Family Law Cases in Texas: Geographic Restrictions and Child Support

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Divorce Lawyer in Houston: Your life can change in the blink of an eye, and this is no less true after you’ve been through a family law case. Whether you have court orders from a divorce or Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR), your decisions moving forward have to be based around these court orders.

If you have a child then it is likely that your ability to pick up and move has been curtailed a great extent. While the court that issued the orders cannot put a geographic restriction on you (you are an adult, after all), there is likely a geographic restriction on where your child can reside.

After a divorce if you find yourself as the primary conservator for your child then you are in a position where you can move wherever you would like, but your child likely won’t be able to move beyond a certain geographic area. For example, in Harris County family law cases the restriction is most commonly Harris County and any of the surrounding counties to Harris.

Seeing as how your child cannot move beyond a certain area, you would need to contact your ex-spouse in order to have him or her sign off and agree to your moving with your child to another location. You would file this agreement with the court in order to have it be a part of the record for your case.

In most cases, however, simply asking your ex-spouse for their blessing for you to move is not going to result in the outcome that you are hoping for. In that case, you would need to file a modification case in order to have the judge approve your request to move beyond the geographic area permitted in your Divorce Decree.

WINNING A MODIFICATION CASE WHERE YOU ASK TO MOVE BEYOND THE RESTRICTED GEOGRAPHIC AREA

Divorce Attorney Houston: As with any modificationcase that is filed, you will need to show that there has been a substantial change in circumstances that requires the move and that the move will be in the best interests of your child. Obviously, the difficult part about making this argument will be that you will be taking the child away from one of his or her parents. The State of Texas believes that it is in the best interests of every child in our state that he or she have a relationship with each of their parents so yours will be an uphill climb as far as making such an argument.

Winning a modification case in which you are asking the court to lift a geographic restriction means that you will also need to show the judge just how you will help the other parent continue to enjoy a frequent and meaningful relationship with your child. As long as the possessory conservator of your child has not moved and has taken advantage of the time afforded to him or her in the visitation orders you will have to put forth a very convincing argument.

A FORMER CLIENT’S STORY ON THEIR ATTEMPT TO LIFT A GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTION

Houston Divorce Lawyers: Last year a client hired our office to lift a geographic restriction that had been in place since her divorce in 2012. The story was our client had gotten a divorce from her spouse in Houston and had continued to reside here after the divorce.

She subsequently met a man and married him shortly after her divorce. The man became ill and was diagnosed with cancer, but was fortunate to receive treatment here at the Medical Center. After receiving extensive treatment he was declared by his doctors to be cancer-free.

Once that cancer-free diagnosis was received our client contacted us to see about lifting the geographic restriction that was in place limiting her from residing in any county other than Harris and its adjoining counties. Her current husband was from Dallas and she and he wanted to move there (with her three children) now that his chemotherapy and cancer treatment had been completed.

The main point of the case that I remember is that her husband was a licensed pilot and their idea was to make the argument to the judge that her husband would see to it that all transportation costs would be borne by their family and that he would fly the children personally from Dallas to Houston every weekend that the ex-husband was ordered to have visitation.

While this was certainly a creative and ambitious plan, the judge felt that it was unreasonable to expect the children’s step-father to be available to fly the children back and forth in a small plan three weekends per month in order to facilitate visitation.

The children’s father had been a committed and diligent parent and our client was not able to prove that it was in the best interest of the children to move them to Dallas. Though their solution was creative, the problem was too vast for even their creativity to solve.

WHAT IF YOU VIOLATE THE GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTION IN THE DIVORCE DECREE?

Family Law Attorney Houston: On the other hand, some parents will just blatantly disregard a court order that geographically restricts where their child can reside after a divorce. As the primary conservator of the child, you have the responsibility of providing a living environment that is conducive to your child growing and maturing in a positive manner.

With this being said, if you decide to move beyond the borders of the geographically restricted area and do not seek permission from the other parent first you are asking for an enforcement suit to be filed against you. The other parent to your child will assuredly ask the court to enforce the terms of the court orders.

All your efforts to move can be undone by one ruling from a judge and you and your child will be forced to return to where you came from. It doesn’t matter where you moved to, how difficult it will be to facilitate the move back or how much money it will cost.

CHILD SUPPORT TO BE DISCUSSED IN TOMORROW’S BLOG POST FROM THE LAW OFFICE OF BRYAN FAGAN

As far as questions that I am asked by potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, child support ones typically top that list … Continue Reading