The formal conclusion of your divorce proceedings in California no doubt brings with it a certain degree of finality. Yet that does not necessarily signal an end to your association with your ex-spouse. Indeed, in many respects, it marks the beginning of an entirely new chapter of your relationship (particularly if you have children together).
For many of the clients that we here at Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP work with, part of that new chapter may include moving to a new area. If you also have that opportunity, then you may question how you can pull it off without it dramatically impacting your current custody arrangement.
Your custody status
Your ability to relocate with your kids following your divorce depends entirely on your current custody status. Per the website for the Judicial Branch of California, if you have sole physical custody of your court, the court places no restrictions on your ability to relocate. The only obstacles to you moving may come from your ex-spouse, who must show to the court that the move would hurt the kids in order to for the court to consider modifying your custody arrangement.
If you share joint custody with your ex-spouse, then the burden of proof flips to you to show that your move will benefit your kids. Even if you are able to prove that, there still will likely be some changes to your agreement so that the burden of keeping in constant contact with your kids does not fall entirely to your ex-spouse.
How to maintain control of the process
Should your custody agreement require modification, you can still maintain control of the process by working with your ex-spouse to come up with an amended agreement on your own. You can find more information on modifying your custody arrangement by continuing to explore our site.