Experienced Child Custody and Relocation Attorney Serving Shepherdsville, Mount Washington, Shelbyville, Taylorsville, Radcliff, Elizabethtown, Jeffersontown, and Louisville, Kentucky.
We are often asked, can a parent in Kentucky legally move out of the area or out of state with their child(ren) during or after a divorce? If you have heard something about your former spouse relocating with children after a Bullitt County divorce, you need to contact the Law Offices of John Schmidt and Associates immediately. It is crucial to act immediately to protect your rights as a parent, now and in the future.
My name is John Schmidt, and I have been serving the people of Bullitt, Jefferson, Hardin, Spencer, Shelby, and Oldham counties from my offices in Shepherdsville for more than 25 years. If you are worried that your former spouse intends to take your child(ren) and move away, you need to call me immediately at (502) 509-1490. Once they have left, these parents will often ask the Court in their new home to take “emergency” right over your child custody case. What ensues next is a long, expensive legal battle over “venue” (what Court has authority and control over your child custody case).
Is it legal to Take Your Kids and Relocate after a Kentucky Divorce?
The fact is there are many legal issues associated with the question of relocating with children after a Bullitt County divorce. One of those issues relates to custody and whether the Judge in your divorce case established sole or joint legal and physical custody over your child(ren).
The good news is that our Family Courts here in Kentucky and similar Courts around the nation are focused on the best interests of the child. Kentucky family law includes the rebuttable presumption that spending roughly equal time with each of their parents is in a child’s best interests. This is almost impossible when one of them takes the kid(s) and moves out of the area or out of state.
In some situations, it may be in a child’s best interests to relocate with a parent to a different home. The Court will be interested in the support of the family and friend network surrounding them in the new locale. The Court may also agree the new location provides an improved quality of life, better health care or education, or protection from physical and emotional abuse or, domestic violence, neglect, or the impact of a parent with a drug or alcohol problem.
Our Family Court Is Not Going To View a “Parental Kidnap” or Taking the Kid(s) and Moving Away Without Permission in a Positive Manner
Relocating with children after a Bullitt County divorce is a serious legal matter. If a parent decides on their own to just take the child(ren) and move away without the permission of the Court, they are risking everything as a parent. Our Kentucky Family Courts have applied serious sanctions to parents who were sharing custody under the orders of our Court, who took their kid(s) and moved away without first seeking the authorization of the Court. This can be referred to as “parental kidnapping,” and a parent who attempts to take their child and move away will most often lose most if not all of their rights as a parent. Our Family Court will almost always issue advance orders for the child to remain if you act before the move occurs or for the immediate return of the children if they were moved away without legal permission to do so.
We invite you to contact us via e-mail, schedule an appointment or call us today at (502) 509-1490 to get answers to your questions and to learn more about your unique circumstances and how to protect what is most important to you in your family law case.
