 & 8 both want to reside with me and my daughter ever wrote a letter to the judge which I presented in court yesterday and the judge still made this temporary ruling. Is there anything I can file to get this situation corrected asap?

I moved the kids to another city because my wife came to me in mid October and told me that her and the kids were moving Nov 1st and she was leaving me. I asked her where she was moving and she wouldn't tell me, then she changed her cell number 2 days before the move date and didn't give me the new number. She is from Ecuador so I started to get afraid that she was going to leave the country with our kids, and the kids made it clear to me and their mother that they didn't want to move with her. That is why I left with the kids and moved with family in another city while I search for a new home.

 

[ALGURLX1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My wife and I are going thru a divorce and I moved the kids with me to a city 100 miles away from mom and enrolled them in a new school. Mom filed for temporary orders, we went to court yesterday and the judge ordered me to return the kids back to their mom this coming Friday, re-enroll them in their old schools, and for us to alternate weeks until further notice. The problem is, I don't have a place to live in the other city, and the judge is ordering me to find a residence in the other city by next Friday when it's my turn to have the kids. Is this legal? Can a judge make me move to a city inwhich I don't have a residence? The kids ages 12 & 8 both want to reside with me and my daughter ever wrote a letter to the judge which I presented in court yesterday and the judge still made this temporary ruling. Is there anything I can file to get this situation corrected asap?

Wait for Sr. but it sounds like the judge is ordering your children back to their home town and rightfully so. And if you want to "keep" if you were awarded custody then you need to find a home there otherwise transfering custody to mom. But again wait for SR's
Also it sounds like he is asking you to move back to your original city not to another city....

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My wife and I are going thru a divorce and I moved the kids with me to a city 100 miles away from mom and enrolled them in a new school. Mom filed for temporary orders, we went to court yesterday and the judge ordered me to return the kids back to their mom this coming Friday, re-enroll them in their old schools, and for us to alternate weeks until further notice. The problem is, I don't have a place to live in the other city, and the judge is ordering me to find a residence in the other city by next Friday when it's my turn to have the kids. Is this legal? Can a judge make me move to a city inwhich I don't have a residence? The kids ages 12 & 8 both want to reside with me and my daughter ever wrote a letter to the judge which I presented in court yesterday and the judge still made this temporary ruling. Is there anything I can file to get this situation corrected asap?

The judge cannot force you to return to the original home community. However, if you do not, then the judge CAN and WILL give primary custody to mom. Basically, the judge is telling you that if you want 50/50 custody, you need to move back to the original city...otherwise you can plan to have visitation according to the TX guidelines for over 100 miles distance.

You should have done things correctly and had either mom or the court's permission to relocate with the children, before you did so.

 

[ProSeDadinMD]

...Is there anything I can file to get this situation corrected asap?

Sounds like the judge already "corrected" the "situation".

What, exactly, made you think that it was ok to move 100 miles away, with the consent of neither the court nor your soon-to-be-ex?

 

[Zigner]

The judge cannot force you to return to the original home community. However, if you do not, then the judge CAN and WILL give primary custody to mom. Basically, the judge is telling you that if you want 50/50 custody, you need to move back to the original city...otherwise you can plan to have visitation according to the TX guidelines for over 100 miles distance.

You should have done things correctly and had either mom or the court's permission to relocate with the children, before you did so.

Furthermore, the judge CAN order that the visitation occur in a certain city...

 

[CJane]

You do realize that whether your intent was to do-so or not, you absconded with the children in what appears to be an effort to thwart Mom's RIGHTS to parent her children?

THAT is your problem.

As everyone else has said, the judge absolutely CANNOT order YOU to live anywhere at all. But the CHILDREN fall under the jurisdiction of the Judge and he has decided that THEY will remain in their home area, as is proper for children of that age when one parent still resides in the home area. It is generally seen as NOT in the children's best interests to be uprooted and removed from a familiar place unless it's unavoidable.

Move back. NOW.

 

[cyjeff]

You were scared of your wife taking the children... so you decided to do it first.

Further, the children have not lived in the new place for any legally significant period of time.

Face it, Dad. You tried to be cute and it bit you on the butt. Move back.

 

[Ohiogal]

So the children have passports?

 

[Isis1]

You were scared of your wife taking the children... so you decided to do it first.

Further, the children have not lived in the new place for any legally significant period of time.

Face it, Dad. You tried to be cute and it bit you on the butt. Move back.

or don't and have a long distance parenting plan as a non-custodial parent.

your choice.

 

[Proserpina]

So the children have passports?

That's the part I'd really be concerned about.