Child Relocation from New York: The Legal Process of Moving with your Child

Child Relocation from New York:
The Legal Process of Moving with your Child

           

Perspectives from a New York City Family Lawyer

If you want to move with your child from New York and there is a current child custody or parenting time/visitation order issued by a court regarding your child, and your child’s other parent opposes the move, then you will have to get permission from the proper NYS Court to relocate.  If the only issue is child relocation, then the typical courthouse you will go to is the Family Court in the county where you and your child live.

Once you get to the courthouse, you will have to file a “relocation petition.” In that petition, you will have to explain the basics: (1) where do you plan to move, (2) why, (3) who are the children that you are going with, and (4) what are the names and addresses of the child(ren)s’ parents that will be affected by the move.

After you file the petition, the Court will pick a date for you to come back.  This date that you have to come back is generally referred to as the “Return Date.”   Before then, you will have to have your child(ren)s’ parent(s) served with the petition and summons, and they will be expected to appear on that date if you properly serve them.  On the Return Date, if your child is older than an infant, it is likely that one of the first things the judge will do is designate an attorney to represent your child(ren), so that at some point the judge can learn how your child(ren) feel about the move.

Once you get past the Return Date, the real work will begin.  The judge will have to figure out if the move is in the best interests of your child(ren), and the judge will apply the rules of a landmark NYS Court of Appeals case called Tropea v Tropea in doing so.

While the case of Tropea was a complex one, as was the decision, and while there have been other cases since Tropea through which the NYS Court of Appeals has elaborated upon the rules they first set forth in Tropea, still to this day judges generally refer to relocation hearings as “Tropea Hearings.”  The basic rules laid out by the highest court of this state require each judge to consider each relocation request on its own merits, and that the judge must pay attention to all of the relevant facts and circumstances in each case.  Ultimately, the main focus of the judge must be to determine what is in the “best interests of the child.”  Important factors in figuring out what is best for the child includes the rights of the non-moving parent, but ultimately the “rights and needs of children” will always be the main focus of each judge in each relocation case.

While a parent can try and navigate the complexities of a Tropea Hearing themselves, it’s not recommended.  By the time the case gets going you will be dealing with a judge, two other lawyers (i.e. the attorney for your child(ren) and the non-moving parent) the rules of court, the rules of evidence and many other procedures that are not easily understood by lawyers who do not practice in Family Court, and certainly if you are not a practicing lawyer, navigating the courthouse can be as complicated as reading a book in a foreign language that you do not speak.

If you are considering relocating with your child, your best bet is to talk to a lawyer who is experienced in relocation hearings like we are at Fink & Katz before starting the process.