After Minnesota parents go through a divorce, one of them may meet a new partner who lives some distance away. That parent may then want to relocate in order to live with the new partner. It is important for both parents in such situations to keep their children’s best interests in mind.
Custodial parents who move to new places with their children should consider how the move might affect their kids. Often, children of divorced parents rely on their friends for support. When they move, they lose that and may struggle as a result. Moving away with the children may also interfere with the other parent’s visitation time . This may have a damaging effect on the relationships that parent is able to enjoy. It may also result in increased costs for both parents due to travel expenses for the children to visit their other parent.
Noncustodial parents who want to move away should also consider how doing so may damage their relationship with their children from not spending much time together. They should also expect their child support expenses to go up along with the transportation costs involved with traveling back and forth to see the children.
Child custody court orders are not based on what a parent wants but rather on what is in the best interests of the child. Parents should always keep that in mind when they are thinking about relocating. A relocation may harm the children and the relationship that they enjoy with their other parent. People who are wanting to relocate or modify their child custody and visitation orders may want to get the advice of a family law attorney to see how they should approach the matter.