need to move, what do i do?

[lostinthoughts]

What is the name of your state?AZ
I am tryign to move out of the state of arizona to california, where I will be able to have family help with childcare. right now my ex has agreed to let me leave with our children. we have a verbal agreement, which as far as I know means nothing in court, on what we would both agree on for child custody. I have to petition the court/judge, but do not know how to go about this. He is also now saygin he wont sign anything saying I can leave untill I get the move approved by the judge. I am concerned that the judge will say that it wouldnt be in the best interest of the children for me to move unless she can see that we already have an agreement worked out. I am just wondering what the process is that I would now need to take. We have, so far, done all this without lawyers, as at the time neither one of us could afford one. Are there any specific forms I need to fill out to get this started? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. thankyou

 

[huntersmommy06]

I am in Florida, however, our counties have websites that have a family law area with FAQ's and free forms to download a pdf file. To find a website: try searching by typing in your county name + courthouse and hopefully they will have a form for you to fill out and submit without a lawyer. Good luck!

 

[VeronicaGia]

What is the name of your state?AZ
I am tryign to move out of the state of arizona to california, where I will be able to have family help with childcare. right now my ex has agreed to let me leave with our children. we have a verbal agreement, which as far as I know means nothing in court, on what we would both agree on for child custody. I have to petition the court/judge, but do not know how to go about this. He is also now saygin he wont sign anything saying I can leave untill I get the move approved by the judge. I am concerned that the judge will say that it wouldnt be in the best interest of the children for me to move unless she can see that we already have an agreement worked out. I am just wondering what the process is that I would now need to take. We have, so far, done all this without lawyers, as at the time neither one of us could afford one. Are there any specific forms I need to fill out to get this started? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. thankyou

So you're willing to be 100% financially responsible for all visitation, right? And if that means he has every weekend, you'll foot the bill, do the driving,whatever it takes, correct? Since you want to move, you'll have to prove to the court it is in the best interests of the child to move also and you'd better have a plan so that dad doesn't lose of minute of his time with the child.

This isn't about you moving; you can move any time you want, it's about taking the child with you.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You should petition the court to modify child support including child care costs if needed, what are your current orders and what are the child support calculaitons for AZ and how much is your ex paying? It is more expensive to live in California.

 

[rebeccaapq]

So, Veronica, it's OK for the dad to say you can't move, and OK for him to say he doesn't want joint or full custody, but you need to stay here because I say so? That's BS.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?AZ
I am tryign to move out of the state of arizona to california, where I will be able to have family help with childcare. right now my ex has agreed to let me leave with our children. we have a verbal agreement, which as far as I know means nothing in court, on what we would both agree on for child custody. I have to petition the court/judge, but do not know how to go about this. He is also now saygin he wont sign anything saying I can leave untill I get the move approved by the judge. I am concerned that the judge will say that it wouldnt be in the best interest of the children for me to move unless she can see that we already have an agreement worked out. I am just wondering what the process is that I would now need to take. We have, so far, done all this without lawyers, as at the time neither one of us could afford one. Are there any specific forms I need to fill out to get this started? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. thankyou

Either your ex isn't really in agreement with you moving, or your ex doesn't understand how the whole things works. You either need permission from your ex to move, OR you need permission from the court. If a judge says its ok for you to move, then you no longer need your ex's signature on anything.
If your ex is agreeing to the move, then the judge is going to wonder why the two of you are wasting the court's time.

However, since you also will need to modify the parenting time to put in place a long distance schedule, its still best to do things properly.

If you are in agreement to everything, the proper thing to do is make out an agreement that allows the move, and also modifies the parenting time to whatever schedule you have agreed upon. Transportation arrangements should be included in the agreement. You would then submit that agreement to the courts for the judge's signature.

If your ex isn't really in agreement, then you will have to petition the court for permission to relocate. You may or may not win that permission.

 

[Hisbabygirl77]

What you need to do is send a certified return receipt copy of an intent to move letter to the dad, courthouse and the child support office. If the dad doesnt go down to the court house and respond to that letter then that as the same as him giving his permission. In Arizona you need to do that 60 days prior to moving. If the father does respond and contest the move then it is up to the judge. If the father doesnt respond then you are free to go. When I moved I was told that the father has 30 days to respond where YOU have the burden of proof as to why the move is in the childs best interest. If the father responds after those 30 days then HE has to prove why it is in the child's best interest to stay. My ex didn't contest the move as we were in agreement. Maybe yours wont respond either.