Child Custody and Moving Out of State
Copyright © 2004 Shaw Law Firm, LLC
The law in Georgia on the issue of what happens to child custody of the custodial parent moves out of state has been turned upside down by a recent decision of the Georgia Supreme Court, Bodne v. Bodne.
Prior to the Bodne decision, it was extremely difficult to prevent a custodial parent from leaving the state with the children. In fact it was so well understood that the custodial parent could almost move at will, that moves by custodial parents were rarely even challenged. After Bodne, this is no longer the case.
The issue really resolves around the best interest of the children. What most frequently happens in cases such as this is that the custodial parent, thinking only of the best interest of the custodial parent, and not necessarily the best interest of the children, decides to start over, put their divorce behind them, or start over with a new family, and promptly picks up and moves out-of-state to some foreign destination. The move will make them "happier". But do they ever consider the effect this has on the non-custodial parent and the children? After the Bodne decision, it is now critical that they do.
In Georgia, after the Bodne decision, you can now fight back and contest the proposed out-of-state move. You can describe to the court the harm that will occur to the children should the move be allowed, you can explain the self-centered motivation that has possessed the moving parent, and then prove to the court that preventing the move, or giving you custody of the children, is in the best interest of the children. In sum, you no longer have to be the helpless victim if faced with such a situation.
For the custodial parent this means you have to think twice about leaving the state. You have to take into consideration the best interest of the children, and recognize that if the non-custodial parent has developed a strong relationship with the children, is recognized as an equally capable custodial parent, and the children have developed deep bonds with the community, you may be at risk should you move out of the state for spurious reasons, and theoretically even for very legitimate reasons, unless the move does indeed forward, or at least not hinder, the best interest of the children.
No matter how you look at this new ruling, it dramatically changes the power structure between custodial and non-custodial parents in Georgia, and makes clear that there is no rule of thumb that the custodial parents necessarily know best as to where the children should live, or that custodial parents always keep foremost in their mind the best interest of their children when that parent plans on relocating out-of-state with the children.
The Shaw Law Firm handles only family law matters and litigation such as the issue of parental relocation discussed in this article. Should you have any questions on the matter please feel free to drop us an email or to phone us. We would be happy to discuss your case with you.