Q: Ex moving out of state… ?
My ex husband is wanting to move out of state….over 1000 miles away. Newly remarried. Our daughter is 9 and he wants me to agree to shuffling her back and forth to another state … one month on and off. I politely declined and stated she can stay here with me to provide stability for schooling and that she can visit summers and breaks. They are now wanting to take me to court and saying what they are asking for is reasonable. Our daughter attends school and needs to be in person.They said because I don’t agree with them they should have her for the school year. Our entire lives are here.. support.. church .. school. He’s the one that’s deciding to move. Help!
A:
No judge is going to make a 9-year-old do a one-month on, one-month-off schedule for the very reason you hit on: School. Even when children are not school age, few judges are willing to do month-on, month-off because it's really not in a child's best interests to be living in two far-apart locations.
The most likely outcome here is a long-distance plan. Those look like a few weeks during the summer, a week around Christmas, and either Fall or Spring Break every school year (but generally not both).
Usually, it's the parent who moves away who ends up on the short end of the stick because it was their choice to move away. In other words, they have a real uphill climb if they want to be primary, and 50-50 isn't happening.
That said, this is something to be taken seriously. I'd recommend consulting with an attorney as soon as possible
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