Michigan Out of State Child Custody

Moving and Custody. Moving out of the state when you share custody of a child with another person is challenging. Joint custody is, in a perfect world at least, a desirable arrangement that lets both parents remain an important part of the child’s life, which is usually is beneficial for all parties. However, we definitely do not live in a perfect world. For such an arrangement to work out properly, there is a high degree of cooperation needed between the parents, and that can be difficult. No matter how well you are able to cooperate with the other parent, however, moving to another state is going to create logistical difficulties that no amount of cooperation will be able to easily solve. Even though your reasons for moving are good, such as advancing your career, the simple reality of the situation is that changes will have to be made.

Best interest of the child. Moving out of state will just about always constitute a change in circumstances meriting a revisit of the court’s orders. Whenever making a determination about a child, courts are going to look for the best interests of the child. As always, when determining what to do in regards to your child, the court will look to the best interest of the child. Things that will inevitably have to change when you move out of state include:

  • Parenting time/ visitation schedules. Unless you’re moving to just the other side of the side of the state line, or you have your own private jet, taking the child over to the other parent or scheduling visits will suddenly become a much more involved process, and it is highly unlikely that the current arrangements will remain workable.
  • Child support calculations. With the inevitable change to how much parenting time you and the other parent have, there have to be a recalculation of child support. Also, since your financial situation will likely be different in the new state, the calculations will have to take that into account as well.

Why you need an attorney. Moving out of the state does not mean that moving out of state will result in you having to give up of your parenting time and visitation rights, and it doesn’t mean that you will automatically end up paying out significantly increased child support. Obviously, there will have to be changes, but if handled correctly, you will still be able to maintain an important role in your child’s, and keep any child support payments you have to make at a reasonable level. In order to make sure you get the best possible result, however, you need to make sure you speak with an experienced family law attorney who can make sure your rights are protected.

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