Child Custody Relocation Question

by Kim from Florida

Child Custody Relocation: Relocation to California from Florida. I have custody of my 3 year old son. His father gets him every other weekend from Thursday night until 7am Monday morning. My ex and I live 2 hours away right now.



I have recently married an airman in the US Air Force who is stationed in California. I tried to speak to my ex about the move to come to an agreement. He wouldn't even discuss the issue.

I filed the necessary paperwork to relocate with a very liberal time with his dad (his dad will have him same amount of time as now just for longer periods of time). His dad answered the petition with BOGUS answers. He has a lawyer, and I don't. I can not afford an attorney. Where do I go from here? What is next?

Answer to Florida Child Custody Question

Dear Kim,

Florida courts have a strong bias toward shared parental responsibility, which was once called joint custody.

Most likely you have shared parental responsibility; and your son lives with you the majority of the time.

Since you are the parent making the decision to relocate, the courts may well decide that the father can provide more stability for your son, just by virtue of keeping him in more familiar surroundings.

All things being equal, supposing that you and your son's father are equally good parents, the choice of which parent has the child the majority of the time is most difficult.

If, in fact, the answers that your ex gave on the petition are "bogus', and he is not a good parent, then it is up to you to bring evidence forward to prove it.

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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Our Self Help Guide, Modifying Custody & Visitation in Florida, helps you navigate the court process and procedures once you file your documents with easy to follow checklists, links to websites, important addresses & phone numbers, and much more. Modifying Custody & Visitation In Florida

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